After the hardships of the wartime years, the 1950s exploded in a riot of colour. Women embraced the hourglass figure of Christian Dior’s ‘New Look’ and wore big petticoats to make their skirts larger, and for the first time teenagers developed their own fun sense of style.
Oh, how I love a Hitchcock movie! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad one, apart from ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much‘. And that’s just a strange story line told using unlikeable characters, as you might remember me complaining a while back. Actually that’s probably a good definition of a bad movie isn’t(…)
I’ve just read that Max Factor have announced Marilyn Monroe as their new ‘global glamour ambassador’. They’ve done this based on the fact that Marilyn was a client of Max Factor back when they ran a beauty salon in the 1940s and they claim to have been responsible for her trademark starlet makeover. I’m not(…)
Oh, I love a good comfy horror / sci-fi movie. Nothing gruesome or truly frightening, just something really enjoyable and this movie definitely fits that bill. It’s nothing like the 1982 Kurt Russell remake of The Thing, which was bleak and gruesome, it’s a delight from start to finish. From it’s swashbuckling army hero (Kenneth(…)
Did you realize Dinosaurs had syphilis? Not only that but you mustn’t kiss your baby because it’s unhygienic and whatever you do DON’T mix whiskey with gas (I’m assuming they mean as a cocktail). I’m being facetious of course, but public health notices certainly told very different messages in the past compared to now. We(…)
Whatever role she played Grace Kelly was always the epitome of cool style and sophistication. Whoever she was in a movie, she was always impeccably turned out and beautiful in a very grown-up stylish way. Never saucy or scandalously dressed she was a sex symbol who drew everybody’s gaze without having to make a show(…)
I love old Hollywood Horror movies, they can be scary but not in the horrible gory vile way that movies tend to be today. I watched the 1958 version of Dracula the other day and it was an absolute delight! Not really scary at all, nice comfy horror, which is just about right for me!(…)
I love the different Hallowe’en costumes in these photos, although being British I always find it strange to see people dressing in ‘regular’ fancy dress during Hallowe’en. Here we just wear spooky costumes (ghosts, skeletons etc) whereas in America any kind of fancy dress seems fine. Anyone know why? I have no idea but I’d(…)
Boy have there been some strange beauty contests over the years! These photos include the contestants for ‘Miss Psywar’ (doesn’t that stand for Phsychological Warfare…?), ‘Miss War Worker’ and ‘Miss Bobbed Hair 1925’…
I treated myself to a 1950s Hammer B-movie yesterday: X… the Unknown. It kills… but cannot be killed! It rises from 2000 miles beneath the earth to melt everything in its path.. machine gun bullets, flame throwers… nothing can stop it! Sounds fabulously terrifying eh? Happily I can report that it wasn’t very terrifying at(…)
You’ll never guess what I discovered today! Well, you probably don’t need to guess if you’ve read the title of this article… ANYWAY Clint Eastwood narrowly escaped death in a plane crash when he hitched a ride in the cargo compartment of a plane in 1951. And you thought he was just a tough guy(…)
I actually watched this movie last week but haven’t had time to write it up until now. It was shown in the rush of nostalgia following the sad news of Lauren Bacall‘s death and I have to say I’m delighted this fiim was shown on TV. Lauren Bacall called it a “good little movie… with(…)
Following on from talking about Toni Frissell’s photos of children during WW2 I wanted to share some of her breathtaking fashion photos with you. She started photographing for Vogue in 1931 and was best known for her fashion photos showing active and independent women in outdoor settings, which contrasted starkly with other male photographers of(…)
Did you think clowns couldn’t get more disturbing than ‘Cho-Cho the health clown‘ who terrified young children into good dental hygiene habits in the 1920s? Well it turns out they can be a darn site scarier. I don’t think any of these clowns were intended to terrify but they’ll certainly haunt my dreams. Wish I’d(…)
Following on from last week’s guide to getting yourself a 1940s-themed outfit for Goodwood Revival, I’m moving onto one of the most popular decades for vintage: 1950s today. Perhaps one of the most recognizable decades, the Fifties were the decade of Dior’s New Look with its full skirts and nipped-in waists as well as the(…)
This week we heard the sad news that Lauren Bacall died aged 89. Famous for her husky voice and relationship with Humphrey Bogart (both on and off-screen) she was one of the most iconic screen presences of the 40s and 50s. Above: Armed Forces Radio Services broadcaster Jack Brown interviews Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall(…)
For me Cary Grant will always be the ultimate leading man. Sophisticated, debonaire and witty (not to mention a bit of a goof-ball at times) he was a Hollywood icon millions of women fell in love with. He acted alongside the greatest leading ladies from 3 decades of Hollywood, from Greta Garbo to Mae West,(…)
This week’s vintage fashion inspiration comes from Audrey Hepburn in the 1954 movie Sabrina – one of my all-time favourite Hepburn movies. If rumours are correct she was mostly dressed by Givenchy in this movie although costume-designer Edith Head won an Oscar for them. Either way she looked fabulous throughout! I’ve picked 3 of my(…)
Cheerleaders didn’t always look and dress they way they do today. Far from athletic girls in crop tops Cheerleaders of the 1920s looked very different (and they weren’t just women), and in the 1950s it was the band girls dressed in the sexy outfits, the cheerleaders looked very different! Here are some vintage cheerleading photos(…)