The dazzling, sequin-adorned Dolce & Gabanna dress that Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie wears for the entirety of the “Poker Face” finale was the very first dress that costume designer Trayce Field picked for the show.
“We tried on like 58 other dresses and then we came back to the first one,” Field tells PvNew. “Not only did it look super chic on Natasha but it also gave all the elements of ‘sparkly Vegas’ and all things we needed it to be.”
In the show, the dress serves as an olive branch gift from Sterling Sr., who for the entire series was on the hunt for Charlie Kane in vengeance for his son’s death. However, the final episode begins with the twist that Sterling is no longer out for blood: he knows his son betrayed him and the family business, and has invited Charlie to this sit-down not to kill her but to offer her a job to sniff out any bullshit.
Of course, it wouldn’t be “Poker Face” without a weekly murder. Before she has the chance to officially accept the offer, the casino lights go dark and Sterling Sr. gets shot, with no one else to blame but Charlie. And before we know it, our protagonist is back on the run for a murder she didn’t commit.
Like all the costumes in the stunt-heavy show, the dress had to be able to endure the episode’s dramatic sequences. “It was a long sleeve, because she’d be crawling,” Field explains. “And Natasha had to be able to jump off of a yacht into water and have it not fall apart or float up. I also wanted it to sparkle in the dark. It really did serve all the right purposes — and it looks really good.”
The dress is one of Field’s costume darlings but she refuses to pick favorites. Below, check out all of Charlie Cale’s best fits from “Poker Face” — and where you can buy them online.
“Her whole character is ’70s-meets-Western-meets desert, ” says Field, who worked alongside the prop master in choosing the various sunglasses that Charlie wears throughout the series, many of them rare finds off Ebay clearance sales.
Aside from Ray-Ban aviators, Field’s favorite pair of glasses is from the ’70s-influenced brand Classic Rock Couture, from which she also sourced many of Charlie’s vintage tees. In episode 8, Charlie pairs a thrifted Fleetwood Mac shirt with black jeans and Dolce Vita boots. Field says mixing “high and low” is a key element of her costume design. She even comes up with back stories for each character to explain different pieces in their wardrobe; Charlie, for example, “was out gambling, and kind of being a grifter, and she had a little bit of extra cash,” Field says. “She would buy herself a couple of key pieces. So that’s where she got the leather jacket, that’s where she got the Gucci shorts.”
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Vests are another unique aspect of Charlie’s wardrobe. She layers them on top of tees and dresses, with pants and shorts. One of the most memorable looks in the series came in episode 7 when she pairs a vintage Bebe vest, whimsically designed with musical notes, with black denim Gucci shorts.
The vest is an example of a piece that Field had to have specially recreated for Natasha’s stunt double since there was only one available on Ebay when she bought it. “Sometimes the stunts are indicative of what I choose and sometimes it’s the right thing. And then if there’s not another one available, then we recreate it,” she says. “It’s called ‘movie magic.'”
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The Dolce & Gabanna dress Charlie is gifted from Sterling Sr, and wears for the entirety of the finale, is arguably the piece de resistance of the series. It’s not only a departure from Charlie’s tomboyish style but also that of all the characters we’ve seen Natasha play in the past.
“We wanted it to be a departure from ‘Russian Doll,”‘ Field says. “It’s a whole different character, we wanted to make sure that visually, it was very different.”
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