Research on Fashion, Femininity and Gender Identity of 
Costumes in Rear Window

Jintong Li

doi:10.70711/rcha.v3i7.7794

Research on Fashion, Femininity and Gender Identity of Costumes in Rear Window

Jintong Li

Abstract

Alfred Hitchcock used costume as an important technique for narrative, characterisation and cultural context. This paper explores
fashion styles, aesthetic techniques and character traits through the costume in Rear Window. Firstly, it analyses the promotion and application
of the 'New Look' in the costume based on fashion trends, fully illustrating the femininity and lady image associated. Secondly, it analyses
how costume is performed and emphasised in Rear Window based on Judith Butler's theory of gender performativity. Furthermore, the paper
focuses on discussing how film costumes portray femininity and gender identity. Ultimately, it offers implications for the study of the visuality
and culturality of cinema.

Keywords

Costume; Rear Window; Femininity; Gender Identity

Full Text:

PDF

Included Database

References

[1] Asenov, S. 2017. NOTES ON FEMININITY, OR THE BIG STORY OF A LITTLE DRESS. Horizon. Fenomenologi?eskie issledovanija. 6(1), pp.161180.

[2] Brown, T. & Walters, J. eds. 2010. Film Moments: Criticism, History, Theory. BFI Palgrave Macmillan.

[3] Cook, P. 1996. Fashioning the nation: costume and identity in British cinema. London: British Film Institute.

[4] Davis, F. 1989. Of maids' uniforms and blue jeans: The drama of status ambivalences in clothing and fashion. Qualitative sociology.

12(4), pp.337355.

[5] Gledhill, C. ed. 1991. Stardom: Industry of Desire. [Online]. [Accessed 26 May 2024]. Routledge.

[6] Head, E. 2002. A Costume Problem: From Shop to Stage to Screen. In: Smoodin, E. & Martin, A. Eds. Hollywood Quarterly: Film Culture in Postwar America. Berkeley: University of California Press, pp.161165.

[7] Monks, A. 2010. The actor in costume. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

[8] Munich, A. 2011. Fashion in film. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

[9] Nahm, K.-Y. 2016. Subvert/Reinscribe: Reading self-consciously employed stereotypes through performativity. Performance research.

21(3), pp.92102.

[10] Sassatelli, R. 2011. Interview with Laura Mulvey: Gender, Gaze and Technology in Film Culture. Theory, culture & society. 28(5),

pp.123143.

[11] Shields, B.A., 2012. Adorning the story: costume as a storytelling tool in Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright and Strangers On A Train.

Doctoral dissertation, University of Georgia.

[12] Street, S. 1999. The Dresses Had Told Me: Fashion and Femininity in Rear Window. In: Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. Cambridge

University Press, pp.91109.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.70711/rcha.v3i7.7794

Refbacks

There are currently no refbacks.