Fashion Corner: It Was Designed for a Dainty Neck

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

That silver thing was a necklace? I thought it was part of the dress.

[Maherjunkie]

I did too!

[Blakeston]

I assumed it was part of the dress, because it wouldn't make much sense for them to be wearing identical necklaces.

 

But now I see that they were apparently wearing identical earrings, too, I guess they just styled both women exactly the same to add to the humor.

[AndySmith]

A fun list of some of the occasional fashion missteps the Girls made over the years.

[Bastet]

Selecting bad outfits on GG is like shooting fish in a barrel; the real challenge would be to compile a list of 20 wardrobe choices that actually look good.

 

I have to say, though, that smock outfit is one of the few of Dorothy's I kind of like.

[LilWharveyGal]

Aww, Blanche's "paw print" robe was always one of my favorites.  

[Miss Chevious]

Why didn't they make them wear shorts more? They're in Miami where it's in the 80's for most of the year. Logically they'd be in shorts or Capri pants a lot more instead of those stuffy dresses and sweaters. As a Florida resident, I can tell you with certainty the dress code in general is relaxed casual. I can see that they would dress up for parties, dances, museum events, etc. but not for every day. Rose, Blanche, Dorothy and even Sophia had good figures, they could have carried it off. As a matter of fact, I think there was only one episode (the Viedenflugen one) where only Rose wore a pair of shorts.

[AndySmith]

Because they were filming in a studio, I presume. The studio has to be kept cold as possible so that the lights don't melt the make-up of their faces.

[Bastet]

In shorts, they'd be cold off the active set, but feel fine under the lights while shooting; it's typical for actors to have a coat draped over them as soon as they walk out of camera range to account for the studio temperature.  They could have put them in clothing more appropriate to Miami without making the actors uncomfortable.  I wonder if the "old people are always cold" mindset affected the costume designer. 

[Bort]

I was at a baseball game today and saw a guy wearing this t-shirt: 

[ShadowSixx]

In the episode In a Bed of Roses where Al Beatty died in Rose's bed and Rose was going on a cruise with Arnie and wore this hideous green dress with two big flaps in the front and Blanche said the sales lady must've been a pilgrim. That's exactly what Rose looked like a pilgrim. That dress was just fugly as hell.

[MoistestCake]

On 14/07/2014 at 7:18 PM, Bastet said:

Dorothy's clothes frightened me through pretty much the entire series.  Rose's wardrobe wasn't anything to write home about, but it was just sort of there.  Dorothy's was distractingly bad so much of the time.  I didn't like any of her formal wear - and, yes, that construction paper garland on the wedding dress takes the cake - and didn't care much more for her casual attire.  And I hated those white boots of hers.

Someone might have said this already but on one occasion, Dorothy looked better than Blanche - when they both bought the same "one of a kind" peach coloured dress. Dot pulled it off better. 

[schnauzergirl]

1 minute ago, MoistestCake said:

Someone might have said this already but on one occasion, Dorothy looked better than Blanche - when they both bought the same "one of a kind" peach coloured dress. Dot pulled it off better. 

I think Dorothy looked her best in slacks and long sweaters.  Often her clothes had drapes, drapes, and then just to be sure, more drapes.

[Ria]

Didn't the wardrobe department see a copy of the script when selecting outfits? I saw the episode where there’s a heat wave and it’s 95 and humid outside. The girls come in from playing softball. They are wearing long sleeve knits and Dorothy is dressed in layers! Then they are complaining  how hot it is in the house with the AC broken and they are still wearing longish sleeves and layers and Sophia is wearing a heavy bathrobe.  I realize older women often don’t want to show their upper arms but they just look silly considering the dialogue. 

[FormerMod-a1]

I hated that one, too.  Thery could wear short sleeves and lighter pants.  They didn't need to be in shorts and tank tops, but the heavy clothes and long sleeves was just too much.  And they had shown them in lighter weight clothes many times before, even short sleeves, so I don't get it.

[Gothish520]

On 3/25/2016 at 4:44 PM, Bastet said:

Selecting bad outfits on GG is like shooting fish in a barrel; the real challenge would be to compile a list of 20 wardrobe choices that actually look good.

