A Model of Simplicity

The Movie: “The Bridges of Madison County.”

The Setup: Four days together change the lives of an Iowa farm wife, Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep, pictured), and roving photographer Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood, pictured) in 1965. Based on the Robert James Waller bestseller.

The Costume Designer: Colleen Kelsall, whose credits include “Rich in Love” and “Silent Fall.”

The Look: Looking as plain as Wonder Bread, the Johnsons--Francesca and Richard (Jim Haynie)--present the image of a flawless, infidelity-proof marriage. Latter-day versions of Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” couple, Richard wears formless denim overalls and work boots, while Francesca gives dignity to a wardrobe of belted, button-front cotton housedresses that would soon disappear from American closets. Each housedress is virtually indistinguishable from the next in pattern (always unassertive) and color (never brights). As for Francesca’s full hips and derriere, they’re for real. Besides adopting an Italian accent, Streep added a few pounds, Kelsall said, and looks as if she let the muscles she developed for her buff heroine role in last year’s “The River Wild” turn to fat.

The Hunk Factor: What gives the wiry Robert an ever-so-slightly exotic quality is not so much his form-fitting jeans, but the leather sandals and silver bracelet, undoubtedly souvenirs from his far-off travels.

Trivia: After talking with local Iowa women, Kelsall decided that while they wore girdles in those days, they never wore them at home, so Streep is girdle-less. But the pointy bra and waist-high underpants she wears with her costumes are period finds.

You Should Know: Though the novel initially describes Francesca in tight jeans and a tight T-shirt, Eastwood, who also directed, told Kelsall that he always remembered his mother in housedresses, so that was the image he wanted for Francesca. Indeed, Streep liked the simple little frocks so much she kept them after she finished the movie.

Quoted: “We wanted Meryl to look sexy but not in the traditional sense. We could have gone with straighter skirts, but they were too sexy. Women of that period were voluptuous. We cinched her belts a wee bit too tight to make you think of those Italian film stars of that era like Sophia Loren, who wore those tatty little schmates with tight belts and looked like she’d been sweating,” said the designer.

Research: “My bibles were the Montgomery Ward and JCPenney catalogues from 1963 and 1964,” Kelsall said. “They’d take the current fashion and simplify it to where the Midwest woman could feel comfortable and still feel fashionable.”

Sources: Repeat Performance, Palace Costume and Roxy Deluxe in Los Angeles provided some of the vintage clothes. Francesca’s dresses were custom-made from tea-dyed, over-washed vintage fabrics by Caroline Errington in Boston. Robert’s period jeans and some of his shirts came from Eastwood’s Malpaso Productions. His sandals are Nimrods.