"white polka dots"

TV While the Murdoch empire stops me from seeing Kate Winslet in Todd Haynes's Mildred Pierce until the dvd release in six months, I can at least gawp at the clothes:

"When we first meet Mildred she is baking in a dark blue housedress with white polka dots worn beneath a gingham check pinafore. As presentable as Mildred may appear to our eyes, she would never have dreamed of leaving the house in this ensemble. Despite limited means this was still a period of formality. Even Mildred’s neighbour, Lucy Gessler (Melissa Leo), dons an upturned brim cloche before strolling across her garden to snoop."

They're also used to good effect on the cover of this month's Sight and Sound Magazine which has an excellent piece inside comparing the new mini-series and its approach to adapting the James M. Cain novel in comparison to Michael Curtiz's 1945 film, the shift in genre away from noir.