| Title: a date with judy - cute late 40s fashion
Posted: Wednesday, 29 February 2012 @ 17:38 |
comment |
I've been meaning to post this for a while, actually! The film A Date With Judy has a plot that is neither here nor there - it serves almost entirely as a vehicle to show off the singing of Jane Powell and the looks of Elizabeth Taylor. There is also some random Carmen Miranda thrown in for no reason than that MGM didn't seem to know what to do with her. But it does have some cute outfits! Here are my highlights.
I love this suspender skirt that Jane wears at the very beginning of the film. My favourite aspect is that you'd expect it to be a typical suspender skirt but she turns around and whoosh, it's a halterneck. Such a cute detail.
Elizabeth's dance dress demonstrates the best of junior miss fashion at this time. The colour suits her so wonderfully and I love the lace apron/peplum. So beautiful.
I'm not crazy about this dress of Jane's overall but I love the slashed sleeves. Such a nice idea to add a bit of detail to a simple blouse or dress.
I think this is my favourite dress in the whole film. It demonstrates that 'not quite New Look'-look very well. It has a full skirt in a longer length than would have been seen a couple of years earlier but we still have the very strong shoulders of the 40s that hadn't quite been transformed into the softer, rounded shoulders of the 50s. However, this suits Elizabeth very well as it just serves to emphasise that teensy waist.
This outfit is another knockout, this time a sequinned ivy printed circle skirt (it's a very heavy weight, I think it might be quilted but I'm not sure) with a high, shaped waist and a black off the shoulder top with sequinned ivy detail on the back. So glamorous, she looks like a Greek goddess.
This is my favourite of Jane's dresses - a simple pink and black stripe with black ribbon detail on the neckline, sleeves and waist. So cute!
I would like to show off this dress to say a) oh my goodness that waist and b) giraffes! I couldn't get any really clear shots but look, she is wearing a giraffe dress. I love it.
And here we have bonus adorable pearl grey silk mandarin-collared pyjamas as worn by Jane. Although I'm not crazy about the addition of the gingham (I'm guessing that's so she's not seen as sexy and Very Definitely Sixteen? I don't know), they're still adorable.
You can see a lot more of my screenshots in this album at my Flickr where there are quite a few and you can see Carmen Miranda wearing an outfit that I swear is the inspiration for Cathy Freeman's running outfit for the 400m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
| Title: oscar time!
Posted: Sunday, 26 February 2012 @ 15:40 |
Actually, to be completely honest, there's only one award I've ever shown any real interest in (although I still stay up for the Oscars, despite the fact that they generally finish at about 5am GMT). I love love love costume design so that award is always the one I'm fascinated by and spend time researching. And I usually have a favourite but this year it's a bit more wide open than usual. Anyway.
The things that make for really great costume design for film are historically accurate silhouette (obvious!), a certain theatricality, great use of colour and character (for instance Scarlett O'Hara wouldn't wear the same dresses as Melanie Wilkes) and also suitability to the actor or actress wearing them. I think one of the greatest winners of this award of late that captured all these elements so wonderfully was Marie Antoinette.
Milena Canonero captured the era perfectly but at the same time she was not a slave to 100% period accuracy which I think can sometimes hold back designers for the screen. Like I said, the important thing is silhouette - also choosing the right fabrics can make difference between seeming like something a real person would wear and seeming a bit, well, costumey.
This year's nominations are varied although interestingly 3 of the nominees are films set in the 20th century. There are also a few Oscar newcomers nominated this year which is really exciting to see as someone who loves costumes and new talent. So here are my thoughts on this year's picks.
