A Band of Retro-Fits

THE MOVIE: “The Five Heartbeats.”

THE SETUP: The story of five buddies in a successful R&B; group (Robert Townsend, Leon, Michael Wright, Harry J. Lennix and Tico Wells, pictured) who ride the roller-coaster highs of musical fame and the lows of personal tragedy during the 1960s and ‘70s.

THE LOOK: Costume designer Ruthe Carter relied on Jet and Ebony magazines from 20 and 30 years ago for a sense of the styles and colors. Because the film covers almost three decades, the Five Heartbeats strut their stuff in a range of performance styles, from the tidy one-button, shawl-collared tuxedos of the ‘60s to the silver lame jumpsuits of the ‘70s. Offstage, they wear gabardine or sharkskin slacks, check jackets, double-knit pants, rayon/silk knit polo shirts and polyester suits. The women in their lives wear straight skirts and button-down white blouses. Their fashions evolve into geometric- or floral-print A-line shifts, which give way to palazzo pants and platform shoes.

THE LABELS: The film is a parade of thrift-store chic from the San Fernando Valley and the Westside. Palace Costume and the costume departments at Universal and Paramount studios also provided a selection of ‘60s and ‘70s clothes. Vintage Courreges and Pucci dresses for Diahann Carroll (who plays the wife of the Heartbeats’ manager) were found at Repeat Performance on Melrose Avenue. The Courreges suits and dresses cost $200 to $400, and the Pucci dresses were $150 to $200. Polkadots and Moonbeams on 3rd Street in Los Angeles provided all of Carter’s jewelry needs. And Claudia’s on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City proved to be a bonanza of ‘60s and ‘70s shoes at an average of $10 a pair. Carter admitted she thought the ‘70s styles looked pretty silly. But she said she appreciated the ‘60s fashions because they were much more stylish and better designed.

THE PAYOFF: The fashion retrospective within the film couldn’t come at a better time now that the ‘60s styles of Emilio Pucci and Andre Courreges are making their comebacks.