Laurie Strode from Halloween

Character: Laurie Strode

Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis

Film: John Carpenter's Halloween (1978)

What is Laurie wearing? Look #1

A modest forest green turtleneck, tan cable knit cardigan, knee length floral print skirt, cream tights, and penny loafers. She looks like she is going to teach her friends Latin or hound them for their overdue library books, instead of talking about boys. Laurie looks homely, conservative, covered, and virginal. She's very different then Annie & Lynda (the popular girls at school, who of course both have boyfriends).

How does it fit? Look #1

Laurie wears flattering garments, but still feels covered. Her snug sweater is a turtleneck and it has a cardigan over it. Her legs are showing, but are in tights. She is not in pants at school, like the other two girls, but changes into them later that night for Look #2.

How is it styled? Where is she wearing it? Look #1

Simply, Laurie feels non fussy, like she spent time getting ready, but not with the intent to attract the opposite sex. She got dressed to go to school, sit in class, take notes, and learn, not to pick up boys, flirt with them, and ask them to go to the homecoming dance. Laurie's hair often covers her face, while Annie's & Lynda's hair are both perfectly pinned back. Laurie is not so pulled together with belts, platform wedges, rolled up sleeves, or letter-men styled track jackets. Annie & Lynda appear to be older in a sexual way, while Laurie feels older in an elderly way.

What does this tell us about Laurie?

How do we view Laurie in it? Look #1

Laurie is not the bad girl, the slut, or the leader of this group of girls (like Annie & Lynda). She is the good girl (the final girl in Slasher film terms), the one who will be able to out run, out smart, and survive the killer due to the fact that she won't be distracted by boys, drinking, smoking, or sex. Laurie is the responsible, wholesome babysitter, who you can trust with your children... even when Michael Myers starts butchering people.

What is Laurie wearing/fit/style? Look #2

After school, on her way to her baby-sitting gig, she looks more similarly dressed to her girl friends, not so up-tight. Her hair is pinned back; she's wearing a navy v-neck sweater under an unbuttoned baby blue collared shirt, a pair of high-waisted flared jeans, and a heeled boot. The jeans are not as quite as body hugging as Annie's & Lynda's pairs, but still show off her long slender figure. It's styled similar Annie's school look, yet when Annie picks Laurie up, Annie's changed into a relaxed flannel and tank top. Laurie is always just one step behind; once again she looks covered up. Laurie's Look #2 appears to be telling us "yes, I can fit in with my friends."

Laurie's Look #2 becomes dissolved throughout the ending of film. She removes her sweater, but even as Michael Myers is chasing her, her button up doesn't come off, undone, or unbuttoned for that matter. She stays covered unlike Annie, who spills popcorn butter on herself and wears a men's white over-sized dress shirt around until her death or Lynda who's pretty much naked during her death. Laurie survives the film. Is this because she wasn't undressed? Did her clothing save her from Michael Myers? Maybe, until the sequels anyway... no, it was her actions in the clothing. Laurie Strode happens to be one of the few smart 17 year olds, who did what she was told in a horror film, kept the two children under her care safe, and managed to protect herself in the process. Her sweet, naive, yet strong "ultimate final girl" look is reflected in her clothing right from the start. We know right off the bat, this girl's gonna live!

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Diane Freeling from Poltergeist (revisited)

The reason why Diane's clothing was picked?

To fool the audience into thinking the horror is over. It lets them take their hair down, take off their pants, change into their "favorite" sleep shirt and block out the world with Diane, taking a fake breather before having to survive the climax of the film. + The jersey dress is a reddish orange, a take charge, in your face, kind of color, which the audience will be easy to follow during Diane's ordeals (a.k.a. swimming around with skeletons in their half installed in-ground pool and not letting her children get sucked back into their closet.)

How does Diane's clothing fit?

The fit of her clothing is over sized and slouchy, hanging loosely off her frame, making Diane appear smaller (weaker) then she really is. Never underestimate a mother on a mission.

How is Diane styled?

Diane is anti-styled, she's styled effortlessly. She's very simple with no make-up, no shoes, and no pants. She's not glamorous. She doesn't plan on impressing or seeing anyone else besides her family for the day. She has changed out of her "day" clothes and is now relaxing in her "private" clothing in her "private" bedroom space. She's lounging comfortably behind closed doors.

Where Diane goes in her clothing & how it changes how we view it?

Diane looks comfortable in her bedroom, yet vulnerable in the next scene as she's being dragged around its ceiling by the poltergeist. Her look changes due to her situation and her locations going from private to public spaces. Her "private" attire looks inappropriate outside her house, for example not wearing any pants in public, especially at the end when she is at the Holiday Inn.

Overall, putting Diane in a garment the audience knows, wears, or can recognize themselves really grounds her character and her look. It makes her poltergeist situation more real life and tangible, placing them or their moms in Diane's pant less predicament. When Diane is thrown into public areas in her pant less look, we feel exposed for her. We feel out of place. We want to stay hidden in the comforts of her house with her, yet her house has become a house of horrors and SHE MUST GET OUT!

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