Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Style Wednesday: Iconic Items of Style

Oh sure - you know the drill: Audrey's little black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany's; Grace's icy blue dress in To Catch a Thief, the ruby slippers.  Sure, they are timeless, but so expected.

But I present my own list for this fine Wednesday for your consideration and would love to hear about yours!

1)  Meg Ryan's pale linen dress at the end of You've Got Mail.

The movie is 15+ years old.  I still want the dress..


2) Gene Tierney's dress in the haunting portrait in Laura.


It made Dana Andrews fall in love with a dead woman, and who can blame him?  In a dress like that, you are bound to bring people back from the dead...

3) Donna Reed's borrowed bathrobe in It's a Wonderful Life



Makes you wonder what jock wore it before she did at Old Bailey High...

4) Mary Poppins' Satchel



I can never seem to get all my stuff in neatly - this would help... Practically Perfect in Every Way...

5) Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun:


Another dress worth killing your inconvenient wife for...

And to round out today's list:


6) Helena Bonham Carter in A Room with a View


I made my hair very bushy after seeing this movie and loved my lacy blouses and who wouldn't?  Ah the Edwardian repression - it could not contain Miss Honeychurch!

How about you?  Any less-than-typical style moments from the movies inspire you?

Have a great day and stay safe out there!



 

53 comments:

  1. I adore Elizabeth Taylor's "slip" dress in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. I don't wear it as outer wear, but I have one like it. I would love to wear all the clothes that Grace Kelly wore in "To Catch A Thief". In fact, to be honest, I'm in the mood to trash my entire wardrobe and "look". Seriously think I'm in the mood for a makeover. Midlife crisis? Perhaps. Ready to throw caution to the wind, definitely.
    I feel a massive wardrobe clean out in my near future. Life is too short to be bored with ones "look". And I am.

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    1. Jennifer - it is funny you should say that - I keep winnowing mine down further and further - perhaps inspired by Janet's recent purge?

      I love the clothes you picked out! Love To Catch a Thief so much and that slip dress! When I have money some day I am getting one made that keeps the girls in check!

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    2. Yes to Elizabeth Taylor's slip dress! The movie is one of my all-time favorites and she is wonderful in it. I don't watch a lot of movies but I do love Paul Newman and have seen everything he made. Such a class act, unlike a lot of other stars - not mentioning any names... ;^)

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  2. Ooh I love that dress Gene Tierney is wearing!
    Also love the Mary Poppins bag!

    I love:
    Uma Thurman's white shirt with cuff links and black pants in Pulp Fiction.
    Tippi Hedren's green dress and jacket in The Birds
    Jean Seberg's striped top in A Bout de Souffle (a bit of a cliche - sorry!)
    Keira Knightly's green dress in Atonement - I would love to be able to wear a dress like that, not that I ever have the occasion! Even if I did, it would be ruined by the need for serious cantilevering of the bosom!

    Great post, Wendy! Can't wait to hear what others love!

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    1. Oh Ruth - love your choices!!!!! I love that dress from Atonement too!

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  3. Oh I love this list, was just going to re-watch that Meg Ryan movie the other night. Im so happy she's allowing her face to go back to normal sans the trout pout. I would add in anything worn in Rear Window

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    1. I feel the same about Meg's face! I love her and I want her to age naturally!

      OMG - I love Grace's wardrobe in rear window - amazing!

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    2. Grace Kelly in Rear Window is also my favourite movie wardrobe.
      I just watched You've Got Mail about a month ago, it is hilarious how dated it seems with the old computers! The wardrobes and decor are still great!

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  4. When I watch movies, I rather watch interiors than dresses... I can't really tell you a movie outfit that really called me... My reference movie for interior is 101 Dalmatians and thinking of it I love Anita style...

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    1. Hi Steph - are you talking the real movie or the cartoon? I don't think I've seen the real movie, but now I am intrigued!

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    2. Real movie, with Glen Close... Her costumes are fantastic too!!! I love so much their house...

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  5. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, Rene Russo's entire wardrobe in the Thomas Crown Affair, I loved her hairstyle too. In fact must go pin a pic of her hair before I forget that style.

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    1. OMG - I loved her in that, too! Where is she now? She must come back! So sexy and chic all at once. I can see you wearing everything from that movie!

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  6. Liz Taylor in every movie!!! But have you seen Blue jasmine? now that was a statement wardrobe in so many ways. I also liked io sono amore - tilda swinton wore such amazing elegant outfits.

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    1. I haven't seen Blue Jasmine yet, but am anxious to do so! Tilda always looks great in her clothes - so tall and regal... sigh...

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    2. Her clothes in Blue Jasmine made me cringe, they were so wannabe.

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  7. i'm echoing CSW above. i'll take what jasmine is wearing. :)

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  8. Janet - you are surprising me this morning! I would have pegged you for Katherine Hepburn the whole way!

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  9. Can't forget the iconic Diane Keaton in Annie Hall!

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    1. Oh Lily - good one! I am so crazy about Diane Keaton! I follow her Pinterest boards and what she pins always makes me smile!

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    2. I didn't know Ms. Keaton had a Pinterest board... off to check it out! I saw her speak in Toronto a few years ago and she looked fabulous in a great big full skirt - not at all Annie Hall style, but still quirky and uniquely stylish. She said she loves fashion, and it shows.

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  10. Agree with coulda shoulda woulda. I have recently added to my list all the outfits of Tilda Swinton in I am Love, Cate's in Blue Jasmine, and pretty much all of Charlotte Gainsbourg's outfits in all her films.

