Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel

I finally watched the film "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel" last night.  To watch this film is to "get" me and my fascination with fashion in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s.  To watch this film is to understand the allure of vintage clothing from those eras.  To watch this film is to see why today's fast fashion is such a tragedy.  The film is now available to watch for free on Amazon Prime if you are a subscriber.  It is also available on DVD.  I urge you to watch it, then watch it again.

And, as Diana says, please, "Don't be boring!"

Vintage Fashion in "The Butler"

"The Butler" opens today in theaters.  I'm looking forward to seeing Oprah in her starring role as the wife of White House butler Cecil Gaines, played by Forest Whitaker.

As much as I'll probably enjoy the story, it's Oprah's costuming I'll be watching as the film spans the decades from the Eisenhower presidency right through to the Obama inauguration.  That's a lot of years and a lot of fashion! 

Ruth Carter did the costuming for the film.  She has received Oscar nominations for her work on the films "Malcolm X" and "Amistad."




Here's a half hour interview with Ruth Carter from The Huffington Post. You'll see lots of images from the film and hear about Carter's process of choosing the costumes for the film. Enjoy!

Ann Margret and Elvis

Can't you just feel the electricity between Ann Margret and Elvis?  This is a publicity still for the movie "Viva Las Vegas."  The two began a widely publicized affair during the filming of the movie, which was a big box office hit in 1964.

I think you'll enjoy this musical number, "What'd I Say?"  There's great dancing and great fashion!

Fashion in Film - The Help

 I read "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett last year and loved it.  I finally took the time this weekend to watch the Oscar nominated film, and enjoyed it even more!!!!  In my opinion, costume designer Sharen Davis should have taken home the Academy Award for Best Costume Design because she nailed the look of the early 60s in Jackson, Mississippi.

 50 of the main costumes were made from scratch using vintage fabrics.  The rest were true vintage sourced from costume shops and vintage stores.  The accessories used in the film, like hats, handbags, jewelry and sunglasses, were all true vintage.

 Davis also achieved perfection in showing the differences in wardrobe worn by the young white women, their older mothers, and the daily uniforms and "Sunday best" of the black domestics.

She also did a brilliant job of portraying social misfit Celia Foote with her too-tight dresses and her low-cut necklines that scandalized the Junior League membership in their more demure clothing.  Bravo to Sharen Davis for a job well done!

If you haven't seen "The Help", I highly recommend it.  For a more in-depth discussion with Sharen Davis about the costumes designed for the film, this article from the L.A. Times is a great read.

Fashion in Film: Elephant Walk

When Elizabeth Taylor passed in March of this year, the prolific stories and images about her reminded me of one of her films that I hadn't seen in years.  Elephant Walk had entranced me as a young woman because of the stunning clothes worn by Elizabeth Taylor.  It was perhaps one of the seeds that was planted early on that grew to become my fascination and love for vintage dresses from the 1950s.

The film was made in 1954 and Edith Head designed the costumes for Elizabeth Taylor.  The movie was filmed on location in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and the setting is stunning.  Head does a great job of making the star stand out amidst such exotic backgrounds.

The clothes that Taylor wears might seem out of place on a remote tea plantation if we weren't told early in the film that her new husband treated her to a new wardrobe in Paris on their honeymoon.

Head dressed Taylor in full skirted dresses with tiny waists that accented her ample bosom.  The dresses were always belted and most of the belts had some sort of adornment or beading to draw the eye right to Taylor's miniscule waistline.

Taylor wore this pink peignoir set on her first night on the plantation.  She looked very romantic and beautiful.

My favorite dress in the entire film is this evening gown.  Purple lace sculpts Taylor's figure very tightly and a white tulle full skirt floats beneath it.  You can see the gown in action in this video.

Like the look?  I have this 1950s dress available at Couture Allure that was probably inspired by Taylor's dress in the film.  Pretty, isn't it?