Grace Kelly in Rear Window - I love her perfect elegance. This dress is perfection. I also love her in the suit with the white halter top (I wish I had her shoulders) and her cropped jeans and weejuns at the very end. I love the chunky bracelet she wears with the suit. And I think the reason I have so many overnight bags is because of her Mark Cross (?) overnight case. She is the refinement to Jimmy Stewart's rough. Her aesthetic of elegant execution - from a four-star catered dinner in to essentials being a peignoir, robe and satin slippers - is one that I aspire too as well.
Kim Novak in Bell, Book and Candle - Quirky and sultry with a little bit of dangerous mixed in. She is equal in feline grace to her Pywacket with a throaty voice that I can't even get close to matching, and eyebrows to die for. I especially love her nightclub shoes. I know its a romantic comedy but I liked her better as her witch-y self.
Cyd Cherise in Brigadoon - If I could have any dress in the world made for me, I think it might be this dress. I love the stand up collar and the bright underskirts. I first fell in love with this dress when I was about twelve I think and used to try and draw it all the time.
Vanessa Redgrave in Camelot - Another great voice. I love the 1960's take on Medieval dress - especially the ones during the love song montage. And her hair! Definitely an inspiration to have really long hair. Her dress and hair has to have been an influence on George Lucas' Queen Amidala. And in this picture you can see Guenevere's wedding rings. I think it's a small ring on the top of her finger and that acts as a barrier to the larger almost masculine ring below. Seeing this I realize where I got the idea to have three rings as my wedding ring set.
Leslie Caron in GiGi - This might be my formal choice for the one dress I would want made for me. I love the flow-y skirt, elegant neckline with the black swallows adorning the shoulders. The perfect juxtaposition of white and black and creating a balanced sense of movement.
If I look through accessories like gloves and wraps and hair and jewelry, I can pick out elements that have come from these inspirational guideposts. It's a shame that we have lost the use of so many of the opportunities to wear clothes like these and can only incorporate small elements.
1 comment:
Totally random commenter here, but I just had to share... I was looking for a photo of Leslie Caron's Gigi dress because I'm trying to have something similar made for my wedding. Because it's about my favorite dress ever--after Cyd Charisse's in Brigadoon! I always wanted to have that as a dress/costume. It's so funny to find that someone else also lists the 2 of them as favorites!
Post a Comment