Friday, November 2, 2012

"3:10 to Yuma Final Scene": Costumes

Most of the costumes worn by the men in this film were worn throughout the duration of the film. Which makes sense since in the 1800s few people had closets full of close, and cowboys definitely didn't.

Of the three main characters in the clip we viewed, the costume that stood out to me the most was the one worn by the character Charlie Prince, played by Ben Foster. In this still image that didn't appear in the actual clip you can see many details of Charlie's clothing:


Despite the dirt the jacket is beautiful white leather, double breasted, with large brass buttons. The buttons carry into the chaps, which seem much less dirty. Finger less gloves, a large black, uniquely shaped cowboy hat, jeans, and a gun belt complete the look.

After being trampled by cattle the jacket and hat  Charlie is wearing are in much worse condition, as is Charlie:


With all of the characters a great deal of attention has been given to every detail of their costume, including it seems the people on the train that appear only in this shot. The costume designer for the film is Arianne Philips. Arianne has been designing for films for over 20 years and has numerous period pieces to her credit, not to mention the cult classic Tank Girl. Her work on this film won her an award for "Excellence in Costume Design for Film - Period" from the Costume Designers Guild.

No Western would work without care being taken with the way the characters are dressed. Otherwise it looks like you raided a costume shop, the thrift store, or your grandma's closet. The costuming and styling in "3:10 to Yuma" adds to the overall feel of the film while also helping to visually define each characters place in life. While Charlie's white jacket is an attention getter, the rest of the wardrobes enhance each character without distracting from them. I think that's a s much as you could ask of costumes in a Western film.

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