Wednesday, July 2, 2014

The Grand Budapest Hotel


Have you seen The Grand Budapest Hotel? If not, it would be in your best interest watch it immediately. I'm not going to force you of course, but I am strongly and sternly going to recommend you stop watching dishes/working out/making out with your lover and watch that movie. I had seen the trailer for the movie a few weeks ago, and I was instantly smitten before even having watched it. It came across as a movie that didn't miss a beat, and finally seeing it, well, I wasn't disappointed. 

Last night I was able to wrangle my husband into sitting still long enough to start the movie, and within 15 minutes we both were laughing and utterly captivated with the world that Wes Anderson created. The colors, the costumes, the sets; every scene pulled me in further until I looked over about an hour in and realized my husband (who doesn't watch movies because he can't still long enough for one) was completely entranced. Success! 



Everything about that movie was inspiring, but the costumes were really amazing. Several characters caught my eye, but the two I loved most were: older Zero's suit when he's first introduced in the lobby, and Willem Dafoe's character. Willem Dafoe's character has the most amazing black leather jacket that has a secret pouch in the front for his flask. I need that jacket. Immediately. 


One of the only screen shots I could find that even somewhat remotely does his characters outfit any justice. He has a bevy of rings on his fingers, an intense shot spiked haircut, and a killer leather jacket. Long story short; amazing.

Older Zero when he's shown sitting in the lobby evoked a lot of emotion for me. I was instantly drawn to his outfit. You don't see it for very long on screen, but I saw enough of it to hunt for a screen shot when I got home. I was in luck, as the internet is full of awesome and happened to provide just what I was looking for.


At first glance, his outfit only very slightly stood out from the traditional 60's hotel interior because it was a bit darker than the varying browns, but it still blended in as an almost extension of the room. If you really look at the colors, they're varying shades of red and brown; deep plum, brighter burgundy, deep brown, sand - all these colors play off of the interior as a natural continuation of the color palette. He's the owner of the hotel, and he's comes off as melancholy, which only adds to the overall feeling. When we're first introduced to the hotel it's a shell of it's former glorious youth; a more melancholy, sad existence. The two compliment each other, which as the story goes on only makes sense and brings the connection into a more obvious light with everything that unfolds.

The outfit by itself though is really layered and amazing. The outfit seems shabby chic. A worn-down lux feeling comes across with the varying velvet  and corduroy pieces. The turtleneck seems of a very rich quality, and the shoes are a throwback, almost a nonchalant nod to earlier times. To sum it up: accidental excellence. He didn't seem to so much be trying as he was just simply was, and that outfit didn't seem to be precocious or flashy. It was lovely, but without thought. 

Quite simply: effortless.

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