Talking Scandal Style: An Evening with Costume Designer Lyn Paolo

Being a Gladiator on Scandal requires a few things - gut, fearlessness, and a killer wardrobe. Friday night I had the pleasure of hearing how Lyn Paolo, costume designer for Scandal, tells each character's story through their wardrobe.

Paolo's first career was teaching, but after moving to LA in the 1980's she started working with friends on music video sets. She would do anything on set that was needed, including getting the coffee. After spending enough time in the business and getting to know enough people, one day someone said "You have great style, you should work in the costume department." Paolo went on to win major accolades for her costume designs for The West Wing, ER, as well as many films.

The lecture Friday evening was put on by the Smithsonian Associates and the discussion was moderated by Robin Givhan, Fashion Critic from the Washington Post. This was the second costume design lecture by the Smithsonian Associates I have attended, and it was as fabulous as the first! I am consistently fascinated by the amount of work and attention to detail that goes into dressing these characters. Below are a few highlights from the evening, enjoy Gladiators!

Working with a Budget {and Kerry Washington}

You would never think the words 'Scandal', 'Costume', and 'Budget' would go together in a single sentence, but they absolutely do. In fact, budget was as huge concern for Paolo when dressing Kerry Washington's character Olivia Pope. Olivia is not the typical DC career politician, who has to be cognizant of how expensive her clothes look. Olivia is outside the White House and Capitol Hill, she can wear Prada and Tory Burch all she wants without being viewed in a negative light.

When Paolo expressed her concerns regarding the costume budget, Washington went on a mission to fix the problem. She found enough money in production dollars to pay for her and Paolo to travel to New York for a day. While there, Washington set up appointments for her and Paolo at every designer she could think of. They discussed the show and the character, and by the end of the day they had donated pieces from every designer they visited, including an entire rack from Donna Karen. There you have it ladies, even Olivia Pope has to get creative on affording those luxury labels!

It's All About the Shoes 

As if we didn't know that already! Paolo insists that every character begins from the ground up - literally. When designing a character costume, she begins with selecting a shoe first and then builds the outfit around it. Paolo explains that your choice of footwear completely effects your posture, mood, and presence. For example, when first starting Scandal, they had Olivia in a stiletto heel. Washington wanted to embrace Olivia's ferocity with a strong walk; however, that stiletto heel was not doing the job. Paolo next put her in a chunky Prada heel, and Washington found Olivia's signature stomp - that fierce walk as she blows through the door and into the office. When Washington put on that shoe, she said, "I feel like her!" Ladies, the power of the right shoe. Need we say more?

Her Favorite Looks

A simple question, with a complicated answer. We all know Kerry Washington would look spectacular even in a paper sack, so it has to be difficult to narrow down Paolo's favorite looks into just two. Surprisingly, they were not the two I would have expected. The first is the Jean Fares gown from Season 2. That gorgeous strapless beaded number that Paolo says kills her, because Fitz never saw Olivia in it (this is from Episode Defiance, where Fitz is shot getting out of his limo).

The second favorite look is the Michael Kors Black and White Lace Sheath Dress, worn in episode "Happy Birthday, Mr. President", also in Season 2. Paolo loves this dress because it was worn in a flashback scene where we begin to understand the beginnings of Olivia and Fitz's relationship. Paolo says these backstory scenes are where she really fell in love with the show.

Left: Jean Fares Gown, Right: Michael Kors Sheath Dress

The LuLu Top We Will Never Forget 

You know exactly the look I'm talking about. Remember that perfect white running jacket from lululemon Olivia wears in the last scene of the last episode from Season 2?

Paolo leans forward in her seat and sets the scene for us. Olivia is supposed to be completely at peace in this moment. Happy, secure, strong - headed out for a run to embrace her sense of calm. Her hair is back in the most perfect bun ever seen before a run, and her signature black and white ensemble shines through. White ear buds, white tennis shoes (which Paolo painted completely white herself on set), and that amazing lululemon running jacket that was (literally) perfectly tailored to fit Washington's figure.

But as we Gladiators know, Olivia exits her building to find a swarm of reporters harassing her about being leaked as the President's mistress. If you go back and watch the scene, you will notice every single person is in all black - except for Olivia. Paolo says they doubled the amount of extras that day for impact in the shot, and the costume design crew had a hard time finding enough black pieces for each extra to wear. See what I mean? It's these little details that make an already impactful moment have that much more meaning.

The Perfect Pre-Run Look in lululemon

The costume design tells a story just as much as the dialogue. Pay close attention as you watch the new Season of Scandal, airing Thursdays at 9pm EST on ABC. All I want to know is, who's bringing the wine and popcorn?

Television Talk: Dressing DC for the Small Screen

On Wednesday night two of my favorite things combined: great fashion and addictive television.

I attended a lecture series at the Smithsonian called "Dressing DC for the Small Screen: Costume Designers from House of Cards and The Americans". The panel discussion included costume designers Jenny Gering (The Americans) and Tom Broecker (House of Cards: Season One).

Jenny and Tom were a total delight! They were warm, engaging, and most importantly, provided incredible insight into the level of thought and detail that goes into dressing the characters on these shows.

Below are a few snipits of information I found most interesting from the discussion. Enjoy!

