Costume Analysis of The Little Colonel.
In The Little Colonel, the director uses costume to define a true Southern flare. This movie represents the stereotype of Southern attire, coat tails, big hats, and hoop skirts. The Colonel, the women, the children, and the servants all show different styles of dress from today's time in this picture.
The Colonel, Grandfather Lloyd, always was dressed to the nines. He was the typical Southern, Southern views and Southern ways. When it came to dressing, he knew what was right and what was wrong. For dinner parties he wore a black suit, with coat tails. For the every day, he dressed in his white suit, a more relaxed look. Today he represented the KFC Colonel, right down to the black necktie. The Colonel never thought twice about coming out in trousers and a button up. He knew what it meant to have money and he was going to use it to dress nice, so everyone knew. .
The women in The Little Colonel always dressed in ruffles, layers, and with a bustled back. Elizabeth, the Colonel's daughter, was taught to dress for success, and dress like a woman. While she was under her father's house, she would always have all the trimmings of lace and flowers. Once, Elizabeth broke from her fathers control her wardrobe relaxed a little bit, by not being to frilly, but she still knew how a woman should look. Elizabeth dressed prim and proper, especially on travel and for her guests. While at home, she would wear simple dresses with bows and her apron for cleaning and cooking, but would always be ready at a minutes notice. The older women in the picture, especially the visiting Aunt, dressed much more formally. She was dressed from head to toe in a heavy fabric. Her outfit was a jacket and long skirt made with many buttons and very distinguished, showing her wealth.
The children of this picture consisted of Lloyd Sherman and the little pickaninnies. On the Army base, Lloyd dressed very nice, with a dress, jacket, and hat, all trimmed out with bows.
