When we first meet Georgy, she seems to be a confident and happy young woman. This is seen in her body language and the way she skips so fancifully down the road; swinging her handbag and whistling as she goes. She is smiling too. However, her clothing gives us a different impression of her character. She wears mostly dark colours, this reflects her dull personality. Her hair is quite messy, showing us that she is quite disorganised. Her coat is big and heavy, and it shows us that she lacks the femininity that women of that era are expected to have.In simple terms; she is not an 'it' girl (when we later meet the character of Meredith, we see that they are the binary opposition of each other).
Another element which really helps to build the scene is the music.It is has a lively happy beat; common for the 'Swinging Britain' era, however the myth is dispelled by the lyrics of the song. The lyrics of the song are cold, harsh and a blunt reminder of reality. This dull/dark reality is also highlighted in the fact that the film is shot in black and white.
The high street that Georgy travels down could be seen as a visual metaphor of life passing her by. This concept is highlighted in the song lyric, "You're always window shopping and never stopping to buy."
As the cinematography zooms in on the hairstyles in the salon, one of which Georgy ends up getting, It is reiterated that fashion is a key part of the youth culture at the time. We are also given the sense of a pressure to conform, which Georgy feels too. This is why she changes her hair. As soon as she comes out the salon though, we can see an uneasy look on her face, and she rushes to change it. This reiterates the conflict between the old and the new and how Georgy is torn betweeen the two. This is foreshadowing later themes in the film.
The ending lyric of the song, "A new Georgy Girl," hints to us that our main protagonist is going to go through a big change during the course of the film.
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