Noir Costume

In this post I'm going to be talking about costumes that are common in noir and neo-noir film.

First of all we have the our stereotypical protagonist, the detective. In the classic noir film they were often dressed in long trench coats, suits and fedoras while smoking a cigarette. This often gives them a sense of mystery as most of their bodies are covered by a large coat and their face is covered by a hat and the smoke masks the face and gives a deeper sense of mystery.

The Femme Fatale or the lead woman in noir film are usually fairly sexualised as a result of the time they were filmed in and women were still widely objectified as a merely love interests as a result it was common for them to appear as smartly dressed women in dresses or as a secretary dressed in a plain dress. But in classic noir they very rarely appear as a hero.

Finally the extras in most noir films follow the same guidelines as the lead detective normally being garbed in mystery wearing long coats and hats to cover the face. This was done to keep attention on the leads and away from them.