http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/michael-kaplan-how-i-dressed-the-movie-stars-for-success-2318165.html
In an article on the independent website, Michael Kaplan describes how he formed the costume of many well-known characters.
When he talks about the process of coming up with the sweat top and leotard that Jennifer Beals wears in Flashdance, he states that by taking her character profile into consideration, the fact that she is a construction worker, the costume must match this. He explains that "she can't wear silk as she's a construction worker, so a sweatshirt felt right. It's Pittsburgh, it's cold and I guess the sweatshirt idea stemmed from me thinking about what she would wear to work. You'd wear sweat clothes because they are cheap and you'd throw them in the washing machine, but because she was fashionable maybe she would personalise it and cut it up." He also states that when he observed ballet classes he "noticed that the dancers would cut their warm-up clothes so that they could move with more freedom to dance. I figure who the character is and I create clothes for them even taking their economic bracket into consideration."
This is an interesting notion that to create a visually believable character that is cohesive with the personality and situation of the character, all elements must be considered to create a whole. You will not have a person living on the streets wearing a nice suit or expensive-looking clothing or jewellery. Kaplan refers to this when talking about Brad Pitt in Fight Club. He says "his character had no money, he was living in a house that didn't belong to him and his clothes couldn't be fancy. I decided he was going to be a person who gets great things in thrift shops, because I do that and I know they can be found."
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