#coeli's picks

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

February: Coeli's Monochrome Picks

I'm No Angel / Mae West as Tira

Coeli's comment: "Wowza!"

The pre-code era strikes again, with Travis Banton as the designer. The slinky, low-cut gown with spiderweb wrap in the bottom photo looks positively demure next to the costume she's almost wearing in the other photos. In Tira's defense, she is a circus sideshow performer. However, it's not too hard to see why this movie was cited as one of the factors leading to the implementation of the Hays Code.

Classic lines:

"Oh, Beulah, peel me a grape!"

"Well, it's not the men in your life that counts, it's the life in your men."

"When I'm good I'm very good. But when I'm bad I'm better."

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

February: Coeli's Monochrome Picks

The Awful Truth / Irene Dunne as Lucy Warriner

One of the things I love about black and white movies is these bold designs on clothing. It feels like you don't see that so often in color movies, or maybe it just pops more in B&W because of the high contrast. The shape of this dress is also unique, as is the scarf/cravat effect in front. You might say this is the "quirky 1930s," as opposed to the sleek "classic 1930s" look from yesterday.

Costumes for this movie were designed by (Robert) Kalloch.

[cressida-jayoungr]

Coeli's Picks: Black, part 3

One Dress a Day Challenge

Anything Goes December

(Multiple movies listed left to right)

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) / Jane Russell as Dorothy Shaw

"She has another black dress in this film, a strapless one, but I like the halter neck."

A View to a Kill (1985) / Grace Jones as May Day

Downton Abbey (s6e8) / Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley

Babylon 5 (s1e7, "The War Prayer") / Claudia Christian as Susan Ivanova

The Muppet Show (s4 e13) / Liza Minelli as herself

The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) / Barbra Streisand as Rose Morgan

Vanity Fair (2004) / Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharpe

Leverage (s2 e13, "The Future Job," and s4 e13, "The Girls' Night Out Job") / Jeri Ryan as Tara Cole

Mission: Impossible (s2e22, "The Killing") / Barbara Bain as Cinnamon Carter

Anna Karenina (2012) / Keira Knightley as Anna Karenina

Murder on the Orient Express (1974) / Lauren Bacall as Linda Hubbard

"Okay, this is a black layer over a beige dress, but it's so gorgeous!"

Wendy Hiller as Princess Dragomiroff

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

February: Coeli's Monochrome Picks

The Bride Wore Red / Joan Crawford as Anni Pavlovitch

A lovely example of a mid-30s silhouette, very sleek and sophisticated. The beads give it a heft and sparkle that shows up nicely in black and white. But I must admit that when I saw the photo of the actual dress, it made me kind of wish the film had been in color!

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

February: Coeli's Monochrome Picks

Salomé / Alla Nazimova as Salomé

Natacha Rambova designed the costumes for this adaptation of the play by Oscar Wilde. The look is inspired by Aubrey Beardsley's illustrations for the printed version of the play, although the costumes are not copied directly from the illustrations.

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

February: Coeli's Monochrome Picks

Go West, Young Man / Mae West as Mavis Arden

This movie is from after the Hays Code went into effect, so I'm not sure how they sneaked this negligee into the movie. At least, I think it's a negligee. It's hard to be sure with Mae West! But that concentration of flowers at her crotch is pretty daring.

[cressida-jayoungr]

Coeli's Picks: Fantasy and Sci-Fi, part 2

(Multiple movies listed left to right.)

One Dress a Day Challenge

The Fall (2006) / Justine Waddell as Sister Evelyn

Cobra Woman (1944) / Maria Montez as Tollea/Naja

"Rather a contrast to the slinky green gown, eh?" (See third image.)

The Secret of Moonacre (2008) / Dakota Blue Richards as Maria Merryweather

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) / Cynthia Gouw as Caithlin Dar

Thor (2011) / Rene Russo as Frigga

"I adore the sculptural quality of the cloak."

The Thief of Baghdad (1940) / June Duprez as the Princess

Return to Oz (1985) / Emma Ridley as Princess Ozma

Forbidden Planet (1956) / Anne Francis as Altaira

One Million B.C. (1940) / Carole Landis as Loana

What a Way to Go! (1964) / Shirley MacLaine as Louisa May Foster

"This isn't, strictly speaking, fantasy or SF but it's certainly not realism!"

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

February: Coeli's Monochrome Picks

The Mystic / Aileen Pringle as Zara

None other than the famous Erté designed Aileen Pringle's gowns for this movie, although he was uncredited. She plays a fake medium from a carnival who becomes part of a plot to swindle American high society. The film was directed by Tod Browning, who went on to direct Freaks and the 1931 Dracula with Bela Lugosi.