New Video: 2017 Film Favorites

Well look who finally put a video together again. This one was a troublemaker for some reason, I had to re-film the whole thing after deeming the first take unusable (I got a little too feminist on the first try, which isn't a thing, but it is on YouTube where they burn people at the stake for that kinda thing), and then on the second try my microphone gave out near the end! I re-filmed the end part one last time and finally managed to edit everything together. I still have so much to learn when it comes to making videos!

This isn't even a vintage related video, it's just me talking about my favorites from all of the films I watched last year. If you like movies however, or at all wonder what kinds of movies I like, hopefully you will find this video a least interesting since it took me ages to make ;) I hope to start uploading videos weekly this year, so let me know if there are any topics you would like to hear me ramble on about! 

...and yes, I dyed my hair right after editing this footage and seeing how bad my roots were getting. It's still mostly purple but just a bit ombre now so it looks less silly!

I hope you are all having a good week, and if not don't worry- it's almost the weekend again!

Fashion on Film: Cover Girl (1944)

It's strange I have an aversion to watching musicals, seeing as I spent much of my high school days trying to get cast in them, but that was another time I suppose. I kept letting the fact that Cover Girl was a musical put me off, but everyone was always raving about the style in the film and so I finally relented and made time to watch last weekend. People are not kidding about the style in this film!!! Goodness the fashion on display is gorgeous!

First a quick run down and review of the film: Cover Girl, released in 1944 by Columbia pictures staring Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers, Eve Arden and others, is a technicolor musical directed by Charles Vidor. The film centers around night club dancer/performer Rusty Parker (Hayworth) and her club owner beau Danny (Kelly) as Rusty is discovered and caught between the Brooklyn nightclub that gave her her start and the lure of Broadway stardom. Becoming a cover girl on the special anniversary edition of a magazine could give Rusty the big break she's always dreamed of, but what will she lose if she follows fame? This is not a groundbreaking story, but hey, we're here for pretty people, in pretty clothes, and nice dance routines okay, not plot. Despite my usual hesitation towards musicals, I really enjoyed the film, mostly because I felt the fun dancing and beautiful fashion made up for the predicable story and some of the more pasted in musical numbers (the flashback ones did little if anything to actual move the story forward for example). It's fun, it's gorgeous Hayworth and dashing Kelly, it's in technicolor! I say watch it, even for the clothes alone; this film is a must watch for forties fashion lovers.

Now of course I'm sure many are enamored with the beautiful Rita Hayworth's ethereal gowns for her dance numbers, but I enjoyed the clothes of the other female characters even more! Eve Arden plays magazine editor Cornelia Jackson, and has the best wardrobe in the film in my opinion. We'll analyze most of her ensembles via screencaps below. Another tiny character is Jinx Falkenburg, who plays herself as she was a model/cover girl of the time (and also a tennis champion, excellent swimmer, actress, and radio performer apparently, a quick google search tells me!), and though I think she only appears twice, both of her outfits are stunning! My favorite scene has to be when the girls go to the magazine offices to try audition for the cover girl modeling spot as they all seem to be wearing their best suit/hat combinations and each look is deserving of an individual examination really! I suppose I should give you a spoiler warning of sorts for the outfits of the side players, so watch the film first if you want to be as surprised and in awe as I was watching the film having gone in cold! Let us dig in shall we?

Starting out we have possibly my favorite outfit in the whole film being worn by Eve Arden above. The black dress has full length sleeves and a high v-neckline and seems to have some sort of smooth peplum. This classic black dress (I want it!) is paired with a yellow/chartreuse jacket (!!!) and coordinating yellow hat with black feathers and veiling. The styling here is just so good, the matching gold bracelets over the cuff area of the dress sleeves paired with two brooches that seem to be fish! I can't really tell but I think one of the brooches may be this style by Coro Craft, which I do believe I spotted in my 1944 Montgomery Wards catalog! That fish brooch, remember it is costume jewelry, sells for $450 now a days!  Notice no earrings even though her hair is pulled up/back, but I suppose a hat that gorgeous is enough interest near the face. She's wearing what look like black patent leather pumps with this ensemble, though it's too fast a glimpse to get a good look really. Here is a clip from the film featuring this outfit if you're interested in seeing it in motion :)

Her friend next to her above also has a black outfit+amazing hat situation going on. Her black suit is paired with a white blouse/or vest, hard to say which, and shes got a huge black leather clutch and white gloves in her hand as well. She also has black patent leather pumps on, which reminds me I simply must acquire some soon! I quite like how her double strand pearl necklace doesn't say housewife at all within this ensemble like double strand pearls sometimes seem to infer. Clearly I should have been a 1940's magazine editor because I am all about their look!

