costume design – One Rabbit Riot

There are many fashion icons from the Y2K era, many that have mentioned on the blog like Lizzie McGuire, Lorelai Gilmore, Phoebe Buffay, Zenon Girl of the 21st Century, etc. They are known for their wacky combos and closet staples that continue to appear in fashion trend look books. One character though, that typifies the 2000’s style for me in both past nostalgia ephemera and present sewing plans, is Kaywinnet Lee Frye of 2002’s Firefly.

Now, if you think this is crazy, I think you are overlooking the details of this style that mixes utilitarian work wear with pattern, floral embroidery, all while layering pieces in a fashion that keeps this style futurist and retro at the same time. Costume Designer, Shawna Trpcic, had a lovely eye for detail when crafting the style of Kaylee. She is an accomplished ship-mechanic, but she is also young, from a rural planet, and has a love of nature even though she spends most days in space travelling the ‘verse.

For most characters who would be styled this way from the 2000s, they would be the typical “not-like-other-girls” archetype, but Kaylee is not. She is a girls girl. She wishes to be as lavishly adorned as Inara, and as wonderfully adored by a partner as Zoey is by Wash. She is strong and delicate, gentle and brave. She is ying and yang, a great nod to the the mix of east and west in the show, as well as space and western. There is a pleasant tension that weaves this story together. She is nurturing to River, spunky to Jayne, unwavering in her standards when Mal or Simon talk out of turn, and respectful of Book.

By making Kaylee a multi-dimensional character, Trpcic had a lot of ground to cover, to explore these sides of Kaylee in 14 episodes and a movie. How did she make such a dent? I believe it is in the details. Kaylee wears a version of coveralls throughout the story. Sometimes these are long sleeved, or more of a vest style. These earthtone greens and browns, have a warmth to them, like Kaylee. In the show, Kaylee is always wearing a warm color palette. Pinks, creams, aqua, etc. It is later on in Serenity, where she wears cooler tone pinks, dark gray-green, and cool tone brown. In the show, Kaylee wears earth-toned accessories, delicate necklace, funky print tops, brown belts, coral flip flops, sheer pink gloves. There is lightness in what she wears, even if it is a twill coverall or an exaggerated poofy dress. Even her floral dress with embroidery from the flashback, has lightness, with the voluminous sleeves. You can see a common thread throughout every look.

Her style grounds the show in reality, there is a world beyond the ship, among all these planets. It is bohemian, and she is a free spirit. If the show had focused too much on the space-futurism, Kaylee would not belong in this world. Her love of strawberries would be untethered from reality. Her hammock in the engine room, brings that carefree spirit of a ship on the water, or a beach somewhere out there in the ‘verse, away from the alliance. Her parasol carries history, of a time before planet hopping and Alliance subjugation, before Reavers. She embodies that peace we feel surrounded by nature, even though most of the nature she sees, is floating by the windows of Serenity. The darkness of space never changes her, like Sandy Cheeks from Spongebob, she is thriving in an abnormal environment.

What I love the most is how femme the style is, even though her job is supposed to be masculine, the gender is removed and the person shines. I like that she is herself with grease on her face or a frilly cupcake dress at the Shindig. I wish we had more time with her to learn more about her background, and see her shine in her effortless looks. Fourteen episodes was not enough! I hope the animated reboot will carry the same spirit forward for Kaylee, with even more looks I want to recreate.

My favorite look is the green coverall, with the aqua silk coat, brightly patterned top, parasol, and flip flops. This combo has staying power. It feels like a combo you could buy today from the bohemian, Free People, and was something that fit in the 1990’s/2000’s. Work wear is timeless, which is why I have been slowly adding overalls to my wardrobe, store bought for now as I figure out what style is best for my body type, but I have plans to clone my favorite additions, and hopefully sew my dream garment – these sleeveless green coverall with the teddy bear patch. I have the fabric, now I need the motivation to cut the pattern out.

