#shouldamapads

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One Dress a Day Challenge

November: Grey Redux

Working Girl / Sigourney Weaver as Katharine Parker and Melanie Griffith as Tess McGill

When Tess decides to impersonate her boss, she also helps herself to Katharine's wardrobe, including this classic grey two-piece suit. It's like the next-generation iteration of Maggie's suit from Funny Face, which started the month of grey (revisited)--so this seems like an appropriate way to close.

In addition to the shouldamapads, the stripped-down cut is very typical of the 1980s: the jacket has no lapels and only one button, while the shirts have no visible fastenings. Note that Katharine wears a white shirt with the suit, while Tess's is a subtle cream or beige. Both pair the suit with a houndstooth overcoat and a taupe shoulderbag, and both wear pearl earrings (but different necklaces). Katherine adds taupe gloves and grey hose.

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One Dress a Day Challenge

February: Coeli's Monochrome Picks

Honky Tonk / Claire Trevor as "Gold Dust" Nelson

Coeli's comment: "What a hat!"

I really like the bold spiral designs on the jacket sleeves. Not sure what's up with that spray of feathers on her shoulder, though.

The costume designer for this film was Robert Kalloch, who went by just "Kalloch" in the credits.

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One Dress a Day Challenge

Anything Goes December

Cover Girl / Rita Hayworth as Rusty Parker

I love this matching coat and beret, but I was never sure where to put it. In the first place, I'm not certain whether the coat is black or midnight blue, and in the second place, the red decorations are what really make the look. I suppose this sort of appliqued design would be a good way to spruce up clothing even with wartime restrictions.

It looks to me like the coat is meant to be left on, since there's just a blouse and skirt underneath. It's unusual to have such a long coat that is meant to be worn indoors, though. You can see that it has a vent in the back to allow for motion. Again, perhaps it's related to wartime measures like keeping the temperature lower indoors?

I'm also intrigued by the notch in the waistband of the skirt, leading to a triangular effect in front. Or possibly the shirt is a dicky that extends over the waistband? It's hard to tell which layer is the top one.

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

Not-a-Dress November

Woman of the Year / Katharine Hepburn as Tess Harding Craig

For a casual day at home, Tess wears a jacket very similar to a man's smoking jacket with slacks and open-toed house shoes. The jacket looks like velvet, with a frogged fastening in front and shouldamapads. Under it, she wears a simple white shirt with a spear-point collar. The slacks are wide-legged--a little surprising in wartime, when using less cloth was patriotic, but perhaps some leeway was allowed for movie escapism.

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One Dress a Day Challenge

Not-a-Dress November

When Harry Met Sally / Meg Ryan as Sally Albright

I had to start the month of "not a dress" with this outfit, because it was very important to me in the development of my own sense of style. I first saw the movie around the time that I finally had the money to think about buying my own clothes. I'd always associated fashion with the lovely but fussy and uncomfortable stuff in older movies. But this looked cute, fun, and comfortable! It was kind of mindblowing.

I actually always get miffed on Sally's behalf when Harry looks at her in this outfit and tells her she should wear skirts more. Like, "Don't you see how great this looks?"

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One Dress a Day Challenge

Black and White October

Hotel del Luna / IU (Lee Ji-eun) as Jang Man-wol

A lot of Man-wol's outfits hearken back to styles of previous decades. This one (in which she stylishly threatens an evil ghost) says 1980s to me, with the shouldamapads and the bold squiggles on the jacket. It's paired with what looks like a leather miniskirt, or possibly a minidress? If there is anything under the black-and-white top, it must be fairly low-cut, since nothing is visible at the neck.

Accessories: double thin chain necklace, silver earrings, black-and-gold fan.

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Week Challenge

January: Blue

The Wheel of Time / Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred

If the number of cosplay photos I ran across while looking for this dress are anything to judge by, this costume is well on its way to becoming iconic. The leather shoulderpieces (shouldamapads!) are the defining feature, echoed by the padded hip-pieces. The deep sapphire blue cloth is just so gorgeous. It seems to have a subtle design around the bottom of the skirt.

She does have a head necklace, but in the costumers' defense, it's fantasy, not historical. (Also, I gather it's mentioned in the books, which I have not read.)

One thing that made me chuckle a little was how much the view from behind reminded me of this, from Bram Stoker's Dracula:

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One Dress a Week Challenge

April: Black

Cover Girl / Eve Arden as Cornelia "Stonewall" Jackson

This dress isn't terribly noteworthy in itself, although it is a fine example of wartime style, with the shouldamapads and the little peplum. The accessories turn it into a memorable look, from the mustard-yellow hat with black feathers (it apparently matches her overcoat) to the chunky bracelets and fish brooches. It shows how a little creativity could compensate for a lack of clothing opportunities during wartime.

As a bonus, some real-life models and amazing hats appear alongside her in some of these shots--that's Jinx Falkenburg in red, for example.

I recently read that Eve Arden was the daughter of a milliner. No wonder she knew how to wear hats!