Next we have the two ladies we know who are auditioning in this scene, Rita Hayworth's Rusty Parker and Leslie Brooks playing her mean girl fellow dancer "friend" Maurine.  Hayworth has on a cute but practical set of a matching skirt and coat, the blouse underneath has the same red detailing on one shoulder as well. She carries a huge navy bag, wears a beret with a big red pom pom on the back, and oddly her gloves seem to be cream instead of white to match her blouse (same with her friend). Fellow nightclub dancer Maurine wears a gorgeous fitted suit in dusty blue with an almost Victorian looking blouse. She too wears an amazingly adorable hat and carries a hug clutch. It seems the lesson is there was no such thing as too big a clutch bag in 1944! Which means large 80's clutches are fair game for us modern gals trying to shop the look on a budget.

The other models there to audition also have wonderful style much deserving of our attentions! Every outfit above is pretty #goals, I mean seriously- the purple suit with bright green accessories? Let's start there, notice the velvet muff with purple flowers? How crazy is that thing. Shes got on white gloves and black pumps, so obviously one need not be color coordinated all the way with every accessory. If anyone wants to find me a suit this shade of purple in a 40 bust and 34 waist please go ahead. She's not the only one with a muff as an accessory, though everyone else seems to have got fur ones! I have covered how to make a faux fur muff here on the blog before in this post, because what is more ridiculous and glam than a muff?

The gal seated on the same couch with the big brown fur muff has paired it with a blue and green coat dress which seems to be blue in the front and green on the back, with a shell pink collar! That's a lot of color blocking  :) Shes got black pumps on too by the way, and a puffy little fur hat with veiling and what look to be grey faux-birds made of feathers. The look is finished off with a gold toned brooch and earrings!

The gal in the center on the couch has a brown dress with a tan, brown, and baby blue plaid coat worn over the top. Her hair bow seems a bit young but I don't really mind. She has brown pumps on and both a large chunky chain necklace and bracelet.

The blurry ladies in the background also have killer outfits. Notice the pointed collar on the girl in the right side of the frame and her lovely grey blue hat. The other gal in pink dripping with furs has got the glamour turned up to 10 as well, love that hat again, I may need to make another faux fur set in longer fluffier fur like these! Faux only ladies!!

The other couch of models are just as flashily dressed. I love the dark pink and sage green together! The gal in the tan/pink hat and jacket has a rich grass green skirt paired with it and carries a dark brown clutch (again huge!) to go with her brown leather pumps. The gal standing at the end near the center of frame has giant heart shaped black rhinestone brooches that I'd love to have and seems to be wearing Royal Vintage Shoe's Nita style, or rather the original 40's style that inspired the repro!

I feel like in general these outfits are inspiring me to A) break up my suits more often and do some color blocking with different jackets and dresses/skirts, and B) be more adventurous and bold in general with my styling!

Another more seasoned model is trying to get the magazine mogul to give her the cover job but he says her face is too "known" by the public already to be the fresh young bride cover girl. Her face may be known, but it is also framed in one of the largest hats I have ever seen! The layers of velvet ribbon bows to match are gorgeous and in such a pretty shade of green. In her outfit we have a light and dark grey suit, the pretty green shade as an accent, and black gloves and shoes. Another tip I have picked up from these gals? Wear bracelets over your gloves/dress sleeves!

Also, I love this models hairstyle, super wearable!

Here is the aforementioned Jinx Falkenburg in red and brown! What an ensemble, firstly the jacket is super gorgeous, look at those swirl details. Then she's got the jacket paired with warm browns and sparkling gold! Is it a sequin blouse? A jabot? A huge necklace? I'll never know, but it is super glam! And speaking of sparkles, check out her big bracelet over the chocolate brown gloves and the funny little jeweled/beaded/sequin balls hair accessory? Where do I get one?

