The White Lotus - series three - starts February 17th

[curiositykilledthiscat]

The Emmy-award winning HBO original series, which offers an inside look at the powerful and wealthy as they navigate complex personal dynamics and face potentially dangerous experiences while on vacation, returns for its third season this month.

"Seeking peace can be a trip," reads the tagline for this season, which was created, written and directed by former "Survivor" contestant Mike White.
This time around, viewers will be whisked away to an "exclusive" resort in Thailand, where an eclectic group of guests and resort employees will play, and likely misbehave, over the span of a week. "The White Lotus" Season 3 guests include a wealthy businessman and his family, three longtime friends who haven't seen each other in a while on a girls' trip and "rugged man with a chip on his shoulder" and his girlfriend, among others.

Anyone else looking forward to this? Starts on Monday and will be shown on Now and Sky. No watching on demand as all episodes will be dropped weekly.

@EachandEveryone ha ha-that’s been my thought all along- unless it’s an AI and paid up front!!!

@drspouse I think she thinks they’re soulmates, yes. Whether he really loves her back and appreciates the faith she has in him is very much an open question, though!

I really like Chelsea she's bringing an open Naviety to it but she's also Very wise.

I have the biggest girl crush on Leslie Bibb. She’s stunning and has a killer physique. I had a real “fuck OFF she’s 51” moment when I googled her. 😅

Yes, she’s gorgeous (and an ex-model). Lucky Sam Rockwell.

https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/white-lotus-season-3-fashion-style-where-to-buy

See that’s just annoying - I enjoy the clothes and styling, but why put Belinda in a 1200 dollar caftan?!

Well …

For one thing Belinda would know (none better) just how wealthy guests at WL resorts dress - so when she was invited to Thailand she would have made every effort to be dressed like a guest. (Remember how delighted she was to see a black couple dining at the hotel? She would hardly have turned up in supermarket clobber.)

Secondly she may have been able to take advantage of a staff discount at her own hotel shop?

Thirdly - lots of people who don’t have huge incomes like to dress really well - and put thought and energy into sourcing great clothes. Sales, pre-owned, shopping outlets, etc. (Gifts from grateful guests??)

Maybe she didn’t get the MN memo that anyone who isn’t a billionaire must buy all their clothes from Next?

That kaftan was beautiful!

There are several degrees of nice clothing between Next and a 1200-dollar caftan though.

You’re actually judging a Black woman for being better dressed than you think she ought to be?

Wow.

(Only yesterday I read that people were judging the Duchess of Sussex for owning Le Creuset saucepans - because apparently they wouldn’t be ‘relatable’ for other Black women. Not one of whom, it would appear, has ever, ever earned a living, or had a credit card, or been given nice kitchen stuff to celebrate a graduation or engagement or marriage or promotion or just because she liked them. Unbelievable.)

What does Belinda’s skin colour have to do with it? Her whole story arc is that she is sick of working for peanuts and wants her own business, but lacks the capital.

I mean, I get why she’s wearing it. The show looks beautiful, and it’s a fantasy, and she looks amazing in it. But I don’t think the poster’s doubts about the realism of her wearing it are anything to do with her race.

You seriously inferred that from this post? Have you seen the show? Do you understand about Belinda's character/backstory?

But the choice of clothes isn’t fantasy within the context of a story about these particular characters? Costume designers take their jobs seriously, don’t they?

I remember noticing the necklace Victoria wore to Greg’s party - the article above shows it cost $285,000. I’m prepared to accept that people who can afford to stay at WL Resort can also afford quarter of a million dollar items of jewellery and that the costume department chose carefully.

Do I understand Belinda’s character and back story? Oh. So well! (If you knew me you wouldn’t have to ask!)

Anyway …

Haha, here I thought Belinda was supposed to be a relatable, hard-working person and the antithesis of the clueless, insanely rich people dripping in this season’s latest designer gear. I stand corrected!

She’s hardworking because she wants a life where she can buy nice things, have a nicer home / lifestyle, support her son, maybe look forward to treating any grandchildren she may one day have. Essentially for exactly the same reasons the self-made rich people at the resort worked hard. The difference is so far they’ve been luckier than her.

She isn’t a different species.

I don’t understand why anyone would think she shouldn’t want nice things? I’m pretty sure most women working in salons or spas as beauty therapists or whatever around the UK either own or are saving for designer bags, glamorous holidays, university maintenance, mortgages …

I don’t want to labour the point but it seems completely relatable to me that Belinda would have invested some of whatever savings she had on kitting herself out for the trip. She would want to make a dazzlingly good impression, on her employers, her colleagues and perhaps wealthy guests who might give generous tips. (Not sure if she’s actually working as staff there at all?) But most of all she’d want to look good (ie not poor) for her own self respect and pride. I do know that.

Jeez ... this is light entertainment and Belinda looks great in what she's wearing.

I'm sure the viewers weren't meant to look up exactly how much her outfits cost and wonder could she really afford them on her salary. It's a show and a form of escapism.

The show makers give interviews and make information available on the costumes because they know people will be interested.

(You may have missed the countless threads here on the clothes on every possible show!)

No one has implied that she's a different species
I don't disagree that she works hard because she wants a nice lifestyle, or that she doesn't already have that because she's been unluckier than the guests (and it absolutely might not be just a matter of luck, but at least partly due to her race/sex/ maybe other factors.)

The idea that she might have invested some savings in some fancy clothes so she fits in sounds like something the costume designer would say to justify their choices; it's not beyond the bounds of possibility, but it does jar for me – and clearly for some other posters as well.

You haven't addressed the central issue: that you assumed that people were
judging her because she's Black and 'better dressed than you think she ought to be'.

Yes people are interested in the beautiful clothes but are they meant to take it so literally that "Belinda" bought that kaftan and how can she afford it?

"Belinda" is living in a make believe world so she can wear what she wants to wear, the kaftan just has to look like the sort of thing her character would like.

That makes no sense, @Twiglets1- the costume designers have made quite a big deal out of how they’ve chosen the clothes and their labels to reflect the characters. There’s a lot of interview time given to what the rich characters are wearing and why, which was why I was surprised to see they’ve not extended the same level of fashion characterisation to any of the staff characters.

There’s definitely a message in the staff uniforms!

https://tombolocompany.com/collections/frontpage/products/monkey-business-vanilla

Interesting words from Jason Isaacs

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/white-lotus-season-3-filming-jason-isaacs-relationships-b2726543.html

One interesting word!

@TheGlamour which one?