cinematic fashion: Casino

One of my all time favorite movies has to be the 1995 crime drama Casino. The film's storyline is based in the 1970's-1980s and follows a man named Sam "Ace" Rothstein (played by Robert De Niro) who is a top gambler with some crime connections and an ambitious spirit. He's called by the mob to oversee the operations of a casino in Las Vegas and obviously with that description alone, you can pretty much predict that problems occur.

I'm a huge fan of mafia movies. Maybe it's the New Jersey in me? They're basically the only violent type movies I enjoy watching because I love the whole subculture and the way that their lives are depicted through film. Specifically, the styling. Mafia movies are known to glamorize this particular world of crime. The dapper suits, shiny shoes, slicked back hair, fancy cars and women covered in diamonds. The way women are styled in mafia movies is pretty interesting. Typically, there are two types of women in a mobster's life: the wife and the mistress.

The wife is typically styled with the big hair, modest yet still over the top everyday clothing, big nails, lots of make up, etc. But she's at home taking care of things and she's loyal. Think Carmella Soprano from the HBO hit show The Sopranos. The mistresses are usually styled in the tight, sexy cleavage baring garments, with (again) big hair, lots of makeup and jewelry. They're used to go out on the town and for sexual purposes. Through the way that these two types of characters are dressed, it's exploring the whole idea of the Maddonna/Whore complex.

In this theory, men want the pure woman who will be their loyal wife and a caring mother to their children, but they also want a woman to lust over and use like a sex object. The Wife and the Mistress represent both of these things for the mobster characters in these films and many other films, not just in the crime genre.

In Casino, the character of Ginger (played by Sharon Stone) is supposed to represent both of these categories. She's what happens when you marry a mistress, or marry a woman that has 'mistress intentions'. Oh, and she's also insane.

Throughout his life of danger and greed, Rothstein falls head over heels in love with Ginger, a former prostitute and hustler that hangs around the casinos. Ginger is a drop dead gorgeous manipulator covered in flashy fashion. Eventually they marry and their relationship is just as rocky and poisonous as Rothstein's career. Ginger's hunger for money, glamour and drugs is what leads to her downfall.

With impeccible blonde hair, formfitting 70's era gowns, jaw dropping jewels and fur for days, Ginger's on screen style is one that has gone down in history as one of the best portrayals of when greed and vanity go too far.

Jerry Hall in a Chanel ad by Karl Lagerfeld. Her over the top, glamorous, blonde and dripping in diamonds persona definitely runs parallel to that of Ginger's.