Her bag of matching chocolate brown seems to be a big crochet bucket style with a drawstring? Also, slingbacks with suits seems to be something I never realized was as acceptable as it apparently was/is. I always think of slingbacks as almost sandals, a summer shoe, but here they are again with suits and fur so I stand corrected!

The magazine team decamps to Danny's nightclub to see their prospective models in action and the ladies dress divinely for evening too of course! Here our magazine editor Jackson has got a beige dress, brown gloves, and deep dark brown furs together for an all brown even if not monotone look. Eve Arden's super long gloves above are super elegant, if you can dare to look away from her amazing sequin and beaded round little hat! Another lesson, tulle seems to be pretty acceptable veiling material on hats?

That hat!

And Hayworth, I mean miss Rusty Parker, has a great hat on too back at the magazine's offices for another interview. Shes dressed demurely but in fun pink. I love how her hat is perched, I'll be trying that look soon!

Still, yet again Eve Arden's outfit steals the room because woah! Firstly, look at the huge round (lucite?) buttons on her fab jacket, what! What are those crazy buttons! The spheres are echoed in her double sphere gold earrings. Her gold bracelet is a large chain style, something I obviously need to add to my collection soon. Her brooches are again amazing but again I can't exactly tell what they are other than novelties of some kind. Her hat is also amazing! Flowers tucked into a scrunched up circle of wool by the look of it!

Are the brooches bugs? I really can't tell. The jacket collar is so perfect and somehow not at all EvilQueen(tm), at least I don't think so. Is the inside of the collar green velvet or black silk? Where did these clothes end up after the film? Can I have them?

Another trip to Danny's nightclub and it's Jinx Falkenburg's other brief appearance in a beautiful soft pink long sleeved beaded evening gown! I love the huge brooch/dress clip at the end of the deep V and her sparkling hair accessories. Some ladies have millinery style flowers pinned into their hair which is another style I would have thought was more of a summer/daywear sort of thing but obviously is fine for evening too!

More great costuming on Eve Arden, this time a navy blue suit with red vest and red check tiny bow tie. The matching red check hat is almost a tilted Victorian/bustle period inspired style. Chic!

More flowers for a more formal event, and umm a flower muff!! The burgundy/claret color gown with the dark purple is gorgeous, the gloves are an in between compromise of a dark berry color. I really wish long gloves in these great colors were easier to find, especially in my larger glove size.

So those were my favorite looks from the film! I hope you all enjoyed this breakdown of some of the outfits and inspiration gleaned from studying them. Anyone have more 1940's style heavy technicolor films I should watch? Let me know in the comments :)

New Hair Tutorial Video : Rachel's Hair From The Original Blade Runner

Whew! I finally got a new video together for you all! I hope you all enjoy watching me do my hair in one of the most futuristic looking 1940's styles. It is certainly a striking look! I wish I could wear this style more often, but it isn't the most comfortable hair style with the pins needing to be quite tight to hold the bumper bangs in shape. The pinching pins are worth it for the replicant look though! At least for a few hours...

Costume Review: Allied

WWII period clothing and Marion Cotillard is a combination I can get behind any day, so I was happy to see Allied was available to watch on my flight to France as I had somehow missed seeing it in theaters. The film is one of those "are they really who they say they are?" plots so I won't say much on that score, only that Cotillard is excellent as always and Brad Pitt does okay but is sometimes a bit too stoic even for a war wearied spy. The clothes though, are fantastic!

I especially loved the costumes from the first part of the film set in Casablanca, naturally. Cotillard wears some great dresses during the day, the ivory and blue with the straw hat being my favorite look, but the dotted and striped black and white dress is also very nice. The glossy pale teal gown from all the promos is indeed gorgeous, and the sleeve shape and seaming are divine. There is an orange dress with embellished shoulders in the second half of the film that I really liked as well but there seem to be no photos of it anywhere yet. 

I'd say if you love 1940's clothes, you will enjoy this film! How did you all like it? Anymore films set in 1940's Casablanca (other than Casablanca itself of course) or any other "exotic" locals I should know about? I just watched They Met in Bombay this week from 1941 and though the film was a bit split and not very cohesive, Rosalind Russel's costumes (Adrian of course darling) were wonderful!

