strangersong

As a rock bottom budget documentary of fallen socialites, this film most definitely lacked a wardrobe department. But with skirts that won't fit anymore worn upside down and blouses worn as turbans and fastened with cocktail brooches, Little Edie's make-do-and-mend determination has caused this film to become a cult influence in the fashion world.

From the lacklustre seduction of the cabaret girls to the wind-up ventriloquist doll of an emcee to the immaculately groomed Nazi presence to Liza's v-bangs and bowler hat, this film epitomises the gaudy, seedy, hell-in-a-handbasket nature of 1930's Berlin. Don't believe me? Ask Helga.

As the film moves through the seventies, eighties, and into the late nineties, the wardrobe is era-appropriate without trying too hard or courting cliche. Holly's sailor stripes, black lace fingerless gloves and oversized trenchcoat; Marina's leopard print, cocktail dresses in lectures and omnipresent fake eyelashes; it all leaves me dry-mouthed with fashion envy. And the soundtrack's pretty stellar too.