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    1. Marie - think Charlotte is very iconic and interesting choice!

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  11. Grace Kelly was perfectly dressed in nearly everything she did. I love the casual fashion Diane Keaton wore in Something's got to Give but what really caught my eye was the Hampton's beach house. Gorgeous and I would move in tomorrow and not change a thing. I would like to ditto Tabs on Rene Russo's Thomas Crown Affair with Michael Kors looks from Celine. A younger look I adore is Anne Hathaway in The Devil wore Prada. Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman : Who could forget that red dress and everyone had a brown polkadot dress after that. You can't beat Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Sorta off the subject and I can't link it but I saw a really cute idea for a Halloween costume on Julie Leah: a life and style blog. It was Holly Goliightly with a tan trench coat, sunglasses, hair piled up on the head in a bump it twist and tiara. Of course she had a real striped cat draped over her arm to complete the look. Also on Julie Leah's blog was a liittle girl dressed up like Anna Wintour. Those are the cutest costumes I've seen this year but you would probably have to explain them constantly to the non-fashionistas at the party.

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    1. Hi SC - I once dressed as Holly for a party! Will dig up the pics and post them!

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  12. I loved Meg Ryan's outfit at the end of "You've Got Mail" - I had a skirt just like the one she wore, sadly my husband threw it into the donation bin! I also loved the late Edwardian clothing worn by the bohemian sisters (played by Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Thompson) in "Howard's End". I spent a lot of time trawling the vintage shops for the long strands of jet glass beads that they wore.

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  13. Khaki and white, Meryl "Out of Africa", 1985.

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  14. Oh, I agree with all of those above - especially The Thomas Crown Affair - but I'd also add Gwyneth Paltrow's outfits in A Perfect Murder. I especially loved the long brown shearling coat.

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    1. Patricia - I'd forgotten that one - that is a good choice!

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    2. Patricia, I loved that film, those New York apartments are just stunning.

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  15. Okay I hearted these two dresses--the Princess Bride's wedding frock and Eliza Doolittle's (almost bridal) white dress in My Fair Lady. Okay, so these are a bit expected since it is Robin Wright Penn and Audrey Hepburn, but swoon. I had always said I wanted those dresses for my own wedding dress, but then turned around and chose this dress instead, so much more minimal. If I had to do it again, I would for sure have a My Fair Lady/Princess Bride hybrid.

    Other atypical choices? Amelie's entire wardrobe from the eponymously named film and this look of Catherine Deneuve's this look of Catherine Deneuve's . :)

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    1. Oh and by white dress, I mean this one: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/audrey-hepburn/images/11216578/title/audrey-fair-lady-photo

      Not the black and white "going to the races" dress. ;)

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    2. I think you are channelling Holly Golightly yourself and look beautiful! I love both of your choices!!! I have a Christmas ornament of Audrey wearing that dress! And the Princess Bride is one of my favourite movies and that dress is swoon-worthy for sure!

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  16. I pay huge attention to the clothes when I watch movies. I recently rented that new Diane Keaton-Robert DeNiro movie "The Big Wedding". Even nice clothes couldn't save that movie what a stinker! It should be called The Big Disaster. Why do big stars make terrible movies? I turned it off after 20 minutes.
    Anyway I think you have all the greats listed here already, though I have to say I always liked Molly Ringwald's wardrobes in the John Hughes movies she did as a teenager.

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    1. The Big Disaster! Gotta love that title!!!

      Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink in quite iconic!

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  17. Ooooooooh, what an exciting topic! Risking sounding like a broken record, I love Zooey Deschan! On the more aspirational side, I echo Grace in Rear Window and also love Barbara in Double Indemnity (but not Stella Dallas, wink wink, though that animal stole is the best iykwim). I love anything 40s and 50s with those full skirts and fit and flare dresses.

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    1. Oh - Double Indemnity is such a great movie. You wait till I start a new blog series I have in mind - you will get a kick out of that!

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    2. You have me at the edge of my seat, WMM! You know how much I love movies, so much, in fact, that I have devoted my entire life to them (good thing I can make a living from it!)

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  18. I love Elizabeth Taylor's movie wardrobes. She had a great figure and "owned" every look. Such confidence could make anything stylish and feminine.

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    1. I agree! And I think they had good costume designers that really understood women's bodies, like the iconic Edith Head!

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    2. Wendy I have Edith Head's book if you're interested in reading it, it's very good though very much of the times (early 1960's) but is a good read for that reason too.

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    3. Which one do you have? I have a couple of hers - a wee lavender one and another one whose name is escaping me right now...

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  19. I liked Kristin Scott Thomas' wardrobe in the English Patient (re-watched it recently). I loved the stylish, serene neutrals that ranged from desert casual to occasion dresses.

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  20. I love whatever Meryl Streep wears in her movies whether it is a power suit or a scruffy pair of blue jean overalls and tennis shoes. She has a way of draping the clothing and using it to feed the image. I find myself not noticing the clothes while believing she is who she is playing. Love that.

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    1. I would agree - Meryl always looks so wonderful and effortlessly so!

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  21. I thought of one more to add the list. Cameron Diaz in The Holiday. She had beautiful winter white sweaters and gorgeous coats. Warm and cozy. She would have been way over the weight limit for her luggage at the airport though.

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    1. That is such a good one! I loved that! I keep eying the jcrew cashmere t in snow for that very reason!

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  22. Anything Audrey Hepburn, especially in Givenchy! Genius...pure genius. And Liz...sumptuous glamour. Ahhhhhh!

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