Thursday's Movie Review: The Seven Year Itch (1955)

The thing that I love about old movies is realizing that the pastoral, picturesque ideas that our grandparents paint of their day are completely fictional. Who knew The Seven Year Itch (1955) is actually a movie about infidelity, seduction, and fantasizing? Richard Sherman is a book editor whose wife and son goes to Maine for the summer while he stays in the city to work. A model moves in upstairs (played by Marilyn Monroe) and begins Richard's summer of unresolved sexual tension.  The comedy of the movie lies in Richard's absurd fantasies involving the girl upstairs, his wife, and multiple other women in his life. His mental condition spirals downwards throughout the movie until he becomes the personification of cognitive dissonance. The only thing keeping Richard's libido in check is the model's sweetness and innocence, in the end she proves that she has more character than Richard. The movie is best known for the white dress billowing over the subway grate scene, which never actually appears in the movie in all it's glory.

Get the look: The white dress defines not only the movie but Marilyn Monroe herself and is probably one of the most recognizable dresses in all of movie history. Every anachronistic fashionista needs one so head on over to  Trashy Diva's Dottie dress ($163) and pick one up. Wear it all summer.

Thursday's Movie Review: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1965) is one of those cult classics that no one has seen, which is a shame since the film is as poignant today as it was in 1965 (if you disregard that horrible cameo by Mickey Rooney!) Holly Golightly is a New York City party girl that makes her living by charming men into giving her $50 for the powder room. She is a woman of few possessions yet limitless style, the girl knows how to go from flat to fabulous in three minutes! What money she doesn't spend on rent she spends on clothes, her apartment is comprised of found objects and her one companion, Cat. The story is based on the novella by Truman Capote (and if you don't know who that is, please rectify that egregious sin immediately!) and has as many layers as an onion. The characters are so multi-dimensional for the time the story is secondary to their individual complexities. Yet the movie maintains an air of frivolity, Holly's life is like a perpetual party. Putting aside the gigolo writer love-interest, the fabulously scarce apartment, and Holly's no-one-can-own-me attitude you still have Holly's fabulous wardrobe. The outfit she wears to Sing Sing, that orange coat she wears for the day of I-never's, and the pink dress and tiara she wears when she has her breakdown are all style moments worth stealing.



Any Holly Golightly arsenal is incomplete without a Bumpit. You can further copy Holly Golightly's style with the fantastic eye mask and ear plug duo ($50). All you need is a men's tuxedo shirt for a very glamorous morning!

Thursday's Movie Review - How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

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My Marilyn Monroe sighting in All About Eve (1950) has inspired me to watch more of her movies. I couldn't resist How to Marry a Millionaire (1957) since it also starred Betty Grable and Lauren Becall. Set in New York City the movie is about three models who rent an apartment outside their means to land themselves millionaires.



I love old romantic comedies like this that shoot straight--the movie is unapologetic about women wanting men for money and men wanting women for youth and beauty. The tale is as old as time but the fact that the women are actively trying to trap the men gives a fresh take to the story, politically correct or not. The actresses are endearing and the clothes left me drooling, there is even a fashion show in the middle of the movie! Watch this one with your single girlfriends so you can concoct your own plans to land a man that's "holding!"



Copy Lauren Becall's sophistication with the essential plainweave jacket ($158) and side banded pencil skirt ($60) in navy from The Limited. You can play around in the blue ASOS belted midi dress ($81) paired with a pink Candy Violet petticoat ($49) just like Betty Grable! Or channel Marilyn Monroe's effortlessly sexy style with the J. Crew Teddie dress ($198), Urban Outfitters Risky Readers ($14) and add a faux fur or vintage fur collar from Etsy (prices vary)! Bonus points for referring to a cute girl as a "strudel" or saying "creamy" in a sentence.

Thursday Movie Review: All About Eve (1950)

All About Eve (1950) is a fascinating film that harkens back to when movies had literary qualities. The subtle psychology behind each actor and the fiery tirades of Margot Channing (Bette Davis) punctuate the film with wit and humor. The title character Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) worms her way into Margot's life and tries to supplant her career and her relationships. The clothes are inspiring and be careful not to miss an early role from Marilyn Monroe's career. One of the movie's themes is oppositions--New York vs. Hollywood, Old vs. Young, married vs. single. One of my favorite scenes is when Margot's boyfriend turns Eve down--"What I go after I go after. I don't want it to come after me." Makes me nostalgic for a time when men had standards. Watch this one with your token-gay-male-friend or an aging fabulous aunt that will quote the movie line by line for you!



Get the Look:

I adore several costume elements from the film but the suit Margot wore to the theater still haunts me. This is the perfect outfit for putting people in their place. You can get this look with the J.Crew Telegraph suit ($306) paired with this New York & Company silky bow blouse ($37). Be sure to add this Vivcore party bow purse ($95) with your basic black pumps. Extra style points for donning a faux mink ($199)!

Thursday's Movie Review - Funny Girl (1968)

Funny Girl (1968) is a rags to riches tale about a girl making it big on Broadway as a comedienne. Fannie Brice (Barbara Streisand) experiences the highs and lows of show business and experiences a whirl-wind and doomed romance with the professional gambler Nicky Arnstein. Set in the 1910's the movie is all about the costumes, each outfit Barbara Streisand wears is worth pouring over in every minute detail. The leopard coat and cloche worn in the theater, the purple dress she wears to her dinner with Nicky, and the train-station outfit are most memorable for me.



Streisand carries the movie and the plot is secondary to her charms. I never experienced her talents for myself so the movie was very eye-opening for me, I understand now why so many people love her. Watch this one with your BFF and a bag of popcorn.

Thursday's Movie Review: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

A bittersweet and heartwrenching tale of young lust and marriage in 1960's France The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of those movies that has to be experienced once. It's not a movie that will appeal to a broad audience, and the fact that all dialogue is sung instead of spoken will turn off some. There are two reasons to watch the film--1) the visuals and 2) Catherine Deneuve.



Umbrellas Of Cherbourg is part of the French new wave in cinema. The backgrounds are inspiring in Easter egg colors. Catherine Deneuve skips around her technicolor world, a vision in youth and blonde hair, a perfect paragon of young love. Nino Castelnuovo is an appropriate Romeo to Catherine's Juliet. I love Deneuve's iconic black hair ribbon, her constant ballet flats, and that lovely salmon pink coat. Watch this one with a boy you are about to break up with anyways as a form of revenge/torture.

Thursday's Movie Review: Valley of the Dolls (1967)

As an anachronistic diva I find inspiration in many things but movies are one of my favorite sources. I like watching classic movies because they form the furniture of our culture and are referenced again and again. Valley of the Dolls is one of those movies that is mentioned so many times but how many of us have actually seen it? Luckily Netflix streaming came to my rescue!



Yowza! How risque and scandalous right? Watching Valley of the Dolls was kind of like ripping off a band-aid very very slowly. The movie starts out bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with Miss Wells moving to New York City where the three girls meet. As they grow famous their lives spiral downward and each faces subjects that are so intimate for women then and now. I love the clothes--Jennifer's pink poolside palazzo pants + green bikini top and Lawson's gold beaded pantsuit stick with me. The make-up is inspiring too, the deep shading in the crease is so 60's! This would be a perfect movie to watch with your mom for a girls-night-out. Don't forget the sherry!