I absolutely love fashions from that era. Of course I loved all of the clothing in this movie, but my favorite were: Betty Grable when she brings William Powell home; Lauren Bacall's sweater w/belt over wide skirt, and of course Marilyn's fuschia/pink ensemble at the restaurant. SIMPLY GLAMOUROUS!!!
Anyone else??
"OOO...I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"
I would have to go with Schatze's jumper, with the blouse that featured enormous billowing sleeves. I would never wear it...because I couldn't. I'm way too short, with short arms. I'm always envious of actresses who are tall, and long enough to wear such extravagant outfits with grace.
shareOoh, I love that blouse, so couture! I think my favourite outfit(s) were Marilyn's suits, especially the one in her opening scen and when she's on the plane to 'Blinky'!
shareLoved Monroe's fushia dress, Grable's outfit while modeling, and Monroe's green dress. Actually didn't care for Bacall's wedding dress.
shareI loved the shorts outfit that Grable wears in the fashion show. I also love Marilyn's gown at the restaurant when she bumps into the wall and the suit she's wearing on the plane with David Wayne when she's reading the book upside down.
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I love the rainbow outfit worn by one of the models in the fashion show, sooo beautiful xx
shareWhat about those Lucite platforms that Marilyn wears with the red bathing suit in the fashion show? Yoiks! (I mean that in a good way.)
And why don't they make robes/housecoats like that anymore? The only robes you can find now are variations on the same shapeless unisex terrycloth wrap. I practically drool when I see the glamorous pajamas, lounging wear, lingerie, etc. in old movies and T.V. shows.
"I told you a million times not to talk to me when I'm doing my lashes"!
The fashions back then were beautiful, but in order to get into them, a woman first had to squeeze herself into a girdle and a long-line bra. Those were torture, especially in summer.
In fact, the 1950's were almost a retrospective of the 19th century, when women had to wear constrictive foundation garments in order to be in "fashion".
I think the wearing of girdles and long-line bras were necessary, because
the acceptable size of a woman was a little more thicker and meatier than today.
Although I do remember knowing small women who wore those foundation garments even though technically they did'nt need them. Somehow, it made you feel more womanly and feminate.
Plus....they were GREAT birth control methods! LOL!
I think that a woman who is naturally small enough and has the sophistication to wear these fashions
from that era could do it without those restricting foundation garments.
"OOO...I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"
Those lucite heels stole the show!
shareI loved Bacall's black dress during her date and her wedding dress.
shareI'm watching the movie right now...and thats the first thing I thought..the wardrobe, dresses and everything are absolutely gorgeous....I love "vintage" esp cocktail dresses..my favorite is the dress Bacall wears when modeling for the "gas jockey"... :) and the black one later and the wedding....all of them!
shareEverything Bacall wore was gorgeous...
share"I think the wearing of girdles and long-line bras were necessary, because
the acceptable size of a woman was a little more thicker and meatier than today. "
Actually, a size 12 back then was more like a 6 today. Women were much smaller, no fast food, no processed "convenience" foods. And don't forget how thin we were after the war, people are way fatter today. It was just more fashionable then to have a very curvy figure, with a wasp waist. Shape wear is almost less for making you smaller, it just creates the foundation shape. Bullet bras gave the right breast look for sweaters, long line bras made all those dresses and sweaters lay smooth. A merry widow is what made the wiggle dress wiggle!
And you can't forget that amazing purple dress with the hip swag at the end! I'm going to make a dress with a hip accent like that, it was popular at the time and I think it's time for a revival.
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Actually, my Grandmothers were 5'5" and 5'8". Both were both curvy and heavy in the 70s. One looked like a bombshell in the 30s - when she was in her 20s - large busted, wide hips, and certainly NOT skinny, and no where near today's size 6. The other always had a belly, and her bust sagged because she was large busted and during the 20s had taped her bust to flatten in for the flapper look. Yes, I've met a number of women from their community that were short and tiny; but, I am 5'6", 52 years old and certainly did not tower above most of the women of their generation; also, the pictures of our family, extended family and the community of the time certainly do not point to a glut of Nancy Reagan tiny waifs.
shareI agree, same with my family. I do think we're somewhat larger now because of the bad food (high fructose corn syrup, etc) and suburban living (too sedentary) but the women back then weren't stick figures. We may misjudge how women actually were because when we look at the images, we're mainly looking at models and actresses (many of whom started out as models) who HAD to be a lot thinner than the general population. The foundation garments also, as many have said here, create a certain silhouette to mold the clothes on.
So when you see a lot of retro fashions now in stores, I wonder how many might actually be model clothes as opposed to what a regular woman would have worn back then. I do LOVE the fashions of that era though - we dress like a bunch of slobs now and so much is kind of slutty looking. No elegance or class at all. We've really devolved.
I was in awe when Bacall walked into the apartment the first time - the FURNITURE!
share1) Marilyn's pink-violet evening gown in the restaurant scene. I am not sure what colour that is but she looked spectacular.
2) Betty Grable's dress in the same scene without the weird coat. I loved the soft pink colour.
3) Lauren Bacall's dress in the fashion show. But, somehow I feel it didn't suit her personality.
I saw this on TCM the other night and Marilyn's dress looked true red, but it could have been our tv - sort of hard to judge sometimes. That dress was a knockout! Wish I'd seen the movie years ago, I'd have looked for something similar for military balls! That would have been fantastic for a Marine Corps Ball or in a different colour for Navy Ball; I think it needed a bright colour, so not Navy blue.
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