It's safe to say I'm a little behind on movies. So while on vacation, we're doing a little catching up. I have embarked on an educational journal through all the classic westerns (more on that later), but Tivo didn't have any queued up for us before the trip, so we went with an eclectic grab bag of current (so to speak) movies instead. So it was to my surprise that cowboy apparel should prevail when cowboy movies weren't even on the agenda. First up we had "Rachel Getting Married," which was pretty gut-wrenching yet visually stunning. So beautiful in fact that it was no surprise to find that (a) a friend of mine,
Susan Lyall, was the costume designer, and (b) that one of the scenes prominently featured a fancy red cowboy shirt. I was only able to find one photo of the scene, which unfortunately doesn't highlight the shirt to its best advantage, but if you've seen the movie this should spark your memory:
The cowboy-shirted rehearsal dinner guest toasts the couple with this:
We are gathered here to
celebrate love pure and simple.
Rachel is pure.
Sidney is simple.
May the two of you live and
love for as long as you want,
but never want for as long as you live.
And most importantly,
may all of your ups and downs
come only in the bedroom.
And also lo and behold I found this great
interview with Susan Lyall on the costuming of the movie.
We also had the, ahem, good fortune to see Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. Let's just say it didn't pack the same punch I remember getting from the book. But the cowgirls sported some interesting western wear, even if Sissy Hankshaw didn't. I don't recall her wearing a multi-zippered leather fringed jumpsuit throughout the story in the book, but it's been many years since I read it. Rain Phoenix as Bonanza Jellybean is wearing this cool buckskin get-up in the scene where she is unceremoniously shot. Great argyle cowgirl boots, also.
Finally, last night we watched Zombieland if you can believe it. Yes, I got scared and was worried about zombies emerging out of the thick Martha's Vineyard undergrowth in the dark rainy night. No, there weren't any cowboy shirts in the movie, despite the Texas setting in the opening scenes. But Tallahassee did sport an awesome snakeskin blazer that I think he'd supposedly stolen from Bill Murray. Not a cowboy shirt, but it still looked cool:
Happy trails, until we meet again.
