Belle from 'Secret Life of a Call Girl'
It's pretty easy to look like a hooker. Doubt it? Go to a mall where teens congregate.
Standards of propriety have fallen so low that toddlers sport sexy outfits. Apparently, one need not be potty trained for that come-hither look. As females totter about on heels so high once only drag queens would have worn them, it's no wonder that the real call girls, especially high-end ones, had to make a drastic change.
Witness Belle of Showtime's Secret Diary of a Call Girl, returning Sunday, Jan. 18. She wears finely cut dresses and nothing too tawdry.
"We thought it was important that she is well turned out," Billie Piper says of her character. "She is high-class, and she has impeccable taste."
As her infant son, Winston, whimpers, Piper says, "It's quite a physical profession, and it must be flexible. It is fun dressing up in that way. I have never really been a girly girl. I am certainly not as well turned out as Belle. It is fun playing with those clothes. Just good taste, clean lines and I think the character has her eye on the ball. She's quite controlling, so everything has to look perfect, almost box fresh."
Belle's good taste is courtesy of costumer Ralph Wheeler-Holes.
"The thing that seemed important to me is not making a big moral statement about whether what these girls do is right or wrong," he says. "It is just a statement of fact. Because it's character-led, and Belle is the central character, it's important not to lose the audience with, 'Here is a screaming whore on a pole.' "
Rather, Wheeler-Holes buys Belle's outfits from high-end retailers such as Zara, Karen Millen, Dolce & Gabbana, Pandora Dress Agency and Gucci.
Certainly no self-respecting call girl would sashay about in sturdy, ugly shoes.
"As a bloke, whenever I am dressing women, I always start with the shoes," Wheeler-Holes says. "They dictate how the woman stands and holds herself and how she moves." For Belle's high-heeled footwear, he shops at Kurt Geiger, Miu Miu, Dolce & Gabana and Karen Millen.
And what's under her clothes also matters. No machine-washable cotton bras and panties for her. Lingerie is critical to Belle's job, and Wheeler-Holes picks beautiful undergarments.
"I use Playful Promises, which is glamorous, contemporary lingerie with a twist," he says. "It is similar to Agent Provocateur. In series one, I used Myla. Another company was So Shei."
Wheeler-Holes' greatest coup with Belle's wardrobe this season is that he camouflaged Piper's pregnancy. TV shows traditionally hide unscripted pregnancies, with actresses carrying huge purses and laundry baskets, yet it's quite different when that character is a call girl.
"It was too much of a challenge," Piper says. "How racy are you willing to be? Everyone was very supportive, and everyone had to work three times as hard."
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