Anonymous - Lisy Christl
Prior to researching for this post, I'd not really seen much of the costumes in this film but I have to say that I love them. I think one of the most interesting things about them is that, as you can see from the images I've chosen of Vanessa Redgrave & Joelly Richardson, the film follows the character of Elizabeth I in both youth and old age and we can see how her character progresses through her costume, from the much simpler earlier looks to the ostentatious and dramatic costumes worn by the elder Elizabeth. However, both of them share a love of finery and awesome wigs. I think I might have to watch this film just for the costumes (I am actually an Oxfordian aka someone who believes that the plays of Shakespeare were written by the Earl of Oxford but I think this film looks like they're trying hard to make people not believe in that theory!).
The things that make for really great costume design for film are historically accurate silhouette (obvious!), a certain theatricality, great use of colour and character (for instance Scarlett O'Hara wouldn't wear the same dresses as Melanie Wilkes) and also suitability to the actor or actress wearing them. I think one of the greatest winners of this award of late that captured all these elements so wonderfully was Marie Antoinette.
Milena Canonero captured the era perfectly but at the same time she was not a slave to 100% period accuracy which I think can sometimes hold back designers for the screen. Like I said, the important thing is silhouette - also choosing the right fabrics can make difference between seeming like something a real person would wear and seeming a bit, well, costumey.
This year's nominations are varied although interestingly 3 of the nominees are films set in the 20th century. There are also a few Oscar newcomers nominated this year which is really exciting to see as someone who loves costumes and new talent. So here are my thoughts on this year's picks.
Anonymous - Lisy Christl
Prior to researching for this post, I'd not really seen much of the costumes in this film but I have to say that I love them. I think one of the most interesting things about them is that, as you can see from the images I've chosen of Vanessa Redgrave & Joelly Richardson, the film follows the character of Elizabeth I in both youth and old age and we can see how her character progresses through her costume, from the much simpler earlier looks to the ostentatious and dramatic costumes worn by the elder Elizabeth. However, both of them share a love of finery and awesome wigs. I think I might have to watch this film just for the costumes (I am actually an Oxfordian aka someone who believes that the plays of Shakespeare were written by the Earl of Oxford but I think this film looks like they're trying hard to make people not believe in that theory!).
The Artist - Mark Bridges
I, like probably everyone else in the world who didn't walk out of the cinema upon learning this was a silent film (seriously, people did that), loved this film. However, I am here to talk primarily about costumes! Peppy wears some fabulous hats and some adorable dresses whilst George looks incredibly handsome in his evening suit. The costumes, I think, let the film do the talking (so to speak!) and aren't particularly in your face or theatrical - they just are there, in my opinion, not detracting at all from what is happening on the screen. My one major issue I have with this is that the film is set between 1927 and 1932 and anyone who knows anything about fashion history at this time knows that the silhouette of these periods is very different (the skirt moving from knee-length to ankle-length for daytime and floor-length for evening, the waist moving back up to its natural position from the upper hip) and the costumes for The Artist just do not demonstrate that at all. I appreciate that this probably doesn't mean much to most viewers of the film but I think it would have been a great way to show the passing of time and the change of the way of things that the film is all about! It's such a shame, really, that they didn't do that (and that they used a few modern details that they really didn't need to, such as invisible zips). But I still covet so many of the hats, oh my word.
Hugo - Sandy Powell
I've not seen this film and I found it really really hard to find pictures from it so I feel rather unqualified to speak on the costumes. Sandy Powell is the biggest hitter of the nominees this year, having been nominated ten times and won thrice, and the costumes certainly fit in with the overall look of the piece and work wonderfully with the set design - something that Powell is an expert at. But I wish I could have seen more of them. As it is, I feel a little as though they're only nominated because of who designed them.
Jane Eyre - Michael O'Connor
O'Connor is the king of period accuracy. His costumes always look a little like fashion plates from the era they are representing and I tip my hat to him. However, for me, I just do not see the spark of theatricality that I loved in the Anonymous costumes, for instance, and in Marie Antoinette. They are beautiful, undoubtedly, but I do not always feel like his costumes represent his characters as well as they might (for instance, I'm not sure there's a large enough contrast between Jane & Blanche in these images - they both look like something a fashionable lady of the day might wear, although I grant that Jane's gown is both more modest - but then it is a travelling gown - and more dour). But technically they are marvellous and his attention to detail is something I cannot fault. If I was looking at 100% period accuracy, these would win.