 

Yes, for the most part their clothes were ugly, even by 1980's standards. Why was Dorothy always swathed in so much fabric? They could've taken her clothes down at least one size if not more. Rose's clothes were awful as well. Sophia occasionally wore a nice cardigan, but seeing as she was supposed to be in her 80s I can forgive her wardrobe choices. Blanche was hit and miss, mostly miss, but they did put her in some pretty dresses on occasion. 

[ShadowSixx]

Dorothy's Prized Pupil episode when Rose, Blanche, and Sophia are on the lanai, those shorts on Rose were so ill fitting. It didn't compliment her at all.

I do agree with Jasper DeKimmel, those shoes Rose wore with that blue dress was hideous and didn't go together.

I don't like Blanche's blue sequined dress she wore to the dance marathon and also wore it when going out to dinner with Barbara Thorndyke. I just don't like sequins, they're hideous.

Dorothy's outfit when they thought Sophia was having a heart attack. That was hideous and I thought the top half was on backwards because when Rose was telling her Herring Surprise pie Dorothy did that fake laugh and turned around and buttons were down the back.

Also that ugly purple monstrosity Dorothy wore on her first date with Eddie. Purple is a beautiful color but it is hit or miss with clothes. Either you love it or hate it. Purple mostly work for sleepwear or sports jerseys.

One of Dorothy's rare nice outfits is the one she wore to career day IMO. It was simple, white blouse, pink blazer, and a printed dress but she wore it with those hideous boots. The blazer could have been more fitted instead of baggy but Dorothy was able to pull it off.

[Ria]

I hate that pink dress Rose has with the big black bow in the middle. Why is there a black bow in the middle of a pink dress?

I do like the glittery black (or is it navy?) dress she wore at the dance club in the last scene of the episode where Miles is introduced.  

[Snow Apple]

I'd forgotten how hideous the drape-like peach dress that both Dorothy and Blanche brought was until seeing them again right now. Dorothy might have gotten away with it due to her height, but it was especially awful on Blanche and it made her look shorter and baggy.

I can't believe they trashed Dorothy's first dress which was just basic black, but thought this was glamorous. It was bad even for the 80's.

[BigBingerBro]

57 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

I'd forgotten how hideous the drape-like peach dress that both Dorothy and Blanche brought was until seeing them again right now. Dorothy might have gotten away with it due to her height, but it was especially awful on Blanche and it made her look shorter and baggy.

I can't believe they trashed Dorothy's first dress which was just basic black, but thought this was glamorous. It was bad even for the 80's.

How about that final outfit with the black top and gold lamé bowtie and skirt?  It looked fairly OK on Sophia, but they didn't even have Blanche wear it.

[scarynikki12]

I do think the peach color was very flattering on both Bea and Rue but, yes, the dress design was hideous.

[Woopwoopkitty]

I’ve seen a few episodes where Sophia is wearing so much bronzer it’s dangerously close to blackface.

[Madding crowd]

My issue with the peach dress was that it didn’t look like something Blanche would ever wear. Same with the outfit that matched Sophia’s. Blanche liked sexier outfits and her going out dresses were all lower cut, shorter or had more bling.

[Ria]

I know styles change over the years, but all those fussy outfits the girls wear, even around the house, makes them seem old. Same thing with the men in their suits and sports jackets. Everyone I know, even my 80+ year old mom and her friends, mostly wear jeans and sweatshirts or T-shirt’s and flip flops or sneakers. 

[BigBingerBro]

Even since I heard that Rue's contract stated that she was to keep the wardrobe she wore on the show, I've been paying a lot more attention to the clothes.  She definitely had the best outfits but I can imagine that many of them were outdated looking five years later.  I wonder if she actually wore the clothes afterwards or just hung onto them as mementos.   I know that someone (her son or a fan) still has them and Betty White was interviewed by that person among the outfits.

[Blakeston]

 

 

1

On 10/10/2018 at 12:50 PM, Gothish520 said:

Yes, for the most part their clothes were ugly, even by 1980's standards. Why was Dorothy always swathed in so much fabric?

To be honest, I think Bea Arthur insisted on hiding the size of her rear end. 

[Ria]

4 hours ago, Blakeston said:

To be honest, I think Bea Arthur insisted on hiding the size of her rear end. 

Well it worked because Dorothy always seemed the slimmest other than Sophia. 

[mmecorday]

Quote

I know styles change over the years, but all those fussy outfits the girls wear, even around the house, makes them seem old. Same thing with the men in their suits and sports jackets. Everyone I know, even my 80+ year old mom and her friends, mostly wear jeans and sweatshirts or T-shirt’s and flip flops or sneakers. 

