Hollywood costumes

I've been musing about films with memorable costumes over the past few weeks. My dad came to stay and said he recently rewatched Rear Window and couldn't take his eyes off Grace Kelly. Totally understandable as she is gorgeous however what makes her even more gorgeous in Rear Window is her wardrobe. This outfit is timeless:

And this is so elegant:

And this just makes me so envious of her, her style and composure:

I can't think of another actress as elegant as Grace Kelly. She is a proper movie star, you can't take your eyes off her. My all-time favourite Grace Kelly film for clothes is High Society. I love this blue dress and matching shoes:

And this dress is possibly my favourite dress in any movie:

The colour, the sleeves, the way she looks in it. Utterly gorgeous.

Also:

I don't know about you but my pool-side attire is very similar.

Grace's costumes were as much a part of the script as what she said. The same is true of course of Gone With The Wind. I could do a very long post simply about GWTW costumes (and one day I might) but for now, let's feast our eyes on this:

The best thing about this is the hat. I adore that hat and the green velvet bow.  Green is the main colour for Scarlett and this boudoir outfit is perfection:

And of course, we must mention the curtains dress! Which, by the way, I saw at the V&A exhibition recently and it's tiny. I don't think even half of me would fit in it.

I am currently inspired by Annie Hall. I love how modern Diane Keaton looks.

A look that inspire a whole generation of women. 

I shall be posting more about costumes as I think of more films that make them such a feature. 

Burlesque

Where has this film been all my life? Is there anything more perfect than Cher and Christine Aguilera together singing, dancing and a small-town girl makes good storyline? I think not.

Burlesque has been out for three whole years and yet it has taken me until now to watch it. I wanted to see it when it was released but never quite got round to it. My sister insisted I should watch it and we all know she is always right. Last night, thanks to Netflix, I settled down to view and within two minutes I was hooked. It's so cheesy, it's the very definition of a Bad Movie We Love and if you've not seen it then I'm afraid I must insist that you make it a priority.

The cast is epic. It has Stanley Tucci. I love Stanley Tucci, he's never bad and there's something very attractive about him. Peter Gallagher makes an appearance. Kristen Bell. For goodness sake, James Brolin! All this and Cher too. Really, we are spoilt. Plus it has this hot dude:

Last spotted by me in The OC, boy he is looking good.

The storyline is paper thin but it doesn't matter. All you need to know is that Christina belts out song after song, Cher does her make up for her and there's loads of dancing. It's a gay man's dream of a film which makes it something I automatically have affinity with. Christina is pretty good in it since she's no actress but her hair is utterly bizarre. At one point they make a point of saying she will wear a wig for the stage which makes her look 100% better yet she still has this weird Barbie-like hair the rest of the time. I'd go so far as to say it's almost a distraction.

Good:

Weird:

My one complaint is there is not enough Cher singing. Nonetheless, it's a masterpiece of cheesy film making and I highly recommend it.

Father Of The Bride

I've not seen this film in years and rewatched it this week. I still love it however I noted that the groom is now in Scandal as Charlie. I don't want to spoil anything if you've not watched Scandal yet but it tickled me no end. The bride is in Nashville as Peggy who has an affair with Teddy. I wouldn't have recognised her, I think she's had some work done. In addition, it was written by Nancy Meyers, my bete noire of film making. The woman who made What Women Want, Something's Gotta Give and the risible, The Holiday.

It's all pretty dated now but it's a fun film. I love Steve Martin's reaction to pretty much everything going on around him. He's portrayed as being unreasonable but I feel for him. His spoilt 22 year old daughter just expects him to pay for a wedding for hundreds of people? Are the days of the father paying for weddings over? I certainly hope so as it's so sexist. This is a deeply conservative film and it's saccharine sweet but I can't help it, I love it. It's like wrapping yourself up in a fluffy blanket and locking out the world for 90 minutes.

Jule's apartment in St Elmo's Fire

My love for St Elmo's Fire is well documented. However, I don't believe I've covered Jule's apartment. It's pink and it has a light installation of Billy Idol. I spent years yearning for this apartment. Look at that shot above and tell me you don't want to move in. I adore it.

While I'm here, let's have some St Elmo gifs.

It must be time to watch it again.

Orange Is The New Black

You need to watch this immediately. It's available on Netflix and it's completely compelling. There are only 13 episodes and it does take a few to warm up but once it does, it's excellent. It's about Piper, a nice white middle-class woman who ends up serving time for a crime she committed in her rather more wild past.

Every prison cliche is here: sadistic guards, lesbian love, bullying, petty vendettas. Actually the one thing missing is an escape plan. This is no Escape from Alcatraz. Every episode we're introduced to another inmate's back story and by the end of the season you pretty much care about all of them. Every episode I had a new favourite but I think if I had to pick one, it would be Crazy Eyes, who in a very sweet scene asks Piper why everyone calls her Crazy Eyes.

I can't recommend OITB highly enough. Watch it, you won't be sorry.