Sunday Spotlight: In the Mood for Love

I have discovered something recently, I don't just casually enjoy movies, I really love film. In discovering such I have fallen down the rabbit hole of YouTube videos about film making and how movement, music, blocking, writing, color, and more are used to make the audience feel. In doing so I have added several films to my must watch list, and as I haven't seen many of the classics or game-changing films often highlighted, I have a very long list indeed. One of the films mentioned as possibly having the best use of color in film was In the Mood for Love. Seeing as I already realized how much I was missing by having not seen any of the gorgeous films coming out of Hong Kong, I went and watched In the Mood for Love right away. 

Director Wong Kar-Wai creates a mood indeed, with languid shots, even occasionally slowed down so you can feel each moment, no matter how objectively mundane, linger on. Mr Chow (Tony Leung) and Mrs Chan (Maggie Cheung) are neighbors stuck in quite the unfortunate predicament, both of their spouses are seeing someone else, and they are both hauntingly lonely. The use of color in this film is indeed strikingly beautiful, as are the compositions created on screen and the music used. The actors do a wonderful job and I am so happy to be introduced to them as I plan on watching a lot of films from Hong Kong soon. I really don't want to say much about the plot, though there is little I could "spoil" in the traditional sense. Just know you should totally watch this film!

And the costumes? It's 1962 and Maggie Cheung wears over 20 amazing cheongsam/qipao dresses. The fabrics and prints are beautiful ranging from playful colorful 60s florals to moody iridescent shot silk taffeta. Any fashion lover will be in visual overload, such stunning clothes! They never take away from the story of course, Mrs Chan's style is just inherent in her character.

Have you seen In the Mood for Love? Do you have any similar films to recommend to me? Let me know!

Sunday Spotlight: The Big Sleep

I like Bogart, and I like Bacall, yet I'd never seen The Big Sleep, the second of the four films they made together. Luckily TCM on demand had the film available to stream last week and I caught it last night on the final day it was available to watch! (TCM on demand is awesome by the way, like Netflix for old Hollywood.)

Humphrey Bogart is Philip Marlowe, a private detective  hired by an elderly client to deal with some blackmailing plaguing his younger daughter. In fact both of the man's daughters are trouble, though the elder of the two,Vivian (Lauren Bacall) seems much smarter than her sister Carmen (Martha Vickers). Marlowe must then wade through the various ruffians surrounding both sisters to figure out the truth, all while avoiding being shot himself (always from the hip, as if anyone could aim from that level? Mythbusters covered this one and its pretty implausible). Who's blackmailing whom, and which thug killed the other can get pretty hard to follow along with, but isn't the moody lighting and wealth of witty comebacks worth the confusion? Certainly.

As much as I have always enjoyed the look of film Noir, I have yet to watch many of the actual films that defined the genre, so I was excited to finally watch such a classic noir film. Sure this film's particular plot got a bit convoluted, who's been killing who and all that, but it doesn't matter because Bogie and Bacall are so entertaining and chic. Just look at that lamé jacket above! I just love Lauren Bacall's hairstyle too, I wish I could replicate it, so soft but still perfectly defined and waved in front. She has several lovely costumes in this film and I particularly liked the hounds-tooth suit she wears to Marlowe's office. I took special notice of her wonderful handbag too, a black box shaped number with what looked like Lucite along the top. Even when dames behave badly, I don't much mind as long as they are well dressed ;)

Have you seen The Big Sleep? What are your thoughts on the classic? Also please leave me recommendations as to your favorite noir films as I'd love to watch some more!

Star Wars & the Power of Costume at the Denver Art Museum

All of my favorite things in one outing, The Denver Art Museum, Star Wars, and gorgeous costumes. Of course it was really special to see the actual Jedi robes, and a real original storm trooper suit of "armor", and even Leia's famous golden bikini, but lets get real-- Padme has the best (and the most) costumes of any Star Wars character. As a huge Star Wars fan I was already on cloud nine just to be in the same room with such iconic costumes and props, but to see the craftsmanship and amazing fabric manipulation techniques used for the Naboo queen's and Padme's costumes up close was incredibly inspirational.