W.E. - Arianne Phillips
What can I say? I love these costumes. Again, I've not seen this film, but I felt as though every time I looked at a picture from the film, I was able to understand something about the characters. Of course these characters are well known and their sartorial tastes are fully documented so I did know a little already but I think the ability to breathe new life into a real person who is quite well known and also to design clothes for someone many years after they died that look as though they would have worn them very readily - well, I think that is quite a remarkable skill. The costumes and the accessories go wonderfully together and Wallis & Edward's costumes complement one another so well. And if there was an award for best dressed male character of the year, I cannot doubt that Edward would win this. So dapper. Ms Phillips won the award for Best Costume in a Period film at the Costume Designers' Guild Awards so they are obviously well regarded in the industry. I will be interested in seeing how well they do tonight.
So how about you? What are your favourite costume designs - both of this year and of years past? Do you agree with my choices? Let me know!
Jane Eyre - Michael O'Connor
O'Connor is the king of period accuracy. His costumes always look a little like fashion plates from the era they are representing and I tip my hat to him. However, for me, I just do not see the spark of theatricality that I loved in the Anonymous costumes, for instance, and in Marie Antoinette. They are beautiful, undoubtedly, but I do not always feel like his costumes represent his characters as well as they might (for instance, I'm not sure there's a large enough contrast between Jane & Blanche in these images - they both look like something a fashionable lady of the day might wear, although I grant that Jane's gown is both more modest - but then it is a travelling gown - and more dour). But technically they are marvellous and his attention to detail is something I cannot fault. If I was looking at 100% period accuracy, these would win.
W.E. - Arianne Phillips
What can I say? I love these costumes. Again, I've not seen this film, but I felt as though every time I looked at a picture from the film, I was able to understand something about the characters. Of course these characters are well known and their sartorial tastes are fully documented so I did know a little already but I think the ability to breathe new life into a real person who is quite well known and also to design clothes for someone many years after they died that look as though they would have worn them very readily - well, I think that is quite a remarkable skill. The costumes and the accessories go wonderfully together and Wallis & Edward's costumes complement one another so well. And if there was an award for best dressed male character of the year, I cannot doubt that Edward would win this. So dapper. Ms Phillips won the award for Best Costume in a Period film at the Costume Designers' Guild Awards so they are obviously well regarded in the industry. I will be interested in seeing how well they do tonight.
So how about you? What are your favourite costume designs - both of this year and of years past? Do you agree with my choices? Let me know!
| Title: pretty little things
Posted: Thursday, 16 February 2012 @ 01:23 |
I just found these on my Facebook and I can vaguely remember making them, I just have no idea why! But I thought they looked like they'd fit in here so I am sharing them with you :)
Left to right: Day dress with contrast turn back cap sleeves and belt, 1946; Sun dress with high neckline & bolero with sailor collar, 1941; Back of previous sun dress (from same pattern envelope), 1941; Evening blouse with extended sleeves and button up back, 1948; Gathered blouse with square yoke and full sleeves, 1941; Evening gown with sweetheart neckline (enhanced by dress clips) and gathering at bust, belted waist and peplum, 1945.
Left to right: Sun dress with button-on capelet and full skirt, 1948; Off the shoulder gypsy dress, 1947; Gypsy peasant top and full skirt; Bikini top and wrap around full skirt, both 1946; Sun dress with square neck, large pockets and embroidery detail, 1947; Off the shoulder peasant blouse, 1947; Long sleeveless dress with butterfly ruffle collar, 1935; Long dress with tie collar and blouson sleeves, 1935; Button down sundress with bodice gathered to round yoke and full skirt, 1954.