Tom Broecker: House of Cards

Robin Wright as Claire Underwood on Netflix's House of Cards

On Claire's Shoes
Claire always wears heels because she is considered an equal to Frank.  In Tom's words, "If you are going to go toe-to-toe with a man, why not do it with a little extra height?"

Claire is a commanding woman with an equally strong presence. If you look closely, any scene that includes Claire and other women will show Claire to be the only one in heels. All the 'background women' are wearing flats. Clearly Claire's power goes all the way down to footwear.

People's posture change depending on what shoes they are wearing. For example, a woman stands very differently in heels than she does in flats. Claire's strength, confidence, and stature fiercely stand upon her Louboutins. Always.

On Claire's Clothing
Claire's clothes are her armor. Nothing can get to her through her wardrobe.

Claire never wears prints, Tom thinks they date too quickly. I couldn't agree more.

Claire often wears a great collared shirt, which serves the purpose of framing Robin Wright's exquisite face.

The show looked to women of European political stature, rather than here at home, for the inspiration of dressing Claire Underwood.  Specific references were Carla Bruni and Samantha Cameron.

So who does Claire wear? (Included, but not limited to)
Skirts - Gucci
Dresses - Ralph Lauren and Narciso Rodriguez
Cardigans - Ann Taylor
Collared Button Down Shirts - Banana Republic
Shoes - Christian Louboutin

Tom and his crew typically shop at department stores. Each garment needs to be altered to perfection, which is very difficult to do with loaned garments from fashion houses.

On Claire's Signature Bag
The Yves Saint Laurent Muse bag was meant to be a few years out of season when they shot Season One. In DC, and politics in general, it is considered vulgar to show your wealth. Your constituents might not be too happy to see you rolling around in money while they are trying to put food on the table. In this case, it's Claire re-purposing of an old-faithful rather than running off to Neiman's for the latest season's collection.

Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood in Netflix's House of Cards

On Dressing Kevin Spacey
Tom accompanied Kevin Spacey to London to work with a tailor he (Spacey) had a personal relationship with. Tom fitted him for twelve custom suits for Season One. Spacey thought sourcing the suits from London was a way of paying homage to the original House of Cards, based in the UK.

Apparently Kevin Spacey is obsessed with watches. He has up to eight at at time on set with the costume department. Someone's entire responsibility during shooting one day is to make sure the right watch stays with the right suit.

Spacey's character Frank Underwood wears a robin egg blue tie in Season One, the tie was actually Bill Clinton's. Apparently when the two men met in person they did a tie swap. I wonder what Bill got off of Kevin?

Frank is never dressed in a french cuff. The concept is that Frank should always be able to roll up his sleeves and 'get to work'.



Jenny Gering: The Americans

Kerri Russell as Elizabeth Jenning's on FX's The Americans

On Dressing Kerri Russell
Jenny says Kerri Russell is delightful to work with. She has her own ideas but trusts Jenny to know what is best for the character and the scene.

Russell's character Elizabeth is aware of her sex appeal, which she often uses to extract information from her targets; however, she doesn't overtly show it. The sexiest outfit Elizabeth might wear is a pair of really tight jeans or a silk blouse that has just one too many buttons undone.

Elizabeth & Philip Jennings disguised on FX's The Americans

On Creating Alter Egos
One of Phillip Jennings' (played by Matthew Rhys) most frequented alter egos is Kurt. The commentator asked if Kurt was wearing corduroy in one photo. Jenny said 'Oh no, corduroy is way too casual for Kurt! Kurt needs a blend...he's a permanent pressed kind-of guy.' If you watch the show and are familiar with the character of Kurt, you can understand why I cracked up at this moment of the discussion.

Often times the starting point for an alter ego is a wig. Inspiration has to come from somewhere!

Kerri Russell and Matthew Rhys on set of FX's The Americans

On Styling Characters for a Period Show
Jenny and her crew have partnerships with vintage shops across the country. Deadstock is the jackpot if they can find it. (Deadstock means vintage clothes that have never been worn, with the tags still on)

If she can get her hands on dups (duplicate items of the same clothing) it makes life so much easier for stunt scenes. It's less of a headache to re-shoot a blood spatter scene if you don't have to worry about cleaning the vintage suit in-between takes.

Jenny uses her mom's own vintage pieces quite often on Kerri Russell. Apparently there is a pair of boots that Jenny would die to have, but her Mom and Kerri Russell both have very small feet, and Jenny missed out on that gene.

When curating a wardrobe for an episode, Jenny wants to know down to the month when the writers have scripted the scene. For example, they start filming the next season soon and it opens in November of 1982. Jenny has been doing extensive research to find the perfect pieces to replicate the exact time and place of the show.

Fashion Lecture with Costume Designers from House of Cards and The Americans

Robin Wright as Claire Underwood on House of Cards

Washington, DC is more intriguing than ever thanks to shows like Scandal, House of Cards, Homeland, and The Americans.  Beyond the brilliant acting and writing, that makes each of these shows so addicting, is also the fashion.

Stunning choices are made by the show's costume designers each week that define the character almost as much as the actor themselves. I find the clothes, especially for each female character, to be so reflective of their power, strength, and sense of self. For example, opting for a structured wool dress as opposed to the traditional pant suit gives characters like Claire Underwood an intoxicating balance of both femininity and power.

Hear from the designers of House of Cards and The Americans at the lecture, "Dressing DC for the Small Screen" being hosted by Smithsonian on September 17th.

Hope to see you there!