Cinema Fashion: The Gangsters Moll
April 27th 2008 00:02
The secret to snaring an evil object of lust
The Gangsters Moll, no I’m not talking about Cindy Crawford’s facial blemish, instead this is a post focusing on money hungry women, so obsessed with power they shack up with bad men.
Alluring on the surface, donned in glamorous clothes, instead of adding class manage to highlight their loose morality and poverty stricken beginnings before meeting their crime lord men.
Not to be confused with the Femme Fatale, these kept women are generally victims of circumstance. Superficial dames, manipulative, intelligent and demonstrative they embrace the finer things to define themselves by externalised materialism. Wardrobes of fur, silk and diamonds, even in the most elegant gown they ooze a raw sexual allure that somehow betrays there true motivations.
Jean Harlow in 1931’s The Public Enemy opposite James Cagney is a logical place to begin. She puts up with her abusive partner all the while prancing around in expensive fabrics.
Ava Gardner in The Killers looks dangerous in black, again seemingly subservient to her underworld master while holding power behind the scenes. Provactive, the legs and cleavage are weapons squeezed into this slinky black dress.
Marilyn Monroe in John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle is an ideal piece of property owned by an aged ringleader who has succeeded in accumulating enough moola to live in a mansion and want for little.
Jumping forward a prime example of everything a gangster’s moll should be, Sharon Stone in Casino. Money hungry, attracted to evil and always playing her own games, her costumes are evocative and disgusting displays of wealthy packaging.
There are so many great gagsters molls in film history to choose from, all armed with attitude to burn and black widow attraction. This post serves as only an introduction to the look that is still readily noticeable in society and certainly influences real life fashion every time a convincing portrayal appears on-screen.
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