Dallas Styles (TNT) – Dallas Decoder

TNT’s Dallas Styles: ‘Lifting the Veil’

March 21, 2014 by Chris Baker 3 Comments

Julie Gonzalo always looks beautiful on “Dallas,” but the actress was nothing less than radiant when Pamela Rebecca Barnes Ewing Ewing got married (again) in “Lifting the Veil,” this week’s episode. I love how Pamela’s Vera Wang gown left one shoulder exposed, making her look sophisticated and sexy all at once, and how her hair was pulled to one side, evoking the glamour of Hollywood screen sirens from the 1940s. Also, don’t overlook Pamela’s makeup, which highlighted Gonzalo’s natural beauty without ever getting in its way. This is what perfection looks like.

Of course, everyone looked amazing in “Lifting the Veil.” I especially liked how costume designer Rachel Sage Kunin used color to link the Ewings: John Ross’s tuxedo was dark blue, and so were Sue Ellen and Lucy’s gowns. Whether or not it was intentional, there’s symbolic value here: In some scenes, Linda Gray’s dress looked black, which is fitting when you consider what a dark day this turned out to be for Sue Ellen. In that spirit, Jordana Brewster’s black-and-white dress — which featured all that cool embroidery — was the ideal choice for Elena, a good woman who has gotten in touch with her bad side this season.

I wish “Lifting the Veil” had given us more wedding scenes like the one above, which shows the Ewing women and Audrey Landers’ Afton Cooper (va-va-voom!) waiting for the missing groom to show up. Besides being artfully composed, this wide shot allowed us to see everyone’s outfit from head to toe. On the other hand: There were also some nifty looks in the scenes that took place outside the big event, including the work-of-art tunic Brenda Strong wore when Sue Ellen told Ann that their children are sleeping together, as well as Judith Light’s big-as-Texas hair in the episode-ending revelation that Mother Ryland is a madam. (Speaking of hair: Yes, that was “Dallas” hair stylist Charles Yusko playing the hairdresser who fixed Ann’s tresses in one of the pre-wedding scenes.)

Make no mistake: “Dallas” fans are going to remember “Lifting the Veil” when the Emmy nominations are announced later this year. If we don’t hear our favorite show’s name mentioned when the wardrobe, hair and makeup categories are announced, we’re going to riot — and I’ll be the one leading the charge.

What were your favorite looks in “Lifting the Veil”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and read more “Dallas Styles.”

Filed Under: Dallas Styles, Dallas Styles (TNT), Features

TNT’s Dallas Styles: ‘Playing Chicken’

March 14, 2014 by Chris Baker 5 Comments

There were a lot of classic looks in “Playing Chicken,” TNT’s latest “Dallas” episode, including the long-sleeved blue dress that Linda Gray wore during Sue Ellen’s memorable lunch with Bum. Gray looks great no matter what you dress her in, but blue has always been one of her best colors. I also love how Sue Ellen’s blue-and-green dangly earrings complemented the dress. It was kind of hard to see them when the scene began, but as Sue Ellen and Bum’s conversation progressed — and it became clear she was playing him like a fiddle — the earrings seemed to reveal themselves more. They became an effective symbol for her below-the-radar manipulation of poor, well-meaning Bum.

The guys sported timeless looks in “Playing Chicken” too. John Ross spent much of this episode in western garb, including the dark blue denim shirt he wore in the scene where he learned about the plight of the lesser prairie chicken. It evoked the cowboy-hats-and-jeans getups that Josh Henderson sported during “Dallas’s” first season. I also loved the white shirt and khakis that Jesse Metcalfe wore in Christopher’s scenes in Mexico. The outfit was stylish yet practical; if I had to go sleuthing around the hot, dusty streets of Nuevo Laredo, this is probably what I’d wear.

Of course, “Playing Chicken” will probably be remembered for all the revealing outfits. No one showed more skin than Emma Bell’s Emma Ryland, who strutted around Southfork in that tangerine “monokini.” Like Sue Ellen’s earrings, the swimsuit can be seen as a symbol since it helped expose Emma’s determination to undermine John Ross and Pamela’s marriage. (By the way, in response to all the inquiries from fans, costume designer Rachel Sage Kunin tweeted the bathing suit came from Sauvage Swimwear.)

And then there were the dueling emerald green corsets worn by Bell and Julie Gonzalo’s Pamela Barnes Ewing. Yowza! Not since Sue Ellen dabbled in the lingerie business back in the 1980s have we seen such revealing undergarments on “Dallas.” This wasn’t just an excuse to put Bell and Gonzalo in skimpy underwear, either; now that we know Emma intentionally ruined Pamela’s surprise for John Ross, we have a whole new reason to despise her.

