a legally blonde style analysis 🐕👙🛍

[Music] a legally blonde style analysis legally blonde is an absolute gem of a movie not only does it perfectly capture the early 2000s bubblegum aesthetic but it's also a brilliantly feminist film that challenges preconceived stereotypes about girly girls it addresses sexual harassment and male privilege as well as the importance of believing in oneself even when the rest of the world is against you it's message that to be successful you don't have to change who you are and that being feminine isn't a weakness but a strength was unique not only for the time but even to this day i rock a lot of polka dots i have touched glitter in the last 24 hours and that doesn't mean i'm not smart and tough and strong and perhaps most importantly it isn't patronizing unlike many supposedly empowering films today often in order for women in films to be deemed as strong or smart they're often given stereotypically masculine traits or hobbies liking sports rejecting fashion hating other women etc and it's usually seen as a positive thing by other usually male characters because they're quote not like other girls but l woods and many of the other female characters in legally blonde exhibit a variety of overtly feminine traits yet no two characters are exactly alike treated as less important than the other or are outright bad guys it's for all of these reasons plus the amazing performances by its cast but this 2001 film happens to be one of my favorite feel good chick flicks from the time period the fantastic clothing choices are just the cherry on top of an already perfect sundae and that's what we're going to be talking about in depth today i'll be looking at the clothing choices of the four lead female characters from the first legally blonde film elle woods paulette bonafante brook windham and vivian kensington each of these ladies has their own unique style that perfectly represents their character to the extent that you can just glance at their wardrobe and understand exactly what kind of person they are let's get into it vivian kensington when we're first introduced to vivian we're led to believe that she's the villain of our story after all she's not only the visual opposite of l but she also stole warner but will eventually come to find out that warner is a selfish [ __ ] who uses each girl as he sees fit who cares about brooke think about yourself i gave her my word warner so what making him the true antagonist while vivian is by no means nice to l at the beginning and there is no denying that at some points she definitely takes it too far if you consider the fact that she's engaged to warner who was previously in a serious relationship with l vivian is understandably threatened by her existence at harvard not only has warner probably said some awful things about elle poisoning vivian against her harvard was supposed to be the place where vivian has a leg up where she's supposed to shine then in walks l woods with her attention-grabbing outfits sunny disposition and awe-inspiring drive anyone would feel inadequate with her around warner told me all about you you're famous at our club but he didn't tell me you'd be here we meet vivian at the same time el does in class where she's the textbook definition pun intended of a preppy east coast college kid her color palette throughout the film is relatively uninteresting featuring mostly grays blacks and tans with the occasional touch of blue or purple the implication of these colors besides being the opposite of elves showcases vivian's more conservative and traditional values as well as her aspirations to be taken seriously and be the perfect future wife visually if l is marilyn monroe then vivian is jackie kennedy if i'm going to be a senator well i need to marry a jackie not a maryland vivian's first outfit features a tan jacket long sleeve blouse a blue sweater vest pearls and her signature flipped bob with a headband not only does this outfit match her friends who will see accompanying and coordinating with vivian throughout the film but she also matches warner who himself is wearing a light blue shirt signaling to others immediately that they're a pair and not to fool around with him her next outfit is incredibly similar to the first and we can now pin vivian not only as a creature of habit but as someone who doesn't like to break the rules fashion or otherwise while it is giving off some serious middle-aged suburban housewife energy her ability to pair her clothing together implies that she's not necessarily unfashionable just unadventurous while studying she wears a purple sweater layered atop a striped purple blouse signaling her role as the queen bee of the study group and later we see the entire outfit a pair of black loafers tights and a black pencil skirt creating an overall conservative and polished look at the house party where elle shows up in her pink bunny costume vivian is wearing a truly awful patterned cardigan atop a beige turtleneck it's something a grandmother would wear and i hate how unflattering it is if you've ever watched cruel intentions another movie starring selma blair you can see how the preppy east coast look can be styled without being outright ugly or even with the outfits worn by share horowitz and clueless or gretchen wieners in mean girls however all of the aforementioned girls are teenagers and vivian is in her early to mid 20s it makes sense for her to think that dressing this way signals her supposed maturity as we've seen vivian upholds old-fashioned ideals about gender roles and dressing like this reflects that as the school year passes we see vivian in different renditions of this preppy uniform some kind of knitwear a blouse and pearls at one point she wears a tan blazer on top of an argyle sweater with an argyle beret with glitter on it and my god that's how you know this was made in the 2000s when she begins her internship at callahan's law firm alongside elle and warner she is treated as a doormat and her unassuming work wear reflects this did you ever notice how callahan never asks warner to bring him his coffee i mean he's asked me at least 10 times vivian give me some plum sauce callahan has to see you before you leave really yeah you know he already has his coffee but maybe he needs