Auntie Mame--Costuming


Figure 1.--Mame's nephew Patrick in the first part of the film wears smart short pants suits, always with perfectly pulled up knee socks. Here Patrick wears a brown suit. This was the opening salvo between Mame and Mr. Babcock. Notice the martini on the table.

Here HBC is primarily concerned with the boys' costuming which primarily means Patrick's sostumes. Mame's nephew Patrick in the first part of the film wears smart short pants suits, always with perfectly pulled up knee socks. His school uniform is a black short pants suit, with an English-style peaked school cap. I'm not sure how accurate this was. By the 1940s the standard American short pants suit was black or navy blue, but I'm not sure this was the case in 1929. His outfits seem more 1950s styles. Patrick is delighted with Aunty Mame buys him his first long pants. He wants to put them on right away. There is a follow up scene several years later when Patrick is in college. Mame buys him a pair of Bermuda shorts which were becoming popular among older boys at the time and he is again delighted. At the end there is a brief scene with Patrick's son also smartly dressed in a short pants suit. One scene deals with clothing. The Christmas scene in which Patrick gets his first pair of long pants ("at last!" as he says) is memorable. It comes a bit out of nowhere, doesn't it, because Patrick hadn't indicated any resentment or any feelings at all towards his short pants suit previously. A HBC reader speculates while Patrick never expresses dislike for his short pants suits in the film, maybe his receiving long trousers for Christmas represents a coming of age ritual that would have been familiar to many boys at the time. His comments, then, reflect not disdain for "boys' clothes" but appreciation of his new, higher status (a step towards adulthood) symbolized by his long trousers.

Patrick

Here HBC is primarily concerned with the boys' costuming which primarily means Patrick's sostumes. Mame's nephew Patrick in the first part of the film wears smart short pants suits, always with perfectly pulled up knee socks. Jan's suit in the opening scenes of the film version looks gray. When we first see him and Nora he wears a full length overcoat, doesn't he? Only when he takes off the overcoat do we see his suit, I think. In the still from the play Jan's suit looks dark, possibly navy blue, but that may be just the way it photgraphed. His school uniform is a black short pants suit, with an English-style peaked school cap. I'm not sure how accurate this was. By the 1940s the standard American short pants suit was black or navy blue, but I'm not sure this was the case in 1929. His outfits seem more 1950s styles. Patrick is delighted with Aunty Mame buys him his first long pants. He wants to put them on right away. There is a follow up scene several years later when Patrick is in college. Mame buys him a pair of Bermuda shorts which were becoming popular among older boys at the time and he is again delighted. At the end there is a brief scene with Patrick's son also smartly dressed in a short pants suit. One scene deals with clothing. The Christmas scene in which Patrick gets his first pair of long pants ("at last!" as he says) is memorable. It comes a bit out of nowhere, doesn't it, because Patrick hadn't indicated any resentment or any feelings at all towards his short pants suit previously. A HBC reader speculates while Patrick never expresses dislike for his short pants suits in the film, maybe his receiving long trousers for Christmas represents a coming of age ritual that would have been familiar to many boys at the time. His comments, then, reflect not disdain for "boys' clothes" but appreciation of his new, higher status (a step towards adulthood) symbolized by his long trousers.

Michael

Patrick's son Michael appears briefly at the end of the film. The timing would be the late 40s or early 50s. Given what was going on in India/Pakistan during the latre-40s, I supose it would be the ealy 50s. Michael like his father wears a grey short pants suit like his father as a boy. Michael wears a grey short pants suit, and knee socks. Mame appropos of the journey has added a turban.








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Created: 2:52 AM 8/29/2008
Last updated: 7:16 PM 9/10/2008