The question is: Who wore it best? I like the way Gonzalo settled this debate when TNT posed the question to viewers at the end of the episode. As Gonzalo tweeted, “Who wore it best?!? SCREW THAT. we BOTH did!”

Darlin’, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

What were your favorite looks in “Playing Chicken”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and read more “Dallas Styles.”

Filed Under: Dallas Styles, Dallas Styles (TNT), Features Tagged With: Emma Bell, Jesse Metcalfe, Josh Henderson, Julie Gonzalo, Linda Gray, Playing Chicken, Rachel Sage Kunin, TNT

TNT’s Dallas Styles: ‘Trust Me’

March 7, 2014 by Chris Baker 5 Comments

The crowd may have been smaller than in days gone by and no one got dunked in the pool, but there’s one area where this week’s Ewing Barbecue lived up to tradition: the clothing. The Southfork shindigs on the original “Dallas” always allowed the characters to dress a little more playfully than usual, and so did the barbecue in “Trust Me,” TNT’s latest episode.

My favorite look belonged to Linda Gray, who sported a nifty brown cowgirl hat that brought back memories of the hats Sue Ellen wore to the Southfork hoedowns of the 1980s. I also couldn’t help but smile when AnnaLynne McCord’s character, Heather, showed up at the party in that beautiful white dress; it reminded me of the simple, elegant dress Pam Ewing sported at “Dallas’s” first barbecue in 1978. I also loved how costume designer Rachel Sage Kunin paired Heather’s dress with weathered cowgirl boots; it was an ideal combination for McCord’s tomboyish character.

Juan Pablo Di Pace was the best-dressed man at the barbecue (although Jesse Metcalfe was a close second in that dark blue denim shirt). Nicolas, an out-of-town Latin American businessman, came to the party dressed just like we would expect him to: Instead of western garb, he wore a light-colored sport coat and trousers and an open-collared white shirt that strategically showcased the St. Christopher’s medal that’s so important to the character. I also loved Pamela’s blue blouse and dark pants and boots — and how gorgeous did Julie Gonzalo’s hair look under that Southfork sunshine? (Kudos, Charles Yusko!)

My other favorite wardrobe selection from “Trust Me”: the purple shirt Mitch Pileggi wore in the scene where Harris pulled a gun on Judith. Only Pileggi could make a paisley print look badass — and wasn’t it nice to finally see him in something other than the gray T-shirt he’s been wearing since the end of the second season?

What were your favorite looks in “Trust Me”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and read more “Dallas Styles.”

Filed Under: Dallas Styles, Dallas Styles (TNT), Features Tagged With: AnnaLynne McCord, Charles Yusko, Juan Pablo di Pace, Julie Gonzalo, Linda Gray, Mitch Pileggi, Rachel Sage Kunin, TNT, Trust Me

TNT’s Dallas Styles: ‘The Return’

February 28, 2014 by Chris Baker 11 Comments

“Dallas’s” third-season opener, “The Return,” brought the Ewings back in style. My favorite look: the obi-belted color-block dress that Linda Gray wore in three scenes, including the family’s Arctic drilling strategy session inside the Ewing Global boardroom. Costume designer Rachel Sage Kunin created the dress, which evokes the ’70s chic looks that Sue Ellen sported during “Dallas’s” earliest years. What could be better for Gray, who hasn’t aged a day since then?

I also love the sleeveless, blue-and-black dress that Julie Gonzalo rocks in one of Pamela’s boardroom appearances, as well as Jordana Brewster’s dark-frame eyeglasses. Elena is hiding her true intentions from the Ewings, so why not complete the deception by hiding behind those sexy/smart spectacles? Speaking of cover-ups: Who doesn’t love Jesse Metcalfe’s beard? Even “Dallas” fans who prefer their men clean-shaven tell me they find Christopher’s scruff irresistible.

And then there’s J.R.’s belt buckle, which John Ross received in “The Return’s” most touching scene. I like this accessory because it helps keep alive Larry Hagman’s memory, but it also puts the audience on notice: We better all buckle up, because “Dallas” is going to take us on another wild ride this year.

What were your favorite looks in “The Return”? Share your thoughts in the comments section below and read more “Dallas Styles.”

Filed Under: Dallas Styles, Dallas Styles (TNT), Features Tagged With: Jesse Metcalfe, Jordana Brewster, Julie Gonzalo, Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, Rachel Sage Kunin, Return, TNT

TNT’s Dallas Styles: John Ross’s Vests

August 9, 2012 by Chris Baker Leave a Comment

Go vest, young man

During the old “Dallas’s” early years, J.R. often wore vests, symbolizing how he was no one-dimensional villain: The extra layer under his suit jackets reflected his multi-layered personality.

On TNT’s “Dallas,” John Ross wears vests too, but his look seems to carry a different meaning.

