Film Fashion Friday: Black Widow (1954)

Welcome to another edition of Film Fashion Friday. I really lack in the blogging department this week. There were so many things I wanted to blog about, hopefully I will get to all of them next week!! Anyways, this week's film is Black Widow from 1954, directed by Nunnally Johnson. This film has an all star cast and also features costume designs from Travilla. When I picked out this film, I forgot he did the costume designs, but I am not surprised. Many wonderful 50's films feature his designs. The wardrobe director was Charles Le Maire. La Maire worked on a few other 50's film noirs and countless other classics such as Niagara, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and Miracle on 34th Street. He worked on many of Marilyn Monroe's films and won three Academy Awards.

Black Widow stars two great leading ladies; Ginger Rogers and Gene Tierney. Rogers has a bit more screen time and has excellent costumes -- always extremely well put together. Both always have matching hats and gloves to complete their outfits or coats.

The opening scene is a spectacular cocktail party and even the extras are dressed to the nines. What's so great about this film is that it was filmed in CinemaScope (widescreen) allowing the viewer to see more in a shot.

This film is a murder mystery of sorts and features a young girl who just moved to New York. She is an excellent example of young woman's fashion in the mid 50's. I just adore the above outfit and I might need to attempt to recreate it this summer.

Black Widow is on DVD and available on Netflix. I highly recommend it, not just for the fashion, but for being one of the few film noirs in color.

This week's honorable mention is Married Life from 2007. This period film really nails postwar fashion to a T. It was hard to find mistakes in the wardrobe and hair and make-up, making it a really stellar example of what a period film should look like. If you haven't seen this film yet...you should!!!! The acting is pretty good and the plot is also pretty decent as well. Married Life is available on DVD and is an instant on Netflix.

Hope you enjoy these suggestions, and as always, requests are always welcome!!

Emily

Film Fashion Friday: How To Marry a Millionaire (1953)

Hello lovely readers!! To introduce my new series, this week I am featuring a classic favorite that often gets talked about for its fabulous costumes. How to Marry a Millionaire features numerous ensembles created by Travilla. Travilla got his start in the film industry in the early 40's and continued to work into the 80's. He often worked with Marilyn Monroe and even did some of the costumes on the hit 80's tv show Dallas.

The film stars three wonderful leading ladies; Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Grable who were all known for their keen style sense. They all have about 4 or 5+ costume changes each throughout the film, each showing off some of the most fashionable clothing options for the 1950's. Each girl is always accessorized well and always beautifully put together. If you haven't seen this film before, it's a cute romantic comedy about three gold digging girls who are on the hunt for some millionaire men. Their journey in luring in the men provides much of the comedy. Besides the marvelous costumes, this film can stand well on its own for great witty dialog and some beautiful cinematography.

One of my favorite parts in the film is the fashion show sequence. The models are wearing some of the more couture items for 1953 (the year the film was made and released). It's fun to see what was considered high fashion and it really gives us vintage girls some great ideas!!

There is also a great scene in the powder room where the girls are primping themselves before joining the men at dinner. The set for this scene is really decadent and glamorous. I also really love the mirror shots. Pictured above is Marilyn, but there is also a similar one of Betty Grable that is just as fabulous!

So that's my pick for this week. I wanted to start out with something readily available both on dvd and Netflix and easy to find at your local video rental place. I have also decided to feature at least one or more films each week as honorable mentions. These films will also be available on dvd or Netflix as well, but might be a little more difficult to find.

This week since the main film was from the 50's, I wanted to feature a film from both the 30's and the 40's. Both honorable mentions this week come from Alfred Hitchcock, "the Master of Suspense." The Young and Innocent is from 1937 and is a really great film. The main character on has about two or three costume changes, but they are some really outfits featuring classic 30's designs. The extras in the film are also well dressed. The Paradine Case is from 1947 and showcases some really great new look fashions. There are a few fancy dinner scenes that show off some really great formal gowns and for this reason, I feel it's worth watching..also if you enjoy a good courtroom drama.

I hope you enjoyed the first week of these series and if you have any requests for a certain decade or star, let me know!!

Emily