Once upon a time in Nazi-occupied France... fashion!

Unlike most sensible people I know, I am capable of watching an absolutely ridiculous, boring, or contrived film (and genuinely enjoying it) if I find the costumes interesting. The best example I can give of this sort of movie would be Sofia Coppolla’s Marie Antionette, a film which never managed to break its pedestrian pacing despite a strong cast and critically-hailed director. What it did manage, though, was a visual feast of costuming… I mean that in a literal sense, the clothes and shoes looked tastier than all those shots of French pastry!

Before you get worried, let me just say that I am aware that revolutionary French fashion is not a practical point of inspiration for contemporary clothing. But there are other periods (and other, better movies) that can lend their lines, shapes, and silhouettes to a modern wardrobe.

Last night, the inspiration was Quentin Tarintino’s Inglourious Basterds.

In past viewings of this film, I had been wowed by both Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger’s “Nazi night” gowns (probably the only thing distracting me from the scalping besides the enigmatic Hans Landa that Christoph Waltz portrayed). But I was surprised to find I’d missed out on admiring so many of Shosanna Dreyfus’ ensembles, and the very ones that could conceivably serve as inspiration, too!


I love the 1940s ‘working woman’ aesthetic, that tomboyish image that most of us ascribe to Katherine Hepburn. Laurent’s Shosanna nails it: I’ve been coveting her loose-fitting trousers, tailored trench, her hat. These items are basics, but styled in a way that makes them timeless rather than boring. It’s enough to make me wish I were the proprietress of a Parisian cinema, though I`m not sure I could stomach the other elements of the story.


I`ll spend this sunny Thursday rooting through thrift shops, in search of classic Hepburn-esque trousers and cute, tweedy hats. But all I really want is to sit and read in a café, with a cigarette and a glass of wine…

I`ll see you on the thrift side.

TC