Now what about shoes? As I mentioned there are flip flops, but other than that, she mostly wears boots. Which grounds the look even more into reality. She is climbing stairs to get from the bridge, to the hold, to the engine room, kitchen or her bunk. They walk when they are docked on planets. She also plays basketball with the others when traveling from port to port, on board the ship. The boots, although a bit heavy for that, remain a wise choice for this woman on the go. In some ways, her wardrobe is not as much mechanic as nomad. She is ready for the next place, a uniform for whatever crazy adventure Mal signs them up for next. She collects souvenirs along the way, like the patches, the jacket, parasol, and embroidered tops. An actual curated bohemian gal, that slowly created this style over time. It is why she feels so authentic.

Going into the show, Only Murders in the Building, I knew the concept of the show was intriguing. It’s set in New York City, in a classic building, where whodunnit murders take place which the trio solve through their of the time true-crime podcast. The age difference between Selena Gomez and the other two leads Martin Short and Steve Martin gave the story layers from the trailer alone. I was pleasantly surprised by the character design and the costuming which layered depth to each character’s story, like a real person would express through the clothing items they choose.

The most relatable to my taste is Mabel Mora because she not only “knits” as a plot device for “Bloody Mabel” but also wears clothing that looks like someone who knits. Her knitwear throughout season one looks like pieces made by someone who enjoys knitting. They are not your typical off-the-rack sweaters and appear to be knit by hand instead of machine. What makes it feel real to me is the weight of the yarn compared to the knitting needles shown in her apartment. The needle she says would be her self-defense weapon of choice is a thicker needle, for bulky weight yarn. My guess would be somewhere between a size 11 and size 13 needle which is appropriate for bulkier projects.

The wooden knitting bowls, the needles, and the unusual designs of the sweaters featured in this scene speak to the craftsmanship of a hand-knit sweater and place Mabel’s knitting needle in her world. They appear to be knitting which is not always the case in TV shows or movies that feature acts of knitting, the best example of this being Gromit from the Wallace and Gromit series.

Although we don’t see this craft as often in Mabel’s scenes as we see her paint or sketch, the evidence of this hobby is peppered throughout the show from her infamous dream, her carrying the needle in her bag when she jumps tie-dye guy or what lands her the moniker “Bloody Mabel” in season two. Movies and TV shows of the last five years have fallen into a telling not showing manner of character development. For example, in the 2022 remake of Persuasion, Anne Elliot breaks the fourth wall to tell views that she and Frederick Wentworth are “exes” instead of developing the story through interactions, long drawn-out glances as we see in Emma (2020), or Pride and Prejudice (2005 & 1995).

Only Murders in the Building did not take the bait, and instead showed what a 20-something knitter would wear in New York City winter – her handmade sweaters made with yarn colors that look like you could buy them from your local yarn shop. It was a clever character hobby to give Mabel as knitting was growing in popularity with people my age and beyond in the last decade, truly exploding in popularity with the rise of crochet in the 2020s. Every sweater she wears in seasons one and two looks like something you could find a pattern for on the site Ravelry.

It was such a great way to add nuance to Mabel’s character, because how many characters in TV shows knit that aren’t older? She’s a girl with a troubled and complex history, you would expect her to be a party girl or have a dark streak, like the characters of Effie Stonem, Serena Van Der Woodsen, or Jenny Humphrey, but instead, she paints, she knits, she is relatable in a plot that can be quite over the top compared to reality. Mabel is a character I can relate to, which pulled me in from the start to a show that doesn’t feel like it is a modern TV show because of how thoughtful the writing is. It never feels like a cash grab and that has given me hope that maybe this time of reboots and CGI reliance will go out of fashion for stories that once again feel handmade, like a good hand-knit sweater.

Have you watched Only Murders in the Building? Did you like it?

Tag: costume design

The Style of Kaylee Frye

Character Design: Mabel Mora and Her Sweaters