Fashion In Film Friday - The Great Gatsby

Since I began the week with Mia Farrow as 'muse' for my weekly MOD Monday post, I figured I would end it with her as well!  In 1974, Mia played leading lady 'Daisy' opposite Robert Redford in the film adaptation, based on the 1929 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald called 'The Great Gatsby'.  This romantic drama is basically a love triangle about two guys who pine for a married woman.  Jay Gatsby, played by Redford is a wealthy extravagant socialite who come to find out, has gained his wealth by illegal activities such as bootlegging alcohol.  There have been many versions of this film produced and currently one in production set to be released in 2012, starring Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio as leads...    

Regardless of staying true to the book, the movie succumbed to negative reviews stating that it lacked in staying true to the 'jazz age' that was prominent in the 20's.  In spite of this, it was a box office success, bringing in over twenty five million.  'The Great Gatsby' won at The Academy Awards that year for best costume design, and rightfully so.  The rich and elaborate details of the styles that ruled that era were pinpoint perfection!  

From the bodacious sequined flapper cloche to the uber feminine chiffon & lace simple frocks accentuated with wide brim hats, this film had the ability to send us back in time.  The word 'Gatsby' went on to become a term that defined the well off in comparison to those who were not.  It was the rowdy time of prohibition, when women were truly coming into their own.  This timeless style is eternal as we are seeing it being brought back to life by designers such as Ralph Lauren, who created his fantastically gorgeous modern take on this vintage Gatsby'esque classic.  The fresh elegance of the pale palettes shimmer in soft pinks, silvers and whites.  

Gatsby girl, flapper, whatever you choose to call the style that embodied this time frame, you can easily put together your own look by incorporating some of these pieces into your wardrobe.  I am personally in love with the return of the cloche hat!

This what seems to our day and age...a 'modest' style, definitely has the hint of the subtle sensuality that encompassed the bygone era that was "the roaring 20's!"


pics: shopstyle.com, shine.yahoo.com, polyvore.com, shockya.com, buffalodandy.wordpress.com   

Fashion In Film Friday - The Flapper

Since the early 1900's when motion pictures were first coming to life, costumes have been the most important element.  Aside from the actors capability to make you believe in the characters they portray, the wardrobe for each character has been just as much an essential element to each film.  For as long as we can remember, the fashions we've seen in the movies we love to watch have had a major impact on our own personal style choices. The very first vintage film that sparked my interest was "The Flapper", a non talkie flick made in 1919. Actress Olive Thomas was 25 at the time she played the role of a 16 year old pretending to be a flapper. Thomas' look in the film was the embodiment of the trends of the approaching 1920's, from the bobbed hairstyles & cloche hats, to the short hemmed fringe flapper dresses that shimmied.

Olive Thomas, born in 1894, was an American silent film actress and socialite who gained her rise to stardom after being hired as a dancer in the Ziegfield Follies.  A vixen in her time, known for being a wild party girl, Thomas posed nude for a Peruvian artist before she went on to sign with an international film company to which she acted in over twenty movies in four years.  Her untimely death at the young age of 26, happened by accident when on a coke binge, she mistook her husbands syphilis meds (liquid mercury bi chloride) for either water or alcohol?  Either way, she screwed up big time and it cost her, her life...

'Flappers' by common definition, were women who were seen as non conventional in that they had no shame in their game and were totally not unopposed to wearing excessive makeup, drinking booze, smoking, driving and most of all had no issues with professing their attitudes towards sexuality which was unheard of at the time!  Sounds like they laid the ground work out for us!
I absolutely am in love with the designs of this era and am convinced that this timeless style will always be 'IN'.  Just this past year we are still seeing designers at the board, creating their unique versions of the 'modern flapper'

pics: silentsaregolden.com, tumblr.com, myspace.com, maureentillman.blogspot.com, freenewfashiondesign.com

Jazzin It Up!

In the 1920's there was a liberation movement of sorts as women became more free spirited.  They smoked, danced, cut their hair short, wore make up and dared to take risks.  These women were called 'flappers'...

Flapper, by definition:

flap·per/ˈflapər/Noun

1. (in the 1920s) A fashionable young woman intent on enjoying herself and flouting conventional standards of behavior.

Flappers were generally urban, single, young middle-class women who usually held steady jobs by day and frequented jazz clubs by night.  These women sought to break down the barriers of the double standards that were the norm between men and women back in that era.  They were smoking, drinking & exploring their sexuality without reservation, at a time when it was unheard of for women.

This was definitely the time of the birth of 'female independence', as these reckless femmes were all about 'jazzin' it up' in every aspect of their lives!

The spirit of vintage speakeasy fashion is still alive and well circa 2011 as designers such as Rodarte, Reyes, Christian Dior and Reem Acra have designed flapper inspired frocks for the 21st century...

The HBO hit series Empire Boardwalk, set in the time of the prohibition has definitely had a huge influence on conjuring back up the style of the roaring 20's...

Thanks to these vintage rebels of days gone by, women have since been doin' it for themselves!!!  


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