Why is it that the three departments most concerned with an actor’s look (wardrobe, make-up, and hair) always look the worst?
I’m a straight white guy, so I have no fashion sense. I really don’t care what my clothes look like; I have shirts that don’t match themselves. But some of the things I see costume designers wear just blow my mind– poofy shirts, gold trim, unflattering tailoring.
And it’s not like they don’t know how to pick out nice clothes. Just look at the actors! They look great. So what happens when they start using their own money?
It’s not just wardrobe, either. Hairstylists’ hair tends to look like this, while make-up artists apply their own make-up like this. Is it some kind of professional pride, that they have to apply it themselves?
It’s just bizarre. I mean, do location managers live in ugly houses? Do electrics sit in poorly lit rooms? Do script supervisors, um… forget where they put stuff, I guess?
Seriously, how does this happen?
12 Responses
I’m a little late to the party, but had to add that I work in the art department, and no, my house is not really decorated. Mainly because I can’t decide on a style – I like everything. (Hmm…maybe that’s the costumers’ problem as well.) And of course, the walls are white. And bare.
This post made me laugh! I think it’s so true, I’ve seen some strange outfits on wardrobe chicks, and I’ve worked with some interesting make-up artists.
Me: While I don’t forget where I put stuff, I do have an unorganized home… It’s my job to be organized and detail oriented. I don’t want to be that way all the time!
Realize that the child is not at fault if they dont understand something that is crystal clear to you. Western Wear
It’s the impossibility to see self from the mirror with any objectivity. It would be better if people saw themselves from different angles on video. The brain edits the image from mirror to fit the expectation. If you feel bad you’re gonna look awful. If you feel really bad but look better, it’ll cheer you up, and you’ll suddenly look glorious. If you feel great and the looks is better than yesterday, it’ll hurry up to catch you imagination.
That is, if you truly care.
That’s how a 70-year old lady can fuss over their looks in front of a mirror. The brain can do wonders in real-time.
With hairstylists, designers, makeup-artists, they all will extrapolate from their fashion sense into how they would like to see themselves.
I’ve long wondered about this phenomenon. Back when I was doing commercials, the wardrobe women were always the worst-dressed on set — getting paid more than $600/day, they showed up for work looking like homeless bag ladies. Being of the sartorially-challenged myself, this was unfathomable to me.
Make-up was a very different story — the make-up girls I worked with always looked great. In a way, their faces were their calling cards — a make up girl who looked like Mother Theresa wasn’t going to inspire much confidence in her actors.
As for electrics in our poorly-lit houses — yeah, that one’s pretty much true. I have a bare bulb hanging over my fridge.
Go figure…
I went to LASIK-operation to get rid of the glasses, and the nurses all had glasses themselves. Made me doubt if it really is such a good deal after all, if all these people who know better have decided against it.
i dated a girl who was a hairdresser. her hair was a mess as was most of the people she worked with. thin, brittle and colors not found in nature. she always smelled like that perm chemical. the relationship didn’t last long. no amount of pretty can combat that.
http://www.jamesford.wordpress.com
That’s gonna require some thought.
So, in an odd way, that is the location manager equivalent of putting your make-up on wrong. 😀
The ugliness or non-ugliness is the wrong criteria to judge on…after all, I get scripts that ask of ugly houses.
I should be judged on how easy it is to get the dolly in there. (It’s really hard to get the dolly in there because there’s no way in hell I’m having a movie shoot in my house.)