Josh Henderson’s character is still coming into his own as an oil baron, which his vests signify. Despite his ambition, he isn’t quite ready for full business suits.

Consider the final scene in “Revelations,” the first season-ending cliffhanger, when a vest-clad John Ross turns to his daddy and says, “You start teaching me the oil business – and you start teaching me every dirty trick that you know.”

Will John Ross be a quick study? And once he learns J.R.’s tricks, will he suit up?

Tune in next season.

Filed Under: Dallas Styles, Dallas Styles (TNT), Features Tagged With: Josh Henderson, Revelations, TNT

TNT’s Dallas Styles: Bobby’s Pajamas

August 2, 2012 by Chris Baker 2 Comments

Dead men don’t wear plaid. Right?

In “Family Business,” TNT continues an old “Dallas” tradition: using the Ewings’ sleepwear to telegraph their vulnerabilities.

The practice can be traced to “Spy in the House,” the original show’s third episode, when a sexually neglected Sue Ellen buys a negligee, hoping to arouse J.R.’s interest. Her plan doesn’t work: J.R. calls the nightie “cheap” and storms out of the room, leaving his wife in tears.

In the second-season episode “Survival,” a bathrobe-clad Jock weeps when he learns a plane carrying J.R. and Bobby has crashed. Later, in the third-season episode “Ellie Saves the Day,” Jock and Miss Ellie are both wearing robes when they learn J.R.’s latest oil deal has brought the Ewing empire to the brink of collapse.

And when we encounter a deeply depressed J.R. at the beginning of “Changing of the Guard,” TNT’s first “Dallas” episode, what’s he wearing? You guessed it: a robe and pajamas.

In “Family Business,” Patrick Duffy sports plaid pajamas and what appears to be a dark green robe after Bobby is diagnosed with a life-threatening cerebral aneurysm. The PJs, like the reading glasses perched on Bobby’s nose, remind us our silver-haired hero is entering the twilight of his life – a point Bobby himself makes when he poignantly reminds J.R., “Nobody lives forever.”

But the sleepwear lets us know something else too: Even in pajamas, Patrick Duffy is still dashing.

Filed Under: Dallas Styles, Dallas Styles (TNT), Features Tagged With: Black Market Baby, Changing of the Guard (2012), Ellie Saves the Day, Family Business, Patrick Duffy, Spy in the House, TNT

TNT’s Dallas Styles: Marta’s Dress

July 19, 2012 by Chris Baker 12 Comments

Unraveled

All season long, TNT’s “Dallas” has used Marta’s hair and wardrobe to telegraph her shifting moods and evolving identity. This practice continues in “Collateral Damage,”when the bipolar vixen goes off her medication – and eventually, off the deep end.

When we meet Marta in TNT’s “Dallas” pilot, “Changing of the Guard,” the character pretends to be a wealthy land conservationist who wants to buy Southfork and turn it into a nature preserve. She wears her hair up, but once her true motives are revealed – “Marta” is actually Veronica Martinez, who is secretly plotting with John Ross to seize the ranch – we begin seeing her with hair down, literally and figuratively.

By TNT’s sixth “Dallas” episode, “The Enemy of My Enemy,” Marta is in full “Fatal Attraction” mode and determined to steal John Ross from Elena. The tightly wound Marta shows up on his doorstep in a skintight dress, hoping to seduce him, only to be rejected once again.

When John Ross sees Marta again in “Collateral Damage,” she has come undone. The skintight dress has been replaced by something much looser; it falls off Leonor Varela’s shoulder, which seems appropriate given how her character is falling apart.

The dress’s metallic color is also telling. Until now, Marta has been depicted as a duplicitous villainess, but in Varela’s haunting final scene, it’s hard to not feel sorry for her. Marta is neither good nor bad; like all great “Dallas” characters, she lies somewhere in between. It’s another reason why the gray dress is fitting, even if it doesn’t quite fit.

Filed Under: Dallas Styles, Dallas Styles (TNT), Features Tagged With: Changing of the Guard (2012), Collateral Damage, Enemy of My Enemy, Leonor Varela, TNT

TNT’s Dallas Styles: Tommy’s Hat

July 12, 2012 by Chris Baker Leave a Comment

The outsider

In “The Enemy of My Enemy,” Tommy comes charging into Rebecca’s apartment, grumbling about the crowd at the coffee shop he’s just returned from. “People in Texas are way too friendly. It tries my nerves,” he says.

The line reminds us that Tommy is an outsider in Dallas – and so does the hat Callard Harris wears in this scene. The headgear appears to be a straw fedora, trimmed with a plaid ribbon. Notably, it isn’t a Stetson, the style favored by the Ewing men.