Left to right: Day dress with contrast turn back cap sleeves and belt, 1946; Sun dress with high neckline & bolero with sailor collar, 1941; Back of previous sun dress (from same pattern envelope), 1941; Evening blouse with extended sleeves and button up back, 1948; Gathered blouse with square yoke and full sleeves, 1941; Evening gown with sweetheart neckline (enhanced by dress clips) and gathering at bust, belted waist and peplum, 1945.
Left to right: Sun dress with button-on capelet and full skirt, 1948; Off the shoulder gypsy dress, 1947; Gypsy peasant top and full skirt; Bikini top and wrap around full skirt, both 1946; Sun dress with square neck, large pockets and embroidery detail, 1947; Off the shoulder peasant blouse, 1947; Long sleeveless dress with butterfly ruffle collar, 1935; Long dress with tie collar and blouson sleeves, 1935; Button down sundress with bodice gathered to round yoke and full skirt, 1954.
I love this way of putting together inspirational images and I'd forgotten I ever made these. I'll definitely have to do some more of these sort of inspiration collages in future.
| Title: lipstick, luxury & living with a chronic illness
Posted: Monday, 13 February 2012 @ 16:57 |
When you're ill, you'd be surprised how your priorities change. One of the first things that you find you don't care about quite so much is how you look. After all, when you're spending most of your time in bed, who cares how you look? And if you don't wash your hair for a week, it really isn't the end of the world. But I confess that this gets rather disheartening. Sometimes, when I look in the mirror, I want to see me, not someone who is sick and tired. So sometimes, when I have a little extra energy and I know I don't have anything I need to do that will require that energy, I treat myself to some special pampering.
I'm wearing the matching nail varnish which has chipped because my nails always chip and I forgot to put on another coat before taking pictures.
Max Factor Colour Elixir Lipstick in Ruby Tuesday
I bought this for the first time shortly before my wedding. I knew I needed the perfect red and I was having a hard time trying to find one. We have a MAC counter in the department store in town so I went in there and tried on the matte lipsticks that get a lot of attention in the vintage community - Ruby Woo & Russian Red - and I found I could scarcely get them from the tube onto my lips, no matter what I tried. The few smears that did stick felt like chalk. Perhaps I just have very dry lips and, as such, they and this lipstick wouldn't mesh. I don't know. All I know is that I was left feeling very down-hearted, so I wandered to the Max Factor counter where I saw these lovely little golden tubes, found the brightest shade of red and bought it along with the matching lip liner.
I'm wearing the matching nail varnish which has chipped because my nails always chip and I forgot to put on another coat before taking pictures.
It really is not as shiny as this picture suggests - I was standing directly in front of a window and the direct sunlight really picked up on every little bit of moisture. Also, ehhh, feathering, I didn't use a proper mirror/good light when I put it on so I didn't really know what I was doing AND my arms are quite weak so they tend to be wobbly (which is why I almost never wear eyeliner - it never ever looks anywhere near perfect), oh well.
It really is lovely and, to show that off, here are some sort of 'whole face' pictures which definitely show its texture and colour a lot more clearly - I think having a complete image is much better because the eyes can be deceptive with regards to colour if you see something in isolation.
I'm also showing off my Belle Blossom of the Month which is a little sunshine in my gloomy wintery days - and I love getting parcels, who doesn't? I'm amassing quite a collection of pretty hair flowers now, it's fantastic! I've always got something pretty to match every outfit. And it makes me feel like a Spanish señorita which I was somehow trying to mimic in these pictures - I'm not sure what the dodgy facial expressions were about!
