One of the most depressing aspects of the landscape of bringing up children is the cacophony of crude colours or sickly pastels. (Luckily my small grandson prefers a more muted palette: any kind of hose pipe, mobile phones, tools, car steering wheels.. ) I turn to Hollywood musical ensembles or ballet on You Tube to find the World's unsung colourist heroes - costume designers. The gift of creating a moving tableau that is gorgeous but subtle, I always find miraculous.
Well here, the bold juxtaposition of pink and red, or pink and vermillion is not exactly subtle but they really pull it off in these two films. As a child with red hair, my mother would never let me wear pink. As much as I loved her, I never forgave her then and still don't.
Here is Rosemary Clooney in Red Garters (1954) directed by George Marshall. Costumes by Edith Head. (No surprise there for genius.)
And Dorothy Jeakins created these shockingly wonderful petticoats in The Music Man (1962) dir. Morton DaCosta.
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