In addition to offering another demonstration of Tommy’s distinctive fashion sense – he memorably wore flip-flops to Christopher and Rebecca’s wedding in “Changing of the Guard,” the first episode of TNT’s “Dallas” – the hat recalls the fedora Digger Barnes wore on the original “Dallas.”

This might be another sly homage to the old show. Like Tommy, Digger was also an outsider who coveted the Ewings’ wealth. Of course, the source of Digger’s envy was always apparent: He believed Jock “stole” Miss Ellie and cheated him out of his rightful share of Ewing Oil.

Tommy’s motivation remains a mystery – along with any other connections he and Rebecca may share with classic characters like Digger.

Filed Under: Dallas Styles, Dallas Styles (TNT), Features Tagged With: Callard Harris, Changing of the Guard (2012), Enemy of My Enemy, TNT

TNT’s Dallas Styles: Ann’s Pearls

July 5, 2012 by Chris Baker 12 Comments

She wears them well

On the original “Dallas,” Miss Ellie’s pearl necklace symbolized her role as wife, mother and fount of wisdom. Along with the beloved matriarch’s sack dresses, those little white beads became Ellie’s most enduring signature.

On TNT’s “Dallas,” Ann’s beads serve as visual shorthand for her role as Bobby’s wife and the new woman of Southfork. The first time we see her wearing them, during that terrific dinner scene in “Changing of the Guard,” TNT’s first “Dallas” episode, we know instantly what kind of character Ann is supposed to be.

Of course, putting Ann in pearls automatically invites comparisons to Miss Ellie, which is a bit risky since Barbara Bel Geddes is so revered among “Dallas” diehards. Indeed, while I tend to see Ann’s pearls – along with her Ellie-esque penchant for guns – as affectionate tributes to Bel Geddes’ character, some of my fellow “Dallas” fans seem to view them as cheap mimicry.

Perhaps this explains “The Last Hurrah” scene where J.R. gives Ellie’s pearl necklace to Sue Ellen. It’s as if the “Dallas” producers, anticipating there might be some Ann skeptics in the audience, wanted to make sure everyone understood the character doesn’t have a monopoly on white beads. In other words: Brenda Strong might be playing the new lady of the manor, but Linda Gray has inherited Bel Geddes’ mantle as “Dallas’s” elder stateswoman, so Sue Ellen gets the honor of possessing the pearls Ellie actually wore.

But give Ann her due. In “Truth and Consequences,” the character begins coming into her own, especially in the scene where she meets Rebecca for coffee and offers the confused young woman comfort (“You’re young, Rebecca. You make mistakes when you’re young. It doesn’t mean you can’t change.”), as well as a little tough love (“Your choices are yours.”).

Strong is terrific in this scene, which demonstrates how, even though Ann doesn’t have children of her own (that we know of, that is), she has the potential to become a significant maternal figure to “Dallas’s” younger characters.

I also think it’s notable that Ann is sans necklace when she visits ex-husband Harris Ryland in “Truth and Consequences” and asks him to help slow down the drilling on Southfork. Since Ann’s pearls symbolize her role as Bobby’s wife – and since her meeting with Ryland takes place behind Bobby’s back – it’s probably best she leaves the beads at home.

Filed Under: Dallas Styles, Dallas Styles (TNT), Features Tagged With: Barbara Bel Geddes, Brenda Strong, Changing of the Guard (2012), Last Hurrah, Linda Gray, TNT, Truth and Consequences

TNT’s Dallas Styles: Bobby’s Leather Coat

June 28, 2012 by Chris Baker 6 Comments

Full leather jacket

Bobby wears a brown leather coat in “The Last Hurrah,” but it’s not the same jacket he sported throughout the original “Dallas’s” 14-season run.

On the old show, Bobby rocked a snap-collared motorcross jacket that symbolized the character’s inherent coolness. The first time we see Bobby, in the first scene of “Dallas’s” first episode, “Digger’s Daughter,”he’s wearing the jacket while zooming down the highway in a red convertible with a beautiful redhead at his side. Back then, Bobby was kind of a badass; the jacket was part of that persona.

The coat Patrick Duffy wears in “The Last Hurrah” is more of a traditional western style. It drapes the actor’s broad frame, falling just past his waist. Unlike the tighter motorcross jacket from the old show, this coat is looser, reflecting Bobby’s maturity.

The new coat reminds me of the one Jim Davis wore during the original “Dallas’s” early seasons. This might not be a coincidence. Now that Bobby has succeeded Jock at the head of the Southfork dinner table, it seems possible the new coat is as much a tribute to Davis as it is to the more youthful version Duffy wore during “Dallas’s” first go round.

Filed Under: Dallas Styles, Dallas Styles (TNT), Features Tagged With: Digger’s Daughter, Jim Davis, Last Hurrah, Patrick Duffy, TNT