Saturday, May 16, 2015

LEGALLY BLONDE (2001)


When you grow up loving a film, it's easy to take it for granted and begin to overlook the qualities that made you love it in the first place. One of the best things about my Blogging Adventures is forcing myself to sit down and actually WATCH some of my old favorites, which allows me to rediscover them with a fresh perspective.

Legally Blonde (sleepover staple and perennial road trip fave) definitely falls into that category - I've loved it on principal for soooooo long that I actually forget that Legally Blonde is a really fucking good movie. I'm 100% here for Elle Woods: Secret Feminist Icon and her commitment to fighting injustice with kindness and fluffy pink accessories, and I'm glad her story has taken on a life of its own beyond the late 90s Girl Power wave.

W/e, w/e - onto the clothes. Hands down, Elle has one of the best wardrobes of any cinematic fashionista. Reese Witherspoon actually kept all of her costumes after filming. I lost count of her costume changes, but (according to IMDB) Elle sports 40 different hairstyles throughout the film.

25 out of 40 - who knew there were so many variations on The Ponytail?
My favorite films are always the ones where it's clear that they're having fun with the production design. Who wants dark gritty realism when you can have a brightly sequined spectacle?? I want an endless stream of costume changes. I want montages set to 80s techno where characters model-dance in a series of increasingly ridiculous outfits. FUN.

ELLE & WARNER 4EVER. Actually not sure why they went through the trouble of showing Elle shopping for a new dress when she definitely wore the same pink/white stripy design one that she had on in the first scene (besides introducing the importance of Elle's signature color??) Also I know this is Movie College but how inappropriately old do her sorority sisters look?
SUCH GOOD PRODUCTION DESIGN. Everything from the lighting to her adorable butterfly clips sets her at odds with her surroundings. They actually echo this exact shot several times throughout the film but I didn't edit them, so...
Malibu Barbie chic
Pink fur (faux, duh!) and sequined bikini top is a great and criminally underused Studying on the Quad look. Also I'm kicking myself for not paying more attention to Bruiser's wardrobe - how many pink sweaters did I miss??

Again - obsessed with the contrast between Elle and the dark, mostly neutral color palette of everyone else.   
The coordinating shades of pinks solidifies this as the Ultimate Power Suit. (Also - Elle vs. bland neutrals - see??? see?? It's all over this fucking movie) 
I just love Chutney's hair. And that the climactic moment of the film hinged on her ridiculous perm. And that her name was Chutney. 
Also Elle's hair. So many solid hair moments in the finale. 

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