Sparkling antique Victorian jet beaded appliques used on galactic queen's gowns, Fortuny-esk pleated dresses for the handmaidens, historical silhouettes with Mongolian headdresses, the costumes of Padme Amidala are one of the few redeeming qualities of the oft ridiculed Star Wars prequels. I happen to like a lot about Episodes I-III, mostly the design, both costume and production design. (I also love Ewan McGregor...) The Denver Art Museum's new exhibition Star Wars and the Power of Costume showcases over 70 original costumes from the 7 films in the Star Wars saga. I won't lie, I nearly got teary turning a corner to see Rey's costume from The Force Awakens, a lead female character I was just so happy to have introduced into one of my favorite series, but I kept it together!

The exhibition was very well laid out, and explained the work and process that costumers go through to design characters overall look and their costumes for film. Art museum's get a lot of push-back from the "art" community when they do "commercial" exhibitions like film costumes or 20th century fashion designers, which I think is so stupid. Of course what film (and theater) costume designers do is art. Of course what fashion designers do is art. To claim otherwise, to say that costumes and fashion don't belong in an art museum, is ludicrous! I feel like the Denver Art Museum's focus on the process of the costume designer at work in this exhibition serves to try and prove that what they do is art, but though interesting for those unfamiliar with costume production for film, it is actually an unnecessary justification. You could have any of Padme's gowns alone in a gallery with no accompanying information and no one could argue that the piece before them wasn't pure artistry. I suppose there is no way to deny that pop culture zeitgeisty exhibitions like film costumes drive people into the museum, selling tickets certainly, but isn't it a good thing if people who wouldn't normally go to the art museum come and get to experience the space? Isn't it wonderful if their daughter drags them to see the photography while they are there? Or they might figure out they really love modern sculpture when they get lost looking for the elevators? More visitors due to a "commercial" exhibition will help create much needed revenue for a museum sure, but they also create new art lovers, and what could be better than that?

Anyways, I'll get off my museum studies soap-box, and get onto the many photos I took during my visit! I highly recommend you visit the exhibition in person if you are able to, nothing beats being their and examining everything in person!

It was amazing to see original story boards for the films! They were so detailed too!

Sunday Spotlight: Fantastic Costumes and Where to Find Them

No spoilers I promise!

The wizarding community isn't exactly great at keeping up with muggle fashion trends, and as dress robes and tall pointed hats are definitely still considered stylish in 1990's era Harry Potter, I didn't expect their to be many beaded flapper dresses in the new Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Well lucky me, there were two very lovely beaded 1920s dresses but on the whole what impressed me the most about Colleen Attwood's costumes for the new film set in Joanne Rowling's magical world was her restraint. I mean, we all know Colleen Atwood (the costumer of such films as Little Women, Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha, and most Tim Burton films) can do some epic costumes, like her recent work in Snow White and the Huntsman for example, so wish a setting as open and imaginative as the wizarding world she could have gone quite over the top and no one would have batted an eyelash. Instead the costumes feel grounded and real, which is probably a better choice in a film which already has a lot of fantasy elements going on, if everyone was wearing glittering capes and feathers it would have been way too much!

Of our two female leads, sisters Tina and Queenie (played by Katherine Waterston and Alison Sudol respectively), Tina is the tomboy. Her clothes are more somber muted grays and she wears boxier menswear inspired silhouettes finished with flat practical man-ish shoes. Her hair isn't perfectly set, she's too busy running around getting stuff done as a MACUSA (the USA's version of the Ministry of Magic) employee. Her sister Queenie is the more traditionally feminine of the two, and wears mostly shades of pink and blush throughout the film, the exception being her midnight blue(/black?) dress. When we meet her in the sister's apartment she seems to have just been putting the finishing touches on said dark silk dress, as it's on a mannequin, and you can see a length of pink silk draped over an ironing table in the background. A witch who uses her magic to make deco dresses? Awesome!

(Images found here)

The men have nice costumes too, especially main character Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) who has a great color scheme going on with his dark turquoise wool coat. I really enjoyed the film, but as a Potter fan I expected to of course! With JK Rowling writing the scripts everything is canon, plus a period setting, what more can a vintage loving fangirl ask for? Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find is set in 1926 and is the first of a five film series which will span 19 years (to 1945), so I look forward to seeing 1930s and 1940s costumes from the wizarding world perspective as well!

Did any of you rush out this weekend to see the film? I really can't wait to go see it again!