a donut while at first vivian seems as though she's dressed like she did at school it's actually even more drab and dull she now solely wears greys and blacks perhaps symbolizing vivian's unhappiness with this job after she sees callahan harassing l accidentally misinterpreting the situation vivian's underlying insecurities are implied from the very beginning she's known that elle's beauty has helped her in life and it's perhaps vivian's own insecurities about her own appearance that have not only made her reject elle's friendship but female-centric hobbies like fashion as well you almost had me fooled what oh maybe you should sleep with the jury too then we can win the case unfortunately we don't get to see elle and vivian during their friendship but i believe that l would help her come out of her shell a bit in regard to fashion experimenting with different silhouettes while still maintaining what she feels comfortable with paulette bonafante ella's first east coast friend and confidant paulette's style is equally as fun and adventurous but far less polished with a distinctly eclectic down-to-earth and kitschy tone paulette's style with its excessive use of denim is according to costume designer sophie derakov as being an ode to her middle american roots while there's no denying that paulette tries her best you can tell that she isn't as financially well-off as elle not sporting any immediately recognizable designer brands and her fashion choices seem just a touch dated as though she got them at a thrift store or made them herself this is even reflected in her hair which is big and poofy in an almost eighties-esque way perhaps she's pining for her younger years like elle paulette often wears feminine colors like pink purple and blue but instead of l's more neon tones paulettes are calming a reflection of her sweet and soothing personality she is definitely the mom friend however there's also a sense of insecurity in paulette's wardrobe as we come to find she's been cheated on in the past and as such is slightly awkward around men so while she's dressed relatively outlandishly there isn't a sense of her doing it to draw attention to herself it's not until after she begins dating the ups guy that we see paulette's style reflect her newfound confidence and if you watch legally blonde 2 you can see how this increased sense of self has found its way into her wardrobe with brighter colors wackier prints and revealing silhouettes brooke wyndham a multi-millionaire brook has money to spare and that's reflected in the designer pieces we wind up seeing her in while she mostly wears her orange prison jumpsuit in court she actually wears two dior pieces this newspaper blazer from fall winter 2000 and this monogram halter dress from spring summer 2000. as she and al come from similar backgrounds down to their sorority it's not a stretch of the imagination to think that brooke is perhaps how elle would dress when she was older as we see throughout the film brooke has the snark and confidence of an older woman and this confidence appears in her wardrobe where she isn't afraid to show skin or wear figure-hugging clothes and interestingly while she is wearing fairly muted designs in color there's always a hint of playfulness and fun i'm sorry maybe you didn't hear me you were fired and if you put me on the stand i'll lie elle woods played by reese witherspoon l woods is the protagonist of this film while the characters outfits are definitely a product of their time they do a wonderful job of developing the character down to her personality and state of mind elle is first introduced in a hot pink halter dress an immensely popular silhouette at the time that was the result of the 2000s does 70s trend since their inception back in the 1930s halter tops and dresses were seen as feminine and flirtatious and this is one of many halter dresses we see l wear throughout the film you can see them again here and here both in shades of pink elle's signature color the dress style is often featured when the character is involved in some way with love or romance as mentioned there's her introductory halter dress which she wears when telling her friends that she suspects she'll be proposed to the dress which was made for the production features a fun and unique cloud print that is symbolic of elle's dream that she and warner will get married she wears a second halter dress when she's at dinner with warner and is dumped a moment that she meant to be romantic that ends in heartbreak and her last halter dress is worn when she is filming her harvard video application and is cat called not exactly a romantic moment but a lustful one l owns not one not two not three but four sequined bikinis three of them are featured in the harvard video essay in the pink blue green color scheme that was popular in the 2000s like the powerpuff girls and her other bikini is shown in the iconic sunbathing scene where her character sets up a chair at harvard and is wearing the bikini top with a fur coat hardly appropriate for the weather in beantown yet totally iconic i wouldn't be surprised if with the recent revitalization of 2000's fashion trends that we start seeing sequin bikinis make a comeback after being dumped by warner and setting out to go to harvard we see her put fashion on the back burner sticking to simple jeans and tops while she's by no means plain they're a far cry from her more ostentatious outfits from earlier in the film this is the first time we're seeing elle's impeccable work ethic as well as how her state of mind influences her clothing choices right now she can't spend time focusing on fashion because studying has to be her top priority it's also a testament to elle's stubbornness people tell her over and over again that she can't go to harvard from her parents to her advisor but she decides to have faith in herself and it pays off there's more to this girl than clothes and blonde hair harvard law school that's right but that's a top three school oh i have a 4.0 oh sweetheart you don't need law school law school's for people who are boring and ugly and serious and jew button or none of those things you got into harvard law what like it's hard you're not smart enough sweetie wait am i on glue or did we not get into the same law school