I'm also showing off my Belle Blossom of the Month which is a little sunshine in my gloomy wintery days - and I love getting parcels, who doesn't? I'm amassing quite a collection of pretty hair flowers now, it's fantastic! I've always got something pretty to match every outfit. And it makes me feel like a Spanish señorita which I was somehow trying to mimic in these pictures - I'm not sure what the dodgy facial expressions were about!
| Title: loves #1 - red lipstick
Posted: Monday, 6 February 2012 @ 01:32 |
We may have tastes ranging decades and styles that push all boundaries but there's one thing us vintage girlies have in common. We love a good lipstick. And for many of us, nothing beats the classic pillar box red. It is one thing that is instantly evocative of the past. It screams 'look at me', it begs to be noticed. You cannot imagine a femme fatale without her red lipstick. And when I think of things about the vintage look that I love, red lipstick jumps out of me - it will not be ignored!
Four glamorous ladies of the blogosphere in their red lipstick, l-r top Johanna Öst & Esme & The Laneway, bottom Diary of a Vintage Girl & The Call of the Jitterbug Doll
Red lipstick was, for many years, the staple of any girl's make-up bag. Of course women wore other lipsticks too (in fact, my grandmother claims that any girl who wore BRIGHT red lips in the 40s was considered fast but she was very much a country girl and I'm sure it was different in the towns & cities) but it is the legacy of red that has endured decades.
Please pardon the fact that three of these ladies are redheads! It was unintentional!
Red was so completely de rigeur that most advertisements featuring lipstick only displayed their models in the brightest of shades - it was considered gay, beautiful and glamorous.
Images via Glamour Daze & Enthusiastic Homemaking
I'm all out of my standard red lipstick (which I want to post on when I get a new tube because I just think it is the absolute best) so I decided to model a couple of shades that I don't wear very often - just because!
These are both Dior's Iconic Red. The texture is for me a little slippery and the colour is a bit TOO blue and also too dark for my complexion, but it showed up really nicely in these pictures (aside from the fact that there is major feathering - but I chose not to wear it without lip liner because I am silly).
This colour definitely suits me better - it's a lipstick by Max Factor that they don't make anymore and I can't even find a label on my tube - I am so bad at this! I've had it longer than I care to mention and I almost never wear it. Also - bonus me wearing red lipstick in the snow!
And one final image, care of Complete Inconsistency
Four glamorous ladies of the blogosphere in their red lipstick, l-r top Johanna Öst & Esme & The Laneway, bottom Diary of a Vintage Girl & The Call of the Jitterbug Doll
Red lipstick was, for many years, the staple of any girl's make-up bag. Of course women wore other lipsticks too (in fact, my grandmother claims that any girl who wore BRIGHT red lips in the 40s was considered fast but she was very much a country girl and I'm sure it was different in the towns & cities) but it is the legacy of red that has endured decades.
Please pardon the fact that three of these ladies are redheads! It was unintentional!
Red was so completely de rigeur that most advertisements featuring lipstick only displayed their models in the brightest of shades - it was considered gay, beautiful and glamorous.
Images via Glamour Daze & Enthusiastic Homemaking
I'm all out of my standard red lipstick (which I want to post on when I get a new tube because I just think it is the absolute best) so I decided to model a couple of shades that I don't wear very often - just because!
These are both Dior's Iconic Red. The texture is for me a little slippery and the colour is a bit TOO blue and also too dark for my complexion, but it showed up really nicely in these pictures (aside from the fact that there is major feathering - but I chose not to wear it without lip liner because I am silly).
This colour definitely suits me better - it's a lipstick by Max Factor that they don't make anymore and I can't even find a label on my tube - I am so bad at this! I've had it longer than I care to mention and I almost never wear it. Also - bonus me wearing red lipstick in the snow!
And one final image, care of Complete Inconsistency
| Title: about me - dislikes
Posted: Saturday, 4 February 2012 @ 21:27 |
I thought that a good way for my blog readers to understand me would be to post a series on my likes and dislikes. But then I thought that my dislikes are a little too broad and I guess a vintage girl's pet peeves are all alike. So I thought - why not cover things that people would expect me to like but I actually don't like that much at all? It's just a short list - for now at least, I might post more if I can think of more things! And then, hopefully over Valentine's Day, I'll post my loves, the things that drive me crazy for vintage and keep coming back.
