Costumes, Part II

For my first costume post, I covered The Taming of the Shrew and The Winter's Tale. Today, as a tie-in for the final project, I'm going to focus on a modernization of Hamlet. Specifically, I'm going to be looking at Hamlet, Ophelia, Gertrude, and Claudius. I choose the costume pieces I do based very strongly on how I see the characters. In many ways, the characters are archetypes or stereotypes that I flesh out, using clothing as a medium. 

Ophelia: The Manic Pixie Dream Girl

The phrase "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" was first coined to describe Kirsten Dunst's character in Elizabethtown. A MPDG is a girl who is quirky and spastic but still pretty in a traditional way. Her free-spirited ways usually inspire the uptight, generally nerdy male protagonist to shed convention and embrace life. If you've ever seen a movie with Zooey Deschanel, you've seen a MPGD. This is very much the way I view Ophelia, albiet in a much more tragic way than is generally portrayed. This Ophelia is a modern girl with a very pronounced romantic side. As such, her clothing is going to be fairly modern with some very classic details. Also, she's the kind of girl who can pull off thigh-high socks with her miniskirts. 

 

Gertrude: The Desperate Housewife

Gertrude is a woman who is desperately trying to hold onto her rapidly depleting youth. She's the girl you went to high school with who always needed to have a boyfriend, all grown up and six facelifts deep. Her decision-making skills never quite fully developed, but at least she generally looks good for her age. I tend to picture her as constantly smoking and drinking martinis. 

 


Hamlet: The Angsty Teenage Dreamboat
Hamlet is the guy who sits in the park or the cemetery, reading books and angstily staring out into the distance. He's sexy and mysterious and chock-full of personal demons. He will more than likely end up using his parental issues as an excuse not to grow up and he'll treat you like crap, but at least he's hot.

 

Claudius: The Jerkbag Stepdad
Claudius is the guy in every movie and CW TV show who tries to win everyone over, but it turns out he's gambled away all of his money and is just trying to grease up his rich family so his loanshark doesn't break his kneecaps.