Angela Pardini

Period in Film

My Fair Lady

The film I will be discussing today is the 1964 production of My Fair Lady, set in

1912. It was based off of Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, and set in London. The

costume designer both for the film and Broadway production was Cecil Beaton. He used

tailored, clean cut lines to show the evolution of Eliza into the higher class, in stark

contrast to the dark, shapeless street clothes the wore as a flower seller. Early twentieth

century London was a hierarchical society, and fashion was a means of establishing ones

place in society. For the men, London was the hub of style and tailoring, while Paris led

the trends for womens wear.

In the film, we see that Beaton took into account the homogenized quality of

menswear of this time, but took some stylistic liberties to differentiate characters. Large-

scale factory production of menswear was a reality in 1900, and mens clothing consisted

of relatively similar cuts from class to class. For women, fashion was much more varied

and rapidly changing. Designers of high fashion clothing created unusual cuts or patterns

that were difficult to copy, so it was easy to distinguish them apart from the women

wearing machine-made pieces. Young elite English women would make a pilgrimage to

Paris twice a year to buy their entire wardrobe for the upcoming season, meeting with

seamstresses and planning ensembles for every situation. We see seamstresses take
Elizas measurements and witness the evolution of her wardrobe as she adopts the

customs of the upper class.

We see contemporary fashion influencing the costumers vision for the piece

mainly in the color palate that is reminiscent of the 60s. We see Eliza in lilacs, salmons,

and whites with bright pops of red. Even as a flower seller, her long coat was a dark

shade of vibrant green. The lines of the silhouette are simple and uncluttered, echoing the

trend of the time the movie was released. We watch as Elizas wardrobe grow more

decadent as she escalates in class, until she hits a pinnacle moment at the Ascot horse

races and wears a gorgeous white gown with black and white striped detailing, and a

huge gravity-defying hat that appears quite futuristic (a trend of the 60s). Then we see a

very 60s silhouette in the scene at the Embassy ball, where she dons a gorgeous ball dress

(mentioned in the movie was made in France), that echoes the trendy baby doll silhouette

of the 60s.

In order to discuss the accuracy of this film, we must first acknowledge the era in

which it is replicating. The women of the time had begin to abandon the corset and

instead chose very loose clothing, more practical wear. As always, this fashion trend is an

echo of what was going on in their world. Women suffragettes were beginning to demand

equality for all, and for their right to vote. However, it was still a very patriarchal society,

and the constricting fashion that replaced corsets was the hobble skirt. We see in Elizas

Ascot race dress a very narrow hemline at the ankles that made it impossible to take large

steps or walk too quickly. In the early 1910s, hats got significantly smaller, which we see
in effect in most scenes throughout the movie. Also, although the bright color palate is a

reflection of the decade in which the film was made, lilacs and ivories were very common

for women in the 1910s. This film did a great job in showing the fashion of the time,

while keeping the audience of the 60s engaged with the costumes.

I think Cecil Beaton did an incredible job of weaving threads of the 60s into the

tapestry of this period piece, especially in the scene with the famous horse race, where all

of the upper class is congregated with truly spectacular gowns and hats. Elizas gown in

that scene is the most memorable piece she wears throughout the film, and has been very

highly praise by famous costume designers. The other-worldliness of it all was right up

the alley of the psychedelic flower-power movement of the 60s, where the doll-like

silhouette was praised and funky patterns and bright colors were encouraged.

The year after this film was released, we see lots of tie-dye, bell-bottoms, mini

skirts, and dresses. Jackie Kennedy was a fashion icon at the time, and she wore very

elegant solid-colored skirt suits and dresses. Its hard to say if this film affected the

fashion of the 1960s much, because the hippie movement was already in full swing, and

the fashions were moving forward, not back in time. However, I can imagine that some of

the really tight waistlines of Elizas character could inspire some of the cinched waists of

the 1960s.
 WORKS CITED

Beaton, Cecil. Cecil Beaton's Fair lady. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1964

Blanche Payne, Geitel Winakor and Jane Farrell-Beck, The History of Costume, 2nd
Edition. (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1992), 544.

"Fashion in the 1960s." RetroWaste. N.p., n.d. Web. 28

Taradash, Emily. "Costume Design: My Fair Lady." Scholarworks. University of

Massachusetts, 2014. Web.

Victoria&AlbertMuseum,The.Interactive:ElizaCostumebyCecilBeatonforMy
FairLady,1958.http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/i/interactiveelizacostume/
Original sketch, Cecil Beaton. 1963
Original sketch, Cecil Beaton. 1963
Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle at the Royal Ascot horse races.
Art designer Cecil Beaton checks Audrey Hepburns Ascot costume on the set
of My Fair Lady, 1963
Audrey Hepburn as Cockney flower seller in 1964 musical film, My Fair Lady.
Audrey Hepburn at the 1965 Oscars
Bill and Babe Paley in 1965
Jackie Kennedy 1964
Silk gown, 1912.
Evening gown by Lelong, Les Modes September 1912. Photo by Talbot.