7. Revolutionary Road (50s)
Suburbs, black and white TV, domestication, dinner parties, the perfect family—these are the images that spring to mind when we think of the ’50s. But everything was not as wholesome as Leave it to Beaver and advertising from the time led us to believe. Anxiety and unrest bubbled just under the surface; the lonely housewife has since become a symbol of the malaise that came with superficial prosperity. Richard Yates’ 1961 novel Revolutionary Road addressed the striking disparities between surface and content head-on, and the fashion displayed in the 2008 movie adaptation has fun with that theme as well.
In the movie, Leonardo DiCaprio reunites with Titanic star Kate Winslet, playing an apparently “perfect” couple, whose relationship is wrought with conflict. Winslet wears in stereotypical ’50s “housewife” attire: pastel colors, sundresses and tied-off shirts—and often flaunts their excesses with formal gowns. DiCaprio, too, wears pastel-colored short sleeves, as if to convey to the world: “everything is fine.” Also See: 9 clever ways to take you date nights from ho-hum to hot d*amn!
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