TV Ate My Wardrobe

The third episode of Masters of Sex involved hiding in the shadows both in a literal and figurative sense as characters were confronted with reality; some chose to continue down a path of reluctant acceptance of their situation whereas others tried to use this new found knowledge to help their progression in professional and personal matters. Ane Crabtree’s costume design continues to reflect this evolution and there is one piece of clothing that becomes central to how Virginia views her role at the hospital and with the external study work.

In the first session Virginia is performing her role as Dr. Master’s assistant and while I am in love with her pinstripe round neck dress, it’s pretty clear they are operating on different levels. At the study Master’s is slightly more affable to Virginia, but his prickly demeanor is in full force when he is talking to her at the hospital. He asks her to pick up a lab coat for a new doctor and when he gives Virginia a similar laundry based task at the end of the episode Virginia challenges this request. Master’s flaunts his experience and tells Virginia when she has as much experience as he does then she will be able to give him menial tasks. This is him asserting his authority and reaffirming their positions.

The new doctor is Dr. Lillian DePaul and much to Virginia’s surprise she is a woman. Virginia thinks there is something inspiring about Dr DePaul even if all of the other secretaries mean girl it up with remarks about how she has no feminine qualities and how she’s never getting near their lady parts. Dr DePaul isn’t exactly warm and welcoming to Virginia as she treats Virginia as any of the other doctors would be asking her to get her coffee. No new bestie for Virginia. This is the second role for Julianne Nicholson where she is playing a pioneering woman in a field dominated by men – in Boardwalk Empire she plays Esther Randolph, an Assistant Attorney General. This interaction with Dr DePaul has a big influence on Virginia’s costuming as the next session at the brothel sees Virginia wearing a lab coat.

This puts Virginia on equal footing with Masters from a visual perspective and even though he mentions she is taking liberties he doesn’t ask her to remove her new coat.

This is from the last night they visit the brothel for data and after a bit of coercion (Scully is someone living in the shadows) they will return the study to the hospital. Will Virginia continue to war the lab coat now they are back on hospital grounds?

Virginia has the bedside manner that Masters lacks and she uses this in several scenes with Libby Masters. This slate grey dress is possibly the most conservative of Virginia’s costumes so far (not that any of them are all that provocative). The button detail combined with the white collar gives it a serious tone and there’s something almost priestly about her look when she comes and sits with Libby. Later on Virginia shows further mercy as she is the one who tells Libby the truth about who is the one with fertility issues as she can’t stand to see Libby blaming herself for something that isn’t her fault.

Another discussion puts Virginia in the role of truth teller as she tries to convince Betty that lying to the Pretzel King isn’t her only option. Betty turns the tables on Virginia and suggests that Masters is in love with her. Betty suggests that they are both just as stuck by circumstance and that Virginia is no better as she is also hitching her wagon to a man. It’s a sad scene and we once again get to see Betty in her trademark red, a color she has worn throughout these three episodes.

This shot of Betty is before her surgery and shows the repeated red palette and on this occasion she is the one who uses the threat of public embarrassment against Masters at the hospital. Everyone is hitching their wagons to someone in this episode and using whatever means to get what they want with varying degrees of success. Masters agrees to do the surgery but it is too late and so Betty must live a lie to get the life she thinks that she wants. I’m not sure if this is the last we will see of Betty now that both her story and the brothel have served their purpose but I’m so glad they took the “hooker with a heart of gold” story and spun it into something so much more than that.

While I sadly can’t show you the full range of costuming from the brothel (too many nipples) this snapshot reveals the variety of colors and patterns the women of this house wear. It’s all about bathrobes and there’s a splash of leopard print and bright, bold colors. From this shot it looks like the most fun, but it’s all a facade and some of their research reveals the depressing truth why some of these women are here. Dottie is still wearing the heavy framed glasses that Masters gave her last week and she wouldn’t look out of place with this look today.

Libby’s costuming is all about pastel colors and delicate prints, once again showing how here role is completely different to all of the other women on Masters of Sex. One similarity she does share with the women at the brothel is that she is being treated as a scientific specimen but unlike those candidates her medical condition is being withheld from her. Even when Libby is sobbing she is still in light shades, whereas Virginia wears a lot of dark purple this week heavily telegraphing their contrasting characteristics. The friendship between Libby and Virginia is strong at the moment and I wonder how Libby’s pregnancy might change this.

So far I have spent all of this discussion looking at the women of Masters of Sex but I couldn’t leave out this flashback shot of Bill Masters where he looks optimistic and less buttoned up; the longer, less controlled hairstyle and jaunty bow tie will do that. Yes Bill Masters even makes patterned bow ties look rigid.

For more Masters of Sex coverage head here.

Tags: "Standard Deviation", Ane Crabtree, Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex, Virginia Johnson