The Queen's Gambit: Playing a classic game with your clothes
Loved this Netfilx series, every woman I know—one binged it in a single night.
This NYT article, "The Queen's Gambit Makes Us Want to Toss Our Leggings", by Danielle Braff, reminded us of the gulf between tailoring and small-medium-large land. It seems that, even if viewing the series in those leggings, "The Queen's Gambit" worked on women like a salted peanut laid on a bar: dare you not to bite.
The costume designer, Berlin-based Gabriele Binder, was inspired by Edie Sedgwick, Jean Seberg, Audrey Hepburn, and also by the checkered chess board, a graphic echoed in shadow plaids and checks. The heroine lived before sweatpants were worn by anyone other than a coach, and leggings had not yet hatched from footless tights.
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| Photo: Netflix |
Do late '60s to mid -'70s styles hold allure for the woman in the Passage, who wore them once already? I'd say so, because Beth Harmon, played superbly by Anya Taylor-Joy, is more mature in her taste in clothes than her years.
Below, current clothes that echo those times: precise yet playful, elegant but wearable. I've linked to pieces offered by e-vendors, but you might also shop secondhand, though as reader Bunny points out, you would be hunting things close to forty years old, so stock is depleted.
Left to right:
Navy/black plaid ankle pant, in Misses and Petite; Talbot's.
Duffle coat in purple, blue, green and pink plaid; J. Crew.
Velvet-trimmed lady coat; J. Crew. (Did they get an advanced screening?)
Ferris peasant blouse; Velvet.
I'm crazy about clothes like this, because tailoring has always been my passion. Some women love their fleece and leggings, but I prefer the makers who have a gambit of their own, adding a fillip of detail.
Even a simple tee can have some style, and unlike the '70s, many more of todays' classic-inspired clothes are washable:
Left to right:
Madie t-shirt, Bellerose. The interesting sleeve detail makes it more than a t-shirt.
Cherish dress by Jennifer Glasgow at Montréal's Magasin Général 54.
Laure sweater dress, Naïf, as a dress or over trousers. Very Jean Seberg.
When LeDuc watched with me, he said the clothes would still look right today, and I agree, though they suggest a retro vibe. Think of them as a counterpoint to unisex hoodies and tees—and watch for sales, because by late winter we will be longing to furlough the sweats, if not before.
Comments
I confess I do not own sweat pants, and wear leggings only for running and dance class. I'm struggling to see how one would style sweat pants to look flattering, lol!
I used to really enjoy wearing highly tailored clothes, but the redistribution of body shape that comes with age has taken some of the pleasure of that away for me.
Jane in London
We watched Halt and Catch Fire on Netflix, and although the styles weren't nearly as alluring (set in techie world in '80s), they worked well supporting the narrative, character development, social context. Power dressing for women in that field at that time nostalgic and amusing and a bit poignant all at once.
Jane: I believe tailoring is a help to figure— look at men in well-cut suits! The most well-cut clothing I ever had was a Jil Sander pant suit, which to this day has warped my standards and made me a sucker for a shoulder.
materfamilias: How your comment took me back. The '80s was the last decade of haute corporate attire, before business casual took over, and I worked in a multinational financial services company. When I think of the clothes, they are nearly as foreign to me now as wearing a suit of armour, which in a way they were.
You and Mater both hit on a point. My corporate clothes in the 80s and into the 90s, were definitely an armour of sorts. I tended toward high style and strict tailoring, which now, upon looking back, was very much an act of girding my loins as if for battle, where no vulnerabilities could be exposed.
As for tailoring, finding someone who can deal with roundness isn't easy. In a new city, I'm still searching--online, anyway. Clothes that skim rather than squeeze or billow are far more flattering. So many very visible and public women in otherwise nice dresses, from local news readers on up, wear their clothes that half inch too tight. I guess women in entertainment want all their bits to show, but I'm talking about people you see on the news for other reasons. Another thought: some well known women have had breast implants, but the sizing of even very high end clothes has not adjusted, leading to the squashed bosom look.