I remember a time when women of a certain age all had the same hairstyle -- short and permed. I see a lot of women the Golden Girls' ages who now sport long hair, which I was always told ages a person. The ladies I see in their 60s and 70s and even 80s look great with their long locks. I'm jealous because I can't grow my hair long -- it's too thin.

[Miss Chevious]

12 hours ago, mmecorday said:

I remember a time when women of a certain age all had the same hairstyle -- short and permed. I see a lot of women the Golden Girls' ages who now sport long hair, which I was always told ages a person. The ladies I see in their 60s and 70s and even 80s look great with their long locks. I'm jealous because I can't grow my hair long -- it's too thin.

It's the "Eduardo" look. Short, permed and teased. It's the style of choice for practically every old lady (70 and up) everywhere. Church, bingo, grocery store...I see it everywhere. I told my kids, if I ever talk about getting a haircut and a perm when I get to that age, shoot me!

[BigBingerBro]

5 hours ago, Miss Chevious said:

It's the "Eduardo" look. Short, permed and teased. It's the style of choice for practically every old lady (70 and up) everywhere. Church, bingo, grocery store...I see it everywhere. I told my kids, if I ever talk about getting a haircut and a perm when I get to that age, shoot me!

It's becoming less common actually.  I live in retirement-central (like the "girls" - Florida) and many ladies are wearing their hair longer or if it's short, it's not permed and the cut is more modern.  This isn't to say that the "eduardo" has gone completely, I still see it, but it's not as prevalent here.

[LilWharveyGal]

This ad keeps popping up on Primetimer for me.  I can't believe that in 2020 somebody is still selling Dorothy's nightgown!

[Ria]

In the Rusty Anchor episode where Dorothy becomes popular, in the bathroom scene where Dorothy and Blanche are talking, I was noticing how much more attractive Dorothy looked than Blanche. Talk, slim, elegantly dressed, beautifully coiffed hair, nice jewelry. Dorothy may not have had the prettiest face but could look quite stunning when styled right. 

Edited January 20, 2020 by Ria

[mmecorday]

Shakira looked like she bought Blanche's red sequined pant suit and had it altered for her Super Bowl performance.

[fleurfairy]

Worst hairstyle on the show? Kate 2.0’s hideous mullet. What the hell was her hairdresser thinking. 

[BigBingerBro]

24 minutes ago, fleurfairy said:

Kate 2.0’s hideous mullet.

I remember that doing the rounds in the late 80's  I thought it was hideous then but I remember many ladies thinking it was "cute".

[One Tough Cookie]

re: the 70s--the decade fashion forgot;  WE WERE TOO STONED TO CARE!

[linkn]

Maybe their fashion was trendy at the time, but now it's a disaster

[shapeshifter]

I love a lot of Dorothy's outfits, as well as The Nanny's. 

[qtpye]

I just heard a youtuber describe Dorothy's fashion style as both sophisticated and ugly. Both of theses things are true.

On 1/20/2020 at 8:41 AM, Ria said:

In the Rusty Anchor episode where Dorothy becomes popular, in the bathroom scene where Dorothy and Blanche are talking, I was noticing how much more attractive Dorothy looked than Blanche. Talk, slim, elegantly dressed, beautifully coiffed hair, nice jewelry. Dorothy may not have had the prettiest face but could look quite stunning when styled right. 

Honestly, Bea Arthur was quite a handsome woman. I guess we were supposed to find her unattractive because she was not typically feminine and dainty, but it never bothered me.  Most of the best looking sons come from handsome woman.

[Snow Apple]

I never thought Bea was unattractive, but I think it also has to do with her confidence and dignified manner. She always stood up straight and looked people in the eye. She was also humorous and had warmth. 

She wasn't one to apologize for not being pretty and stick thin like a lot of women do (at least I've never seen it), and that's attractive. 

[Not4Me]

On 6/9/2019 at 10:36 AM, Snow Apple said:

I'd forgotten how hideous the drape-like peach dress that both Dorothy and Blanche brought was until seeing them again right now. Dorothy might have gotten away with it due to her height, but it was especially awful on Blanche and it made her look shorter and baggy.

I hate to say this but Blanche also didn’t have the bosom to pull it off either, which made it even more unflattering. Dorothy had the advantage of height to own it better. But the fit would’ve probably been more forgiving on a more buxom woman.

