Sabrina

Audrey Hepburn's fashion in the iconic movie Sabrina is the epitome of class and elegance. But behind the scenes of this film, the real drama resided with costumes designers.

The head costume designer of Paramount was Edith Head. She had worked with the studio since 1927 and in 1952 worked with Audrey Hepburn on Roman Holiday, the movie which won her her fifth Oscar for design. Clearly, she was a master of her craft.

Edith Head

Roman Holiday skyrocketed Audrey Hepburn into stardom. Her next film, Sabrina, followed a young chauffeurs daughter rise into the Parisian socialite scene. Knowing that Sabrina would also become a big hit, Audrey had the idea to have two designers on this film; one for her characters "before" looks and one for her "after." This is where the tension began. 

Hubert de Givenchy was hired to create Sabrinas glamorous new wardrobe. Her most remembered and iconic looks from this film were all created by the young designer. This was met with much resistance from Edith who claimed that Givenchy had stolen her moment to shine.

Givenchy

Edith Heads Designs in Sabrina

Givenchys Designs in Sabrina

Though Edith and Givenchy equally designed the film, his name never appears in the credits for the movie. And on top of that, the Oscars never mentioned his contributions either. When Edith won the Oscar for her work on the film, she failed to mention Givenchy and never publicly gave him credit.

Edith Head Winning the Oscar

Aside from the drama, the designs feature in this movie are a testimony to the talent of the era. It also marked the long friendship between Audrey and Givenchy. After Sabrina, they would go on to do 16 films together.

Moondog: What does "female fashion" really mean?

I recently went to see the movie The Beach Bum in theaters. It just so happened that the director, Harmony Korine, was in attendance. Before the movie started he shyly and awkwardly thanked the audience of 20 for coming out to see his film and he hoped we all enjoyed. An interesting greeting for a interesting movie to say the least.

The Beach Bum tells the tale of Moondog, an over the top rich poet. His nomadic lifestyle is filled with drugs, sex,  and recklessness. Due to Moondog's eclectic and eccentric lifestyle, his outfit choices reflect his behavior accordingly.

After writing most of my blog posts on traditional, societally excepted female fashion choices, I decided that this movie was the perfect opportunity to branch out from this box.

Moondog's fashion choices throughout the movie represent him as a free spirit. He wears what he pleases. Most of what he wears happens to be traditionally "female" clothes. Dresses, one piece bathing-suits, and pink bathrobes with fur.

This got me thinking about how much "gender roles" influence our perception of someone. Just because Moondog identifies as a male, he gets judged and looked at for wearing traditionally female clothes. Though these choices in the movie were more for laughs, The Beach Bum shares a message of challenging the status quo, creating gender diversity, embracing gender queerness.

The Parent Trap: 1998 vs 1961

In a previous post I made, I wrote how the costumes of The Parent Trap express not only character development of the twins, but symbolizes their newfound family bond.

Since the 1998 version of the movie is a remake, I wanted to find similarities in the costumes from the original 1961 film starring Hayley Mills. The 1998 version echos choices made in the original film. The costumes in both films play on the differences the twins have.

Sharon and Annie

 Sharon is the posh, sophisticated twin with long hair; a element kept in the 1998 version. Annie, though British, is refined and classy. Both girls live with their mother, and arrive at camp in style.

Susan and Hallie

Susan and Hallie are the mirror image of each other. Both raised by their Dad, they are rough and tumble, California girls. They are tomboys, showing up with short hair and feisty attitudes.

Together

When the twins are together, their individual styles are reflected. In both movies, the girls wear individualist pieces while still presenting as a unit. Sharon and Annie present more delicately while Susan and Hallie present stronger. Though each girl still holds her own style, each pair of twins start to look more and more like a cohesive unit.

By the end of the film, the girls are dressing identically or almost identically. This is meant to represent the transition from separate lives into one, familial bond. 

 Both movies, though over 40 years apart, capture the essence of sisterhood, love, and family. These costumes reflect how a family can come together despite many differences.

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor is one of the top style icons in film. From her famous purple eyes to her unmatched sex appeal, Liz Taylor topped the charts for fashion inspiration. Upon doing more research about her and her impact on the fashion and film community, I came across her Wikipedia page. There is a whole section dedicated to her style and jewelry legacy. It originally read like this:

Taylor is considered a fashion icon both for her film costumes and personal style.^[87][88][89] At MGM, her costumes were mostly designed by Helen Rose and Edith Head,^[90] and in the 1960s by Irene Sharaff.^[88][91] Her most famous costumes include a white ball gown in A Place in the Sun (1951), a Grecian dress in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), and a slip and a fur coat in BUtterfield 8 (1960).^[87][88][89] Her make-up look in Cleopatra (1963) started a trend for "cat-eye" make-up done with black eyeliner.^{[5]:135–136}

Though it doesn't seem like anything is amiss, there was one costume missing from her most iconic looks. When you Google "Liz Taylor famous dress," one of the first results is her iconic green A-line dress from the film Suddenly Last Summer. There are countless recreations of her classic green look; so many people associate a green dress with Liz Taylor. I edited the Wikipedia page to reflect this new information.

^{Taylor is considered a fashion icon both for her film costumes and personal style.[87][88][89] At MGM, her costumes were mostly designed by Helen Rose and Edith Head,[90] and in the 1960s by Irene Sharaff.[88][91] Her most famous costumes include a white ball gown in A Place in the Sun (1951), a Grecian dress in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), a green A-line dress in "Suddenly Last Summer"(1959), and a slip and a fur coat in BUtterfield 8 (1960).[87][88][89] Her make-up look in Cleopatra(1963) started a trend for "cat-eye" make-up done with black eyeliner.[5]:135–136}

This new addition to the Wikipedia page allows for further reading and information about Elizabeth Taylor's classic looks. Her iconic green dress is commonly seen on posters of her and even used as her headshot. Hopefully this addition attracts and excited Liz Taylor fans.

