Costumes (Women)

Costumes assist in setting the scene for films. They make the entire movie more realistic in terms of setting and characters. ‘The Godfather’ is a movie that clearly shows the careful decision-making that went into the wardrobe choices. The majority of the women present in this film are the wives of mafia members. They dress extremely inconspicuously in neutral dresses that blend into the backdrop. In a sense it portrays a sliver of the sexism present in the film. The women are just of the part of the background. Their clothes don’t provide them any other choice. They are not part of the business and their wardrobe choices depict just that.

Kay Adams and Appoliana, the two scarlet women, are the exceptions to this rule.  Both these women are pleasantly dressed in clothes that grab attention. Neither are directly parts of the mafia (yet). This difference in clothing assists in setting these two women aside from the rest. It, also, helps to identify them each as ‘the scarlet woman’.