warner oh yeah but but what we took the same lsats and we're taking the same classes i know i'm never going to be good enough for you am i you must always have faith in yourself congratulations class of 2004. we did it when she arrives at harvard elle is wearing a pink leather driving suit and besides being functional cause duh she's driving the ensemble instantly reveals how she's going to stick out like a sore thumb in cambridge whether or not elle actually notices the other students making fun of her is up to interpretation but there's no denying that her self-confidence is enviable at orientation she wears an outfit that i absolutely hate pink low-rise capris a striped off-shoulder top and a pink page boy cap it's a lot to look at and honestly does it remind anyone else of something ryan from high school musical would wear i totally look the part for her first day of school elle wears what she perceives to be appropriate law school attire a pink button-up shirt a purple necktie a green cardigan a blue skirt and boots oh and of course useless glasses it's another outfit that i don't love visually it's very busy but it does a great job of making her stand out amongst the sea of browns and blacks as well as showing us for the first time that l uses fashion above everything else to express herself when elle first begins the school year still trying to gain warner's attention her outfits remain fun and girly as seen with her sunbathing outfit and this pink ensemble when she attempts to study with everyone elle doesn't have any friends and is feeling lonesome and in a way her clothes are her security blanket the thing that makes her feel comforted and safe after getting invited to a supposed costume party by vivian elle shows up in perhaps her most iconic outfit what's interesting here is that even though she's wearing what initially appears to be a fairly stereotypical bunny costume it's actually an extension of elle's personality first it's entirely pink likely because the color is what she feels most confident in something she might have needed when walking into the metaphorical lion's den and second it comes off as more cutesy than it does sexy compare her outfit to these other famous movie bunnies regina george and bridget jones while the actual outfits resemble each other in accessories and in silhouette ells doesn't come off hypersexualized which is quite a feat considering she's literally just wearing lingerie also if this is around october boston is already starting to become quite chilly especially in comparison to california so props to l for wearing an outfit she'd practically freeze in after this humiliating incident elle decides to take the initiative and focus all of her energy into her schoolwork she continues to wear the mix and match style that takes its color scheme from california but it's silhouette and textiles from massachusetts she wears a lot of knitwear ranging from sweaters to beanies to scarves apart from her outfits she also begins styling her hair differently instead of blown out curls it's straight as if to mimic the simpler hairstyles of other girls like vivian it's also important to note that l's more outlandish outfits from this time period are only worn when she's around paulette the only person she doesn't feel judged by once she gets the internship at callahan's practice elle's style goes through its most obvious change gone are the pinks and purples the character had been wearing previously and from this point onwards she mostly wears black and white her outfit for her first day a black sweater and skirt set with a polka dot blouse is so cute i'd still wear it today the combination of the all-black outfit with the lacy collar detail is reminiscent of a judge's robes perhaps elle is dressing for the job she wants to have with the red lip and the slip that just barely shows under her skirt the look is mature with a hint of sensuality something we've yet to see from elle woods who's mostly been cutesy the majority of elle's work wear is chic classy and muted in color and while it's out of character and is her attempt at fitting in and being taken seriously i actually prefer them to her usual wardrobe i'm sorry there's a sense of timelessness in these outfits that i just love we're boring suits and we're pantyhose and we're trying to be something that i'm just just not what's interesting is that once again during this time she still dresses like her old self when she's around paulette really driving home the point that the suited up l isn't who she really is when elle returns to court effectively taking over callahan's position as brook's lawyer she's decked out in a hot pink power suit it has wide lapels and a glittery sash it's not only her saying hey this is who i really am and no man is going to stop me from achieving my dreams but it's also what she's comfortable and confident in exactly what she needs for her first case you'll also notice the curls are back the fact that elle is able to win her case dressed this way and using supposedly girly knowledge is absolutely fantastic because it proves that there's no right way of being successful and that no one should underestimate you based off of your looks or hobbies snaps for legally blonde before i end this video let me just take a minute to showcase margot and alana's outfits it's fun to see how their outfits are both west coasty but in vastly different ways that reflect their own individual personalities margot is a touch ditzier while alana is tough which outfit from legally blonde is your favorite i hope you enjoyed this video and don't forget to like and subscribe i'll see you soon bye [Music]

Channel: ModernGurlz

Views: 795,423

Keywords: style, modern gurlz, 90s fashion, fashion, movie review, movie commentary, moderngurlz, review, movies, Film analysis, film theory, TV, movie analysis, movie trivia, tv analysis, analysis, explanations, video essay, trivia, filmmaking, cinematography, movie reviews, tv reviews, entertainment reviews, tv theory, endings explained, deeper meanings, symbolism, cinema, television, entertainment, deep meaning, explainer videos, movie answers, tv answers, legally blonde, elle woods

Id: _TfthSci54c

Length: 18min 22sec (1102 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 10 2020