4 Films That Influenced Fashion

Here are the top 4 Films that influenced fashion and style!


1. Grease
Although Grease didn't come out until the late 70s, the movie displays popular clothing styles from the 1950s. The ladies wear poodle skirts, cat eye glasses, swing dresses, and of course, leather. This movie makes audiences nostalgic for the fashion of the 50s, thus influencing style with all things retro.

2. Annie Hall

Annie Hall is weird, quirky, and completely individualistic. Her baggy clothing and masculine choices influenced women everywhere. Annie Hall broke the boundaries of gender conforming clothing and showed that women can feel secure in themselves no matter what they wear. 

3. Clueless
The 90s trend of clothing has never been more popular than right now. Clueless is the pinnacle of mastering this trend and provides countless ideas for how to dress like it is 1992. Cher and her friends wear knee high socks, plaid, chunky shoes, and sheer tops. They embody the carefree and easy going schoolgirl look.

4. Desperately Seeking Susan
This movie is a time capsule for 80s fashion. Capris, leggings, bright colors, mesh tops, gloves, hair-bows, studded boots, and bustiers are only a few clothing items that appear in the movie. Along with the teased hair, thick eyeliner, and painted nails, Madonna and Rosanna Arquette defined the rock and roll chick style of the 80s.

These four movies influenced fashion and styling everywhere. People today still look to these movies for inspiration when picking outfits or trying a new look.

Little Black Dress

The little black dress is a staple of Hollywood films. It is the pinnacle of elegance, style, and grace. No matter which actress wears it, what the plot line is, and what design the dress has, it always serves as a  classic and important feature in any film.

Marilyn Monroe

In the film The Asphalt Jungle, Marilyn wears a sexy and form fitting black dress. With her draped against the door, the dress accentuates her beauty. It is one of Monroe's earliest films, setting her up for her amazing career that followed. 

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn made a lifetime impression for her grace, elegance, and wisdom. It is only fitting that the little black dress she wears in the popular film Breakfast At Tiffany's makes the cut. Women everywhere and in every decade try to recreate her iconic look, making her a symbol of style. 

Reese Witherspoon

A modern classic style icon is the ever famous Elle Woods played by Reese Witherspoon. In this film, Elle trades her cushy California life for law school. When hired at a law firm, she trades in her pink clothes for sophisticated black, showing that she can have it all.  

The Parent Trap

Summer Camp 1996. Girls everywhere are clad in tie dye, overalls, baseball caps, and matching track suits.  It is truly the all American girl dream. But, when a Brit comes to town in her penny loafers, suit, and headband and just so happens to look exactly like another camper, the world of Camp Walden changes forever. Penny Rose expertly designs the costumes in The Parent Trap to reflect how girls can simultaneously be rough and tumble but also gentle and sophisticated. She conveys that stepping into someone else’s shoes and trying on their clothes can open ones mind and prevent judgement. She shows the evolution of both main characters Hallie and Annie; as the movie progresses and the two girls begin to understand each other, their differences internally are reflectors by their clothing choices externally. They go from being two contrasting individuals and morph into a family.

Hallie
Hallie is the more free spirited of the twins. Raised by her Dad in California, she reflects a care free aesthetic. She sports denim...











...vintage baseball jackets...





















...and even wears a qipao as a nod to her San Francisco roots and the vast Chinese community who live there.


Annie 
Annie, born and raised in London, is a classy but sassy English girl. Her style reflects her prim and proper outlook on life. When we first see Annie arrive at camp, she is clad in a full suit.











Even when she gets pranked, her PJs keep her looking elegant.









Her fancy dress attire features delicate touches such as a headband and buttons.

Together
Once the girls realize they are in fact twin sisters and put an end to their rivalry, the two quickly learn to love their differences. They teach each other new things and open their minds to understanding the person they once loathed. Their fashion choices soon reflect this, and they can be seen in matching outfits, a symbol of their newfound alliance.



RomCom Costumes are the Best

The leading ladies in RomCom movies are always dressed impeccably. In this genre of film the starlets wear the most stylish dresses, suits, skirts, and everything in between. Not only do these fashion choices inspire viewers' own outfits, but also inspire women to put their best foot forward (and a cute outfit never hurt anyone).

In the movie What A Girl Wants starring Amanda Bynes, costume designer Shay Cunliffe made sure audiences understood that being true to ones self is the most important thing in life. Cunliffe dressed Amanda Bynes in rock and roll chic, a stark juxtaposition to the movie's antagonist  Christa Cole who was dressed in prim and proper suits. Audiences see how Bynes character perseveres, stays true to herself, and maintains her sense of self (and her style).

The same applies for Jennifer Garners' character in 13 Going on 30. Designer Susie DeSanto kept Garners' character in innocent and youthful clothing, highlighting her good nature and spritely spirit. While other characters dress in black, leather, and lace, Garners' character sticks to florals, cottons, and bright colors. By the end of the movie, Garners' character saves the company and teaches her peers the value in kindness, all the while looking fabulous.

RomCom movies can be heartwarming, tender, and inspiring. The leading ladies in these films dress to impress. They motivate their viewers to stay true to their self and their style.