When watching Desperate Housewives last week, I found that in this particular episode ‘A Visions Just a Vision’, the costume was something that helped the audience identify with the characteristics of particular actors and highlighted their differences. I chose to focus my costume analysis on Bree and Edie.
Bree
All of Bree’s outfits reflect her mature and perfectionist personality as she is always well groomed.
We first see Bree wearing a dark grey top and a smart navy cardigan. She is quite formally dressed, which reflects how she likes everything to be very proper. She also looks very neat, signifying that she likes things to be tidy and as we have seen previously she is known for her cleaning obsessions. The dark solemn colours reflect the seriousness of the situation when she is talking to her son about her concerns.
We then see her at Carlos’s party dressed in black trousers and a violet polo-neck jumper, which shows how she is quite sensible. The colour purple signifies her femininity and elegance yet at the same time, the soft colour reflects her maturity. She wears a subtle amount of make-up, which shows that she really does care about her looks, but at the same time, she is aware of her age and role as a mother of a grown-up son.
When introduced to her son’s gay partner, Bree’s red top and plain black skirt reflects her sophistication and formalities. This could signify her upbringing and her upper-class background. Her clothes are generally plain which show that she is straightforward, to the point, and blunt. Her hair is combed back, always out of her face as opposed to a funky haircut again reflecting her neatness and maturity. It also shows her motherly character, as it seems that she only ties her hair back in order to assert the role of a mother in-law or a respected elder of the house. This shows how she is always trying to be the perfect wife and mother.
These are a few examples from the episode, which reflect Bree’s personality as a whole.
Edie
Edie on the other-hand reflects a very different personality.
She first appears in her leopard-print low-cut swimsuit, summer hat and shades in her front driveway. This reflects her confident, overt personality as opposed to Bree’s subtle and serious one. Her clothes look quite expensive which could suggest that she was quite spoilt as when she was younger, and she has not matured much since. She is quite the rebel and likes to be different.
Her clothes also suggest that she likes to attract attention and is extremely self-assured and arrogant. This is emphasized when she says ‘you know someone else my age with a body like this?’ This signifies how despite her age, she is constantly trying to look younger and sexier. She later wears a very low cut halter-neck. She is generally very revealing and therefore possesses the sex appeal. Her clothes reflect her flirty nature, which explains why she has been in so many relationships.
She does not make many appearances in this episode however from the few times she appears on screen, the audience is immediately able to recognize her characteristics and see the great differences between her character, and other housewives such as Bree.
We then see her at Carlos’s party dressed in black trousers and a violet polo-neck jumper, which shows how she is quite sensible. The colour purple signifies her femininity and elegance yet at the same time, the soft colour reflects her maturity. She wears a subtle amount of make-up, which shows that she really does care about her looks, but at the same time, she is aware of her age and role as a mother of a grown-up son.
When introduced to her son’s gay partner, Bree’s red top and plain black skirt reflects her sophistication and formalities. This could signify her upbringing and her upper-class background. Her clothes are generally plain which show that she is straightforward, to the point, and blunt. Her hair is combed back, always out of her face as opposed to a funky haircut again reflecting her neatness and maturity. It also shows her motherly character, as it seems that she only ties her hair back in order to assert the role of a mother in-law or a respected elder of the house. This shows how she is always trying to be the perfect wife and mother.
These are a few examples from the episode, which reflect Bree’s personality as a whole.
Edie
Edie on the other-hand reflects a very different personality.
She first appears in her leopard-print low-cut swimsuit, summer hat and shades in her front driveway. This reflects her confident, overt personality as opposed to Bree’s subtle and serious one. Her clothes look quite expensive which could suggest that she was quite spoilt as when she was younger, and she has not matured much since. She is quite the rebel and likes to be different.
Her clothes also suggest that she likes to attract attention and is extremely self-assured and arrogant. This is emphasized when she says ‘you know someone else my age with a body like this?’ This signifies how despite her age, she is constantly trying to look younger and sexier. She later wears a very low cut halter-neck. She is generally very revealing and therefore possesses the sex appeal. Her clothes reflect her flirty nature, which explains why she has been in so many relationships.
She does not make many appearances in this episode however from the few times she appears on screen, the audience is immediately able to recognize her characteristics and see the great differences between her character, and other housewives such as Bree.
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