Hollywood Glamour

I often enjoy films for the garments as much as the plot or the acting. Films are a wonderful source of inspiration for visual style. Some of my favorites: Rear Window (Grace Kelly in those fabulous Dior dresses), the Thin Man series (Myrna Loy's unbelievably glamorous evening ensembles), Doris Day in Pillow Talk (the delicious color and style of her matching coats and dresses - and those HATS!), My Fair Lady (Audrey Hepburn's marvelous turn of the century costumes - and the iconic Ascot scene in which everyone wears black and white) and Impromtu (Judy Davis as George Sand in 19th century menswear) - and so many more.

There is important fashion history here - as Patrick Michael Hughes so eloquently explains in his Fashion Essentials (Parsons/New School) lecture. The history of trends and styles and the underlying socio economic conditions that informed them, and the importance of the great Hollywood designers like Edith Head and Adrian. Mr. Hughes beautifully sums up the essence of Hollywood/Red Carpet Glamour as the "single frame image". The dress and the wearer stand alone - equally arresting and significant - creating the true Hollywood glamour moment.

Shown here is Grace Kelly wearing Dior, in Hitchcock's Rear Window, 1954. #parsonsxteenvogue