A Study on the bloomer costume on the movie costume­Focusing on "OSCAR and LUCINDA"­

영화 의상을 통해 본 블루머 의상(bloomer costume)에 관한 고찰­영화"오스카와 루신다(OSCAR and LUCINDA)"를 중심으로­

  • Published : 2000.03.01

Abstract

Costume in movies are used as an instrument to signify the personality image and status of characters, and even the main theme of movie itself. The purpose of this paper is to verify the feministic meaning of bloomer costume used in movie, 「OSCAR and LUCINDA」. The bloomer costume was anti-fashion in crinoline period, when women was normally not allowed to put on trousers. To achieve the purpose, I used content analysis to obtain meanings from existing literature and video tapes(including, slides and pictures). Bloomer costume, introduced by Mrs. Amelia Bloomer at 1850s, is an anti­fashion to express women's right to wear trousers that were exclusively used by men since the medieval age. In this sense, bloomer costume itself is a costume expressing values of women's emancipation movement. In 「OSCAR and LUCINDA」, heroine, Lucinda, with bloomer costume is described as a woman who has strong motivation toward work, who actively looks for a man she loves, and who has free­will to involve herself in what she wants, even gambling. This is not surprising in a sense that Lucinda's bloomer costumes itself signifies the meanings of feminism. I found that bloomer costume was well described in the movie from the historical point of view. But some details, including type of trousers, were expressed without strict historical evidence. Overall, it is certain that 「OSCAR and LUCINDA」, with a heroine wearing bloomer costume was a big step towards women's emancipation in movies.

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