Bigger (and Older) Is Better

The Movie: “The Pelican Brief.”

The Setup: New Orleans law student Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts, pictured) writes a legal brief in which she theorizes about a high-level cover-up of the assassination of two Supreme Court justices and becomes a target herself. Her only ally is reporter Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington, pictured).

The Costume Designer: Two-time Academy Award winner Albert Wolsky (“All That Jazz,” “Bugsy”).

The Look: Instead of dressing Darby in a series of bewigged disguises, as John Grisham did in the novel on which the movie is based, Wolsky hides her in neutral-colored oversize clothes. When life gets hairy, it’s nothing but big, old sweat shirts; big, old khakis, and big, old T-shirts--and for relief, big skirts and big sweaters. Stripped of anything terribly pretty to wear, Darby not only blends into crowds but also becomes a character with whom the audience can readily identify. After all, most of us own similar wardrobes.

It’s easy to get a warm and fuzzy feeling about Gray. He’s wrapped in nice, soft, beigey packages of unmatched sport jackets and trousers. And check out his shirts: soft peach, soft green, soft blue.

Quoted: “Because you are dealing with a big box office star, you have to bend over backward to make her look real,” Wolsky says of Roberts. “It was also important to put her in long sleeves and high necks, to frame the face and see the terror.”

Inspiration: Wolsky spent time at Tulane Law School in New Orleans to pinpoint Darby’s law-school phase (long rayon skirts, denim shirts, clogs).

Triumph: No gratuitous cheesecake, save for one shot, waist up, of Darby in a demure white cotton bra.

Hemline Watch: Two inches above the ankle. “Short skirts are too vulnerable,” Wolsky says.

Trivia: A few items, such as a denim jacket, were pulled from the crew and from Wolsky’s closet so that everything didn’t look new. Roberts also wore some of her own sweaters.

Sources: For Darby, the Gap, J. Crew and Banana Republic. Gray’s clothes came mainly from Barneys New York and Saks Fifth Avenue, New York. Government types wore mostly Hart Schaffner & Marx suits.