Dancing all the way from the ADC stage onto the pages of this blog, ETG's Taming of the Shrew is here in Cambridge and you should all go see it now. I'm going tonight and I hope to see lots of you there - we can stand on the balcony and watch the actors doing their post-performance thing of lavishly praising each cast member as they appear and then bitching about them as soon as they disappear to buy a drink. But before we get caught up in thesp social dramas and wooing of a certain shrew, let's lavishly praise the clothes. Then the clothes can bitch about us while we go for drinks.
Waistcoats are making a comeback. How do I know this? Did I read it in the pages of Vogue, did I see it on the streets? No, I came across this website and after you have seen the simply irrefutable proof laid out here, you will almost certainly agree. Google labs! Why didn't Anna Wintour think of that? Why even bother to have fashion shoots, when you could just show people a sexy line graph and prove what's going to be in this season. Waistcoats Direct, you are on to a winner.
But even if they aren't, this doesn't mean that they don't deserve to be right. Waistcoats are great. They lengthen the body, give an elegant silhouette and they come in gorgeous plain or checked or paisley prints. Let's bring back the waistcoat and make WD's year.
You know what else is great? Dressing gowns. Long silk or cotton dressing gowns (the towel variety - while it looks snuggly and teddy-bearish - is sadly not ever going to be stylish). Amrou's is a stunning combination of red and gold. The print has an Eastern, slightly regal feel to it, as if it belonged to a young Mahārāja. I'll confess that I prefer gowns that are full-length instead of cropped, as the short cut can sometimes look sleazy in a way that the long ones never do. Think Noel Coward rather than Guy from Green Wing (go to 07.27 for the full horror)
Everything about this outfit is right, including the way that Joey is wearing it - louche, laid-back, leaning like a gangster against a lamp-post. The long coat is fabulous. In fact it is almost impossible for fitted long coats to look bad, on men and women alike. The huge white, turned up cuffs are delightfully dandyish and all the colours are perfectly matched, with the waistcoat the exact same shade as the shoes. Nice touch. Such style almost puts him in the running against Rufus Sewell's shrew-tamer, who is in fact terribly dressed in that scene, but so sexy that it Just Doesn't Matter.
Sophie, our Shrew, wasn't running around on the stage with all the other well-dressed actors, so she got her very own fashion shoot as the female star of the show. Here she demonstrates the lasting appeal of the 'We Can Do It' pose, particularly apt when one is wearing thirties-length short sleeves and long boots with trousers (more on the boots shortly).
The poster was used as part of the American war effort and is often associated with the idea of Rosie the Riveter, a fictional cultural icon who represented the women working in factories during World War Two. She's considered a feminist icon and she also knows how to pull off the headscarf look. It's a difficult art, but rewarding if achieved. Also red and white spotted anything rocks - and even better when done in flowers, as below.
I want that key. So much. I don't really need to elaborate on this point do I? You can all see that this would be the best necklace ever. If I find out where Anna, the costume designer, got it from, I will get back to you posthaste.
Taming of the Shrew at the ADC
Costume Designer: Anna Reid
And finally, the boots. The long, endless, oh-me-oh-my boots that go all the way down to floor. With laces top to bottom. The only better pair of lace-boots that I have ever seen were slightly shorter, and black, but more overtly sexy in a Victorian hussy sort of way. They belong to my mother. And no, she's not my size so I can't even try and steal them. And yes, I find this situation difficult. But we've worked through it. It took a while. The thing about lace-up boots is that they are not made for walking. They made to be adored.
Coming up next, singing and looking stylish in the rain. See you on the ADC balcony.
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