 

[MaggieG]

I really liked Blanche's yellow blazer like top and black skirt when they met the President. "Mrs Devereaux, you may want to cover up."

[SweetSin]

Barbara Thorndyke's dress at the end of episode was ugly as hell. The color was not for her, the top half looked unfinished, the dress had this unflattering diagonal thing going on. It also had so many folds around the crotch area which made it look like she had a penis.

Dorothy's dress in the same episode with Thorndyke at the end was too big. If it was slightly more form fitting it would have looked better. With Dorothy everything was just big on her. I think what would have helped is if she was baggy on top then form fitting on bottom and vice versa cause she mostly looked like a shopping bag full of groceries. 

[eatsleep]

On 1/20/2020 at 8:41 AM, Ria said:

In the Rusty Anchor episode where Dorothy becomes popular, in the bathroom scene where Dorothy and Blanche are talking, I was noticing how much more attractive Dorothy looked than Blanche. Talk, slim, elegantly dressed, beautifully coiffed hair, nice jewelry. Dorothy may not have had the prettiest face but could look quite stunning when styled right. 

I always thought Bea was the most attractive of the four. She just played a homely character. When she was on Maude, she was never chided for being unattractive.

On 9/14/2020 at 11:09 PM, shapeshifter said:

I love a lot of Dorothy's outfits, as well as The Nanny's. 

The huge oversized sweaters and oversized dressy sweatshirts were 80's gold!

On 3/25/2016 at 4:44 PM, Bastet said:

Selecting bad outfits on GG is like shooting fish in a barrel; the real challenge would be to compile a list of 20 wardrobe choices that actually look good.

They all kept w/ the same look episode after episode, season after season.

Dorothy - huge oversized tops w/ interesting, detailed necklines. Huge, soft leather slouch bags. (White pants, sandals, slouch boots a lot.)

Rose - Surplice dresses (deep v-neck where one side crosses over the other) with a self belt or other narrowed waist

Sophia - Shirtwaist dress w/ cardigan or nondescript pants and blouse w/ cardigan. Little structured bag. Sensible shoes

Blanche - Flowy top w matching or coordinating joggers. Kitten heel slides

[eatsleep]

Was it just me or Rue gain a lot of weight after the first season?

Estelle was said to have gotten a facelift after the first season but I couldn't tell.

I preferred Rue's hairstyle during the early first season to any hair style she ever wore later.

I loved Blanche's palm tree bedroom....but I guess that is an unpopular opinion.

I thought Blanche's "slutty" niece Lucy had great wardrobe!

[BigBingerBro]

3 hours ago, eatsleep said:

I loved Blanche's palm tree bedroom....but I guess that is an unpopular opinion.

My late partner loved it too.  I always felt it was "Florida" gaudy.  

[BigBingerBro]

RE: Betty/Rose's hair...

They make a lot of jokes about her hair; Looks like cotton candy, it's the color of a twinkie, hair dye bought from the clearance bin at the Pick n Save, etc

I know her hairstyle is rather outdated, but I honestly cannot picture her in a more modern style, can you?  I think it truly suits her.  Thoughts?

[Sun-Bun]

On 2/21/2021 at 10:30 AM, BigBingerBro said:

RE: Betty/Rose's hair...

They make a lot of jokes about her hair; Looks like cotton candy, it's the color of a twinkie, hair dye bought from the clearance bin at the Pick n Save, etc

I know her hairstyle is rather outdated, but I honestly cannot picture her in a more modern style, can you?  I think it truly suits her.  Thoughts?

I thought it really worked well for her! Betty was always a natural brunette with curly hair, so it made sense for her to go a few shades lighter with her advanced age and for her to keep up those curls for more body.
Kinda funny how she sported the typical newscaster style of “hair that doesn’t move” as they regularly joked about on there...

[One Tough Cookie]

I thought that Ru's dress when she was dating Ham Rushbough--black,long and with arose was pretty for its' time. Simple and elegant. Which is not something you can say about those fashions!😁                                                                            rre:  Barbara Thorndyke's dress when all of them are going out--I hated the dress but I absolutely LOVED the color.

Edited March 13, 2021 by One Tough Cookie
spelling counts

[Snow Apple]

In the episode where Stan marries Katherine, Blanche and Rose have on nice fitted outfits (for the 80's). Dorothy's outfit once again looks like drapery.