Lauren Hadley, Costume Critique

A show which is extremely popular in my household and brings many laughs, is The Office. When one thinks of the wardrobe worn by the characters of The Office, Plain Jane is a good term to use. There have been a couple of difference costume designers for The Office, but the one I am focusing on for this critique is Carey Bennett. She worked as the costume designer on The Office from 2005-2006, on a total of 35 episodes. One of her most known work was done on the TV show, Scrubs, which she worked from 2001-2010. As I was doing my research on Carey Bennett, I was surprised to discover that she also did some costume designing for The Muppets. That must have been a fun job!

If you did not already know, The Office is based off of a British show, also called the Office. Before Bennett began designing the wardrobe for the characters, she wanted to research and study the British version first. From her observations of the British version, she was inspired a little but did not want to be too influenced. She was also extremely nervous because she had not had must experience working in an actual office. She had the opportunity to visit a real paper company called, Economy Paper, for further inspiration. She and the directors loved what they saw. Even the actual set was heavily based off of a real paper company. The last place Bennett went for inspiration as she began designing was to real life people walking the streets. She was fascinated to realize people “don’t wear outfits,” instead people wore very unexpected and personal clothing. She wanted this to be the main focus for the characters on the show. 

 Although Bennett wanted a very real, casual, and personal look for the characters, you would be surprised how much work and attention to detail was put into each piece of clothing. One of my favorite characters, and whose clothing choices I enjoy is Jon Krasinski, who plays Jim Halpert. In an article, Costumes of The Office, written by Elizabeth Chou, it stated regarding Jim Halpert’s character, “His clothes reflect the character’s apathy toward the corporate world. The story behind the look is that he probably dug his clothes out of his father’s closet, Bennett says. Jim’s clothes are shapeless and don’t fit him very well, and the wool ties date back to the 1970s. Since dad’s clothes are no longer the rage, Bennett had to look everywhere to maintain a steady supply of wool ties. She says she sometimes kicks herself for setting up her characters with costumes that are so hard to keep in stock.” 

What I like most about all the characters costumes on the show is that they are very realistic and definitely relate-able. Although some may say that Bennett did not do much as a costume designer on the show because it didn't consist of much fashion, I think she did a wonderful job at portraying each individual characters personalities and roles at The Office.