A Quick Trip Through History

The Movie: “The House of the Spirits.”

The Setup: Based on the Isabel Allende novel, “House” is an epic tale of three generations of a South American family headed by patriarch Esteban Trueba (Jeremy Irons) and his wife, Clara (Meryl Streep).

The Costume Designer: Barbara Baum, who worked for Rainer Werner Fassbinder for 10 years and whose recent credits include “Becoming Collette,” “Voyager” and “Seven Minutes.”

The Look: Don’t expect to completely escape into a world of wide-brimmed organza hats and hip-sashed dresses, although seeing Nivea (Vanessa Redgrave, pictured above, left) and her daughters circa 1920s will make you wish the movie stopped there. The timeline, spanning 1928 to 1973, offers a fast history of style. Winona Ryder’s Blanca does Gidget--pedal pushers, cropped top, black eyeliner and such.

Hit: The costumes provide layers of interest, underscoring the sharp emotional contrasts between characters. Nowhere is this more clear than in the pale gossamer dresses worn by Clara, a clairvoyant who is free with her emotions.

Her opposite in shrouds of black is Ferula (Glenn Close), a spinster who has never known love. House keys dangle at her waist, symbolic of her role as caretaker, or perhaps of her inability to unlock her passions. When she’s at her happiest, Ferula’s clothes echo the sly change--small white polka dots appear on one of her long, black, high-collared dresses.

Trivia: Irons, in his character’s 90-year-old persona, not only wore oversize suits and shirt collars to suggest a withered body underneath but also carried metal weights in his pockets to make him feel tired.

Quoted: “I always wanted the costumes to show the difference between the male and female world, the rich people and the peasants. We talked a lot about the peasants. In some movies the peasants look very romantic, as if Giorgio Armani designed something for (them),” said writer-director Bille August. The peasants in this film go barefoot and wear threadbare clothing.

Sources: Most of the principals’ costumes were custom-made at Cosprop in London.