When she won a Golden Globe for “The Devil Wears Prada,” Meryl Streep was at her best about the role costume design could play in movies, while thanking costume designer Patricia Field: “They were like special effects for our movie.”
Indeed, “special effects” is what Pat Field’s effervescent touch brings to any project she signs her name to, the most popular of which is undoubtedly HBO’s “Sex and the City.” With the exception perhaps of “Mad Men,” has there been another culturally iconic television series in the past quarter-century that has influenced, and even evolved, the way people dress in their daily lives?
Director: Michael Selditch
Stars: Jean Michel Basquiat, Kim Cattrall, Lily Collins
So it’s no easy task to do justice to the life and legacy of Field, a colorful New York City personality about whom a book was recently published. (Field doesn’t call it an autobiography, since that word sounds too definitive to her.) But more versed in episodic productions like CNN’s four-part docuseries “American Style” than feature films, director Michael Selditch gives this mammoth task a shot anyway in “Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field” with mixed results.
“Happy Clothes” gives us an intriguing snapshot of a creative force who can mix patterns and colors more boldly than anyone in the business. But it ultimately leaves us wanting to move on. The plot is meandering and unfocused overall with a record that feels random episodically. It satisfies occasionally when it focuses on Field’s storied past and her personality at work.
Field’s shopping process for the second season of “Run the World” frames “Happy Clothes,” a title that references Field’s sweet spot when it comes to blissfully harmonious colors that allow her to “play with mismatched patterns.” In the meantime, we get a sumptuous parade of interviews featuring Field’s current and former collaborators, from “Sex and the City” stars Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker, to Lily Collins (“Emily in Paris”), showrunner and creator Darren Star, Michael Urie (“Ugly Betty”), and “House of Field” collaborators David Dalrymple and Steven “Perfidia” Kirkham, who owned their own wig department for more than a decade at Field’s iconic (and now closed) 50-year-old New York store.
Perfidia, as well as some of Field’s other former store employees — all current big stars — grace some of “Happy Clothes’” most enjoyable segments. Daphne Rubin-Vega and Laverne Cox recall their time with Field and how they once asked Madonna to wait outside the store until they finished vacuuming, or how they once told Cyndi Lauper, “Those shoes are so expensive.” (“I can afford them,” was her playful response to employees who didn’t recognize her at first.) But these idiosyncratic figures are reminiscent of how Field always encouraged them to embrace their sexual identity freely, in an era when such inclusive attitudes and safe spaces were woefully uncommon.
Fortunately, Selditch also makes room for Field’s own sexual identity: She discusses the loves of her life (one of whom we get to hear) as an openly gay woman. But “Happy Clothes” begins to have the unfortunate flavor of a rushed, promotional testimonial video mixed with an episode of “Project Runway,” making one wish for more archival footage and anecdotes of Field’s growth as a fashion genius. One of the film’s most telling stories is when Field recalls landing a job at a department store immediately after graduating, single-handedly boosting the store’s blouse sales with just her talent for visual display. As the interviews continue, one longs for more such stories about Field’s early instincts as a budding stylist.
To be fair, we do get to share some interesting memories with people like Cattrall, Parker and Collins, who tell us stories behind Carrie Bradshaw’s tutu and other crazy outfits (including this critic’s favorite: the ensemble with the pink shirt and green polka-dot belt that sits right on Carrie’s skin), Samantha Jones’s huge wide-brimmed hat and Emily’s evolution from bucket hats to fingerless gloves. There’s a lot of joy in these personalities recalling what made Field unique, with her willingness to spend time understanding the real human being behind the character, rather than generically imposing clothes on actors.
Still, seeing Field in action is the most valuable resource “Happy Clothes” has to offer, with a lengthy segment featuring Field and her team dressing the cast.
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