New Wave
The casino has always held a unique and special place in popular culture. Hollywood has been obsessed with its thrills and spills, risk and reward narrative. Inevitably, this has influenced fashion and the casino can provide a lot of inspiration for an outfit, even if you don't plan on visiting a casino itself. Below, we provide our essential guidelines for incorporating casino culture into your wardrobe.
The most obvious place to derive inspiration from is the palette associated with casino culture, covered in more detail by Lounge Lizard. While some casinos, particularly online ones, may differ in design and graphical choices, most casinos tend to stick to the same type of choices.
Deep greens are a favourite, reflecting the felt coverings of poker and blackjack tables. These are often mixed with black and red, channelling the imagery of roulette. If these are not your preference then look at dark blues, often used for fittings and furnishings in casinos themselves. All of this is then brought together with the only colour that is essential to highlight a casino-influenced outfit: Gold.
Design choices like this can't help but conjure up the image of a casino. A great example is Lottoland Casino based in Ireland. A large proportion of its slot selection uses highlights of gold to attract players. The main banner of green is also a link to the country's heritage and its casino background. All of this can easily be transferred to an outfit, using the based colours and then accenting them with gold accessories.
When most people think of casino fashion, the mind turns to the black tie and little black dress combination. However, this tends to come with a drive to stay safe in fashion choices. Yet that does not always have to be the case.
Casinos are attracting a more casual audience and with this has come more relaxed fashion choices. Thus, you can prepare to be bold and over the top when incorporating a casino chic into your outfit. It may be an outrageous casino-themed accessory or even a use of the aforementioned casino colours in bold patterns and statements. Think of Las Vegas itself.
The golden age of gambling, particularly in Vegas, coincided with a time when Hollywood glamour hit its peak. Well documented in film and photography, you can mine the past to add retro glamour to the look.
Marilyn Monroe was the most well-known of celebrities from this period. Her famous sequin dresses adorned with feathered cuffs and sleeves, like the ones shown at PEOPLE, were the perfect newspaper fodder. You can even harken further back and look at Marlene Dietrich, who preferred ornate figure-hugging outfits accentuating her curved figure. Do your research and you may find an outfit from a different era you love.
Finally, don't be afraid to go off track. The casino is a great way to get inspiration for an outfit but you don't need to stick to it. If you find something that looks great but comes from other sources, then combine them and go for an even more unique look.