Why Your Favorite TV Star Rocks Those Granny Panties, Part 1
March 6, 2015 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
If costumes reveal hidden facets of characters’ personalities, imagine the volumes their underwear, the bits and bobs only their most intimate acquaintances get to see, can speak. Jenny Gering, costume designer for FX’s cult-loved spy drama The Americans, recently collaborated with lingerie retailer Cosabella on a line inspired by the show, and that got us thinking about TV lingerie in general. What do our favorite TV characters wear under their clothes, and what do those choices say about them? And, more importantly, how can you score the undergarments from The Mindy Project or Masters of Sex? We asked eight costume designers to give us the scoop on how and why they picked everything from Elizabeth Jennings’ power slips to Abbi Abrams’ aspirational, normcore-affronting lady undies.
Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) on The Americans
The Look: “Elizabeth is powerful and sexy and elegant and refined, but always quietly so,” explains Gering. “She’s not overtly feminine or girly, and she’s not into frills. Her power comes from her confidence, and that’s how she dresses. That plays out in her lingerie choices: refined lace, beautiful Egyptian cotton.” Elizabeth’s choice of lingerie, which includes a lot of slips, is also impacted by whether she’s at home or out portraying a character in the field. “When she’s out, she’s not Elizabeth,” Gering says. “Depending on what that disguise is, that informs how I dress her.”
Most Memorable Piece: “I love when she gets to do the garter belt…. It’s such a classic, sexy look. It was also retro sexy in the ’80s.”
Where to Buy: Click here to buy Cosabella pieces inspired by Elizabeth Jennings.
Insider Styling Tips: “The thing women need to understand is that there’s not one thing on an actress or a model that hasn’t been taped or fitted or altered or manipulated in some way,” Gering says. “We nip and tuck slips. We’ll shorten something even a quarter of an inch to make it perfect.”
Abbi Abrams (Abbi Jacobson) on Broad City
The Look: “Abbi’s undergarments on the show are romantic, feminine, and always mismatched,” says the show’s costume designer, Staci Greenbaum. “We often see a more normcore exterior for her, but that comes from being a pragmatic adult. Abbi’s undergarments reflect the more romantic and aspirational side of her that I think is sometimes suppressed just a little bit to keep that cooler low-key exterior.”
Most Memorable Piece: In recent episode “Knockoffs,” Abbi donned a lilac Elle Macpherson bra with a black Hanky Panky thong. “The thong served two purposes for us,” says Greenbaum. “The first being that it highlighted Abbi’s incredible hourglass shape. The lace is romantic; the silhouette reminiscent of a pinup girl.” As for the second purpose? We suggest you watch the episode…
Where to Buy: Greenbaum sources the show’s undergarments from designers such as Free People, HM, LF, ASOS, and Victoria’s Secret, always making it a point to stay within a reasonable budget for the characters.
Insider Styling Tips: Only realism on this show: “We try to stay very true to the realness factor while working on Broad City,” Greenbaum says. “What you see is all Abbi.”
Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) on Scandal
The Look: “Olivia’s undergarments have to work with everything she is wearing,” says costume designer Lyn Paolo. “We often match the color of a garment…. We have even dyed undergarments to ensure that there was a seamless transition from the underpinnings to the costume.” She adds: “Most of the time we are trying to hide that the underwear exists at all. However, in the few moments that we do see underwear, her underwear is possibly more feminine than we might have imagined it to be.”
Most Memorable Piece: “The use of the underwire from Olivia’s Heidi Klum Intimates bra was a moment,” Paolo notes of the recent episode in which Olivia deconstructs her bra in an attempt to escape capture.
Where to Buy: Paolo buys a lot of Pope’s pieces from La Perla. If you want to hatch your own escape plan, you can score the Heidi Klum Intimates Sabine Contour Balconette Bra here.
Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham) on Girls
The Look: “Hannah’s underwear [choices] are very funny, which is not usually how TV lingerie is approached,” says costume designer Jenn Rogien. “Her underwear is really underwear–it’s not lingerie–and it’s a bit of an afterthought for her. The colors are very much dull and muted, but still have the whimsical patterns we see in the rest of her closet. It speaks to how much Hannah likes to be comfortable in her clothing, and how much her clothing is about the things she finds entertaining.”
Most Memorable Piece: “There’s a very hilarious scene of Hannah trying to seduce Adam and wearing completely out-of-character lingerie,” Rogien notes of the black Agent Provocateur piece Hannah wore last season. “She ended up looking ridiculous, and that was the point. It was hilarious and upsetting at the same time.”
Where to Buy: Most of Hannah’s underwear comes from The Gap, from the Gap Body line (Rogien overdyes all the new panties to make them seem old and worn, but you can let time do that on its own). For bras, try Urban Outfitters and Aerie.
Insider Styling Tips: “Like with the rest of Hannah’s wardrobe, flattering is never the goal,” Rogien says. “There are times when you will see underwear lines, and on another show, or on another character, that would be annoying. But with her it’s intentional.” Don’t worry about matching, either. “The old rules of dressing where you shouldn’t see bra straps, or your underwear should match your bra, don’t apply for this younger group of girls, who are more whimsical and free,” Rogien says.
For the second half of this article—including where to buy Dr. Mindy Lahiri’s intentional pops of color and Virginia Johnson’s vintage nighties—click back over next week.
