California Apparel News

The Movie: “The Banger Sisters”

The costume designer: Jacqueline West, a former fashion designer with shops in Northern California (La De Da, Jacqueline West) and formerly available at Barneys New York. She also designed costumes for “Quills” and “Just One Night.”

Rocking out: Dressing a middle-aged rock ’n’ roll groupie, Goldie Hawn’s Suzette, came naturally to West. She grew up in Northern California in the ’60s and ’70s and is still friends with groupies from the period—many of whom got hitched to musicians and are still living the scene. She was inspired by a friend who lived with a musician from Jefferson Airplane whose whole wardrobe could fit in a purse, because musicians were always on the move. “It was all sexy and one-of-a-kind items,” says West. “Every groupie I’ve ever known was a great, eclectic dresser. They’re still trendsetters even in their 50s. They buy Prada and put it together with vintage stuff or ethnic pieces or whatever they can afford. They’re not trapped in any era. Suzette doesn’t have a lot of money, but the idea for her was once you have that sense of fashion, you can do that for the rest of your life.”

Key elements: Hawn’s wardrobe came together with only a few key items—it’s that everything-fits-in-a-purse mentality. For one, there are no skirts. During pre-production, West met a middle-aged groupie in Los Angeles who invited her to a music bar in that city’s Los Feliz section. “I said, ’How come no one wears dresses?’” says West. “She said, ’Because the seats are dirty.’ Goldie liked that.” So she wears vintage jeans (heavily studded by West), floral pants found on Santee Street in the Los Angeles Fashion District, an antique biker jacket, a vintage Balinese embroidered top, an antique satin embroidered jacket, several camisoles, one of West’s own ’70s rocker studded belts, silver wedgies, a silver mesh halter and a new beaded bag from Santee Street.

You should know: The dozen-plus silver bangles Hawn wears on one wrist are West’s, pieces she collected from her travels in Mexico, Morocco and India. “I had a big, long stack on one day and I said to Goldie, ’I think you should wear something like this.’ She said, ’Those are fantastic.’ She never took them off, even at night when she went home.”

Suburban chic: Fellow “Banger Sister” Susan Sarandon’s Vinnie is a rich suburbanite who eschews her former rock life. Her wardrobe is a collection of unbelievably bland, all-beige Calvin Klein and Donna Karan suits, both with skirts and trousers.

Best shopping city: West’s shopping spree took her from San Francisco to London and Los Angeles and the last city won. “It’s really geared to the music world. It has its own cutting-edge stuff. I think what happens in younger, hipper fashion starts in London, Soho, Camden Town [in London]. But L.A. has an edge even New York doesn’t have that lends itself to the music world. New York is more ’Sex & the City.’ Here, the girls who hang out with rock ’n’ rollers shop on Hollywood Boulevard, combine it with Prada, Fred Segal,” she says. Besides Santee Street, West shopped vintage stores on Melrose Avenue, sexy stores in Hollywood (“I loved Ultra Vixen on Wilcox”), and boutiques on Beverly and La Brea boulevards (including American Rag) and Vermont Avenue.

Inspiration: Although not every middle-aged woman could or would want to emulate Hawn’s sexy-eclectic look, West hopes women who see the movie will be inspired “to take some risks beyond the designer department.” Maybe they’ll put together an embroidered Indian kurta blouse with a pair of Calvin Klein pants or a vintage Victorian lace top or wilder shoes. Says West: “Women who just wear designer stuff end up looking older than they are. Suzette dresses without consideration to her age. She’s just wearing what she likes. Women should dress from the inside out, reveal their inner riches, wear things that are reflections of their personality. It’s really the advice Suzette gives Vinnie. Don’t lose your playfulness.” —Betty Goodwin