One of the best movies to spot a garter belt is Working Girl from 1988 starring Melanie Griffith. You barely have to do any spotting as Melanie wears one with stockings in multiple scenes for the viewing pleasure of the audience. It is interesting that the social context of these scenes is different. In the first, Melanie as Tess wears a black garter belt with a red bra for her boyfriend in their bedroom. She makes it feel like duty as he watches her adjust the garters and stockings. Most garter belt these days, and probably even in the 80s were meant for the bedroom. Tess objects stating she would have preferred a sweater. It kind of makes her boyfriend seem like a douche, which he is as soon he will be cheating on her.
The other significant “garter belt” scenes shows Melanie Griffith prepare for an evening business event. It is the same garter belt with the cute stripes leading to the garter tabs, very modern. This time her wearing a garter belt seems like the most normal thing in the world. Which in 80s contexts it may well have been. Women did wear them a lot under evening dresses. Tess is in this part of the movie pretending to be her boss who is in the hospital with a broken leg. The apartment she is in with her friend is that of her boss and it is her dresses Tess is trying on. It would seem Tess is trying to invoke more confidence in herself by wearing a garter belt and stockings and to complete her image as a business woman. No wonder Harrison’s Ford character Jack Trainer fell for her. I wonder if the slang meaning of the term Working Girl was known during filming?
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