Malèna & polka dots
Sometimes a simple detail makes me fall in love with a garment : a special colour, a beautiful fabric, a seductive print. With this polka dot skirt I had my little heart time and caught a glimpse of Monica Bellucci's Southern Italian style in Malèna . Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, the film is set during WW2 in a rural Italian town; Monica Bellucci plays an impossible vision of beauty, a woman so striking she is immediately sexualised by all who lay eyes on her. Malèna’s reaction to the leering male gaze and subsequent scorn of jealous women is expressed through her hair, make-up and clothing. Our introduction to the character occurs with Malèna wearing a just-below-the-knee white dress, lightly padded shoulders, deep neckline incorporating dotted bow detail (this fabric being reused later for another outfit) to match black and white edging on the revers. Its tubular fit is reminiscent of the form-fitting 1930's; Bellucci’s figure is emphasized within the story world, a...