MovieChat Forums > Top Hat (1935) Discussion > THE FAMOUS 'FEATHER DRESS' IN TOP HAT

THE FAMOUS 'FEATHER DRESS' IN TOP HAT

posted 19 years ago by cfontaine333
3 replies | jump to latest

I thought fans of this movie might enjoy reading Fred Astaire's own words about the famous "feather dress" worn by Ginger Rogers in the Cheek-to-Cheek number in TOP HAT. Here goes, taken from "Steps in Time", Fred's autobiography (an excellent book!): I am quoting passages as a reviewer only, as passages in a review, as dictated by the copyright:

"The dancing dresses of my partners have, for years, been a working problem, and in TOP HAT I dare say it reached its dizzy peak...Ginger rehearsed the final few days before shooting in a prop dress. I had seen the drawing of the real one she was to wear - a feathered affair and very nice, too, I thought...We then got ready to rehearse the number right through with the playback for camera and lights. Everything went well through the song, but when we did the first movement of the dance, feathers started to fly as if a chicken had been attacked by a coyote. I never saw so many feathers in my life. It was like a snowstorm. They were floating around like millions of moths. I had feathers in my eyes, my ears, my mouth, all over the front of my suit...The cameraman stopped us, saying he couldn't photograph the number that way, and also that the floor was covered with feathers...when we finished shooting for the day, Hermes Pan [the choreographer] and I sang a little parody on "Cheek to Cheek" to Ginger. It went (with apologies to Mr. B.):
Feathers - I hate feathers -
And I hate them so that I can hardly speak,
And I never find the happiness I seek
With those chicken feathers dancing
Cheek to Cheek.
Next morning the rushes were good. Very few of the flying feathers picked up on the film and the glossy white floor showed none at all. What a relief! We laughed about that episode for weeks afterward. It was sort of a running gag with Ginger and me. I used to call her "Feathers"!

STEPS IN TIME is an excellent autobiography, written by Fred Astaire with a foreword by Ginger Rogers. If you are an Astaire fan, as I am, you will absolutely LOVE IT!
Take care everyone!
Carrie in L.A.

[–] tday-1 17 years ago

Hi,one can never be too rich or have too many friends. According to Ginger Rogers,the designer asked her what kind of dress she wanted and she described the feather dress. When they rehearsed she got flack from the producer and they wanted her to wear a white,stretched out number from a previous film. Ginger called her mother,when she got there the executives tried to talk Lela into changing the dress,Lela told them to get another girl and was going to take Ginger hiome. The executives stopped them at door and conceded she might wear dress. Fred was famous for not having confrontations and letting his displeasure go through other people. Ginger felt the flack was his deal but he didn't want to bring it out in open.

[–] olivabt 16 years ago

Thank you for that excert from fred astaire Ive been wanting to read his autobiography for ages but havent been able to find it. I think all fred and ginger fans love hearing that story and what a cute nickname for Ginger. Feathers!

[–] kumarihpx 7 years ago

Oh, the "infamous" feather dress.... While I watched, I thought what a gorgeous dress that really flows and accentuates each step of the dance. The perfect dress.

But, typically the male lead and the good ol boys have to make it into a "huge catastrophe." What babies! She should have worn a tux, too... but, oh, no, they want the glamour of a dressed-up dinner with dancing in the women's attire.

As Fred said, "The dancing dresses of my partners have, for years, been a working problem" and that says so MUCH about him, not the dresses.

Of course, Ginger's has not likewise paraded around the story of how her feet bled in heels so much they had to routinely replaced, as Fred demanded repeating the entire dance numbers for hours into the night because his perfectionism needed them just so and did not allow for cuts or angles of any type.

Again, the dress was flawless and perfect. Suck it up and do your job, Finicky Fred.

Someone's at the door