The 1950s
I really do not dislike everything about the 1950s. However, the era's image as a whole irks me. Partly it's a fashion thing - I much prefer the more simple lines of the mid-40s and 1950s fashion has this habit of appearing both juvenile and old-ladyish at once - and partly it's about ideals. Now I know of course that many women were in the workforce in the 1950s but, after the war, there seemed to be an attitude of presenting women in more traditionally feminine roles - in the home, in the kitchen etc. Of course the perfect housewife image dates from a lot earlier than the 1950s but there is a reason why we think of the 50s when we think of that whole idea. I guess, for me, the 1940s (and the 1910s!) are more exciting because it was a time when women got to do so much more than they ever had before and they got to break the rules of traditional gender roles a little.
I also don't like rock'n'roll, I'm much more of a traditional WWII era swing girl, and have absolutely no interest in Elvis. I swear, my musical tastes pretty much miss out anything between about 1947 and 1963, with the exception of the Everly Brothers because they're adorable.
Twee
I hate twee. I hate girly-girly. I hate chintz and floral patterns (except highly stylised ones) and polka dots and ruffles. I hate frou-frou. Sometimes this is a hard one to explain because I love Edwardian fashion but I guess I can explain it best by saying that I much prefer the cleaner lines of the 1910s, when embellishment was primarily through the use of ingenious cut and incredible beading and embroidery, than through layers and layers of lace and ruffles. I think this dislike is something of a practical one because it just does not suit me. I'm not exactly old, I'm not quite 23, but I still feel like mutton dressed as lamb if I'm wearing anything too girly. And Cath Kidston, I hate to say it, just makes me want to puke.
I told you it was a short list ;)
(Images taken from The Nifty Fifties, Moth Girl Wings, Hemmings Blog, Here She Sat, You & Your Wedding, Wedding Inspirasi, The African Fashionista & Urban Outfitters)
The 1950s
I really do not dislike everything about the 1950s. However, the era's image as a whole irks me. Partly it's a fashion thing - I much prefer the more simple lines of the mid-40s and 1950s fashion has this habit of appearing both juvenile and old-ladyish at once - and partly it's about ideals. Now I know of course that many women were in the workforce in the 1950s but, after the war, there seemed to be an attitude of presenting women in more traditionally feminine roles - in the home, in the kitchen etc. Of course the perfect housewife image dates from a lot earlier than the 1950s but there is a reason why we think of the 50s when we think of that whole idea. I guess, for me, the 1940s (and the 1910s!) are more exciting because it was a time when women got to do so much more than they ever had before and they got to break the rules of traditional gender roles a little.
I also don't like rock'n'roll, I'm much more of a traditional WWII era swing girl, and have absolutely no interest in Elvis. I swear, my musical tastes pretty much miss out anything between about 1947 and 1963, with the exception of the Everly Brothers because they're adorable.
Twee
I hate twee. I hate girly-girly. I hate chintz and floral patterns (except highly stylised ones) and polka dots and ruffles. I hate frou-frou. Sometimes this is a hard one to explain because I love Edwardian fashion but I guess I can explain it best by saying that I much prefer the cleaner lines of the 1910s, when embellishment was primarily through the use of ingenious cut and incredible beading and embroidery, than through layers and layers of lace and ruffles. I think this dislike is something of a practical one because it just does not suit me. I'm not exactly old, I'm not quite 23, but I still feel like mutton dressed as lamb if I'm wearing anything too girly. And Cath Kidston, I hate to say it, just makes me want to puke.
I told you it was a short list ;)
(Images taken from The Nifty Fifties, Moth Girl Wings, Hemmings Blog, Here She Sat, You & Your Wedding, Wedding Inspirasi, The African Fashionista & Urban Outfitters)
