Final Costume

Helen

We could not find anyone who owned a red dress that would fit Jasmine therefore we thought of other relevant colours. A black dress was our second choice, black has connotations to mystery and secrecy which complies with Helen's character as in the trailer the audience do not learn anything about her and have to wait and watch the soap to find out. Jasmine made the dress so it fit well and it was quite short also, which is what we were aiming for to comply with the male gaze theory. However, we didn't want to make the dress too revealing as Jasmine may have felt uncomfortable and we had to take into consideration the weather which would have made her freezing.

The red shoes were the most important element of Helen's costume, we could not find a pair of red shoes in Helen's size to borrow so we bought the shoes from Newlook. We only bought these because they were the main element of costume in our trailer.

Deano

This is Deano's costume, we had difficulty finding costume which was similar to the research costume. This was due to not knowing anyone that owned a tracksuit. This made us then change our decision on Deano's costume because if we didn't know anyone with a tracksuit it must mean that not many people wear them and therefore would not be a costume that the audience can relate to. Instead we used skinny jeans as they are very modern and fashionable, with a black coat and black coat. Although the jeans do not connote his 'Chav' stereotype and confident sleazy character, his shoes and coat do as black has connotations to slyness and hidden secrets.

Courtney

We kept to the colour scheme for Courtney's costume and we borrowed the jumper from a friend. The jumper is relevant as it has white which connotes innocence and green which connotes envy which is outlined in the costume research. We got Hannah to wear her own jeans as long as they were skinny dark denim jeans which she already had so we did not need to borrow or buy them. Also the boots were in the costume research post which Hannah already had so that helped us out.

Stephanie

The costume for Stephanie is similar to the one researched. However, she is wearing a black leather jacket, we had to use this because of the weather and it would have been unfair on the actor to put them in just a dress. The jacket is black connoting secrets therefore it displays her and Richards relationship to be full of secrets. Also it is fashionable and modern so the audience members will be able to relate to this which is important as the Uses and Gratifications theory (Denis McQuail) states. The jacket was borrowed from a friend.

We wanted to stick to using a pink dress but we could not get hold of a pale pink dress but we found a friend who had a hot pink dress. This was even more appropriate as the hot pink makes Stephanie look even more vibrant and girly. These have connotations to her character and career as a beauty therapist.

Richard

Richard's costume was originally a black shirt and black jeans. The shirt was to connote maturity as he is an older character but we could not find a black shirt that was fashionable and modern that we could borrow so we thought of other costume that could have connotations to his older mature character.

We asked the males in our cast what they would wear to a party or to a reasonably formal event they suggested a cardigan or checked shirt. We used their feedback and decided on a black cardigan which was borrowed with a purple polo shirt. The purple connotes his 'womaniser' traits as purple can relate to females. Also the black cardigan and coat make him look more mature and the colour black has connotations to his sleazy, secretive personality.

Danielle

Originally we wanted a pink velor tracksuit but we could not find one that we could borrow and we did not want to spend money and buy one because it would never be used again. Instead we used a group members brothers old clothes which were relevant to her character. For example, the green baggy hoody complies with the 'chav' stereotype and also because it is a large and males they will wonder who it belongs to. Also, the baggy tracksuit trousers are grey which connotes dullness which implies she is sad she doesn't know who the dad is.

However, the t-shirt is from h&m and belongs to a group member this t-shirt is relevant as the bright pink heart complies with her flirtatious attitude.

Aaron, JJ, Maxwell and Paul

We originally wanted JJ and Aaron to wear polo shirts with colours that reflected their personalities. However, we changed this idea as we wanted the boys to look as realistic and believable as possible so instead we told the 4 actors a colour scheme of black, grey, brown and denim, and we told them that we wanted them to wear clothes that thought were appropriate to a 'jack the lad' stereotype. This worked well as they wore clothes that are relevant to them and therefore this would give the best picture of verisimilitude.