The 1960s was a time of Mods, Rockers, Mary Quant and miniskirts. There was a real youth-culture in the swinging sixties, symbolized by iconic models Twiggy and Peggy Moffit. On the more grown-up side of Sixties fashion the ‘Mad Men’ style of dressing was smart, sophisticated and luxurious. Think Jackie Kennedy and her neat suits and sunglasses!
When 21-year-old Mia Farrow married Frank Sinatra (who was 50 at the time) in 1966 she wore an white skirt suit with a bow at the waist. The boxy cropped jacket had sleeves which finished at the elbow and crystal buttons. Teamed with her famous pixie cut hair she was a truly modern 60s bride.(…)
When Elizabeth Taylor married Richard Burton for the first time after a tumultuous affair on the set of Cleopatra she chose as her wedding gown a canary yellow chiffon dress. Designed by Cleopatra costume designer Irene Sharaff, Taylor paired the dress with hyacinths and lilies of the valley woven into her hair, which was plaited(…)
Audrey Hepburn married twice, the second time in 1969 to Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti. They married in Morges, Switzerland and she wore was a pale pink minidress with matching hood by favourite designer Hubert de Givenchy. Givenchy also designed some of Hepburn’s most iconic movie looks including her Sabrina dress, the amazing 1960s mod costumes(…)
I love this series of photos. Some of them could have been taken anywhere during the Sixties: the Mary Quant fashions and girls with their heavy eye-makeup and bouffant hair (even on the ballerinas). But then there are some uniquely Parisian photos too: the street scenes, the elderly couple snoozing in the Louve, the stamp(…)
As promised when I published my favourite women’s outfits from this year’s Goodwood Revival, here are my pick of the most dapper gents. Their outfits are all 1940s, 50s or 60s themed and I think you’ll agree that they all look splendid! As always there were so many military uniforms, that I decided not to(…)
Sadly I couldn’t make it to Goodwood Revival this year. It’s the first year we’ve missed it, but happily Matt Hind from Men’s File was there taking his amazing photos so I didn’t have to miss out entirely! Here are some of my favourite looks from the Goodwood Revival 2015. The fashions range from 1940s(…)
We all know and love Angela Lansbury from Murder She Wrote, plus she was the voice of Mrs. Potts in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. However she didn’t start out in life as a middle-aged crime-solving widow (or a singing teapot). Back in the 40s and 50s she looked rather different and played a huge(…)
So, it’s Boxing Day and I’m sitting here (eating chocolates) waiting for it to snow. Apparently we are due to get snow tonight, but I fully expect to wake up in the morning and see cold grey drizzle rather than a beautiful white blanket covering everything. We didn’t have any snow last winter at all,(…)
I remember rushing home from school as a child and watching re-runs of Bewitched on the TV. I absolutely adored it, along with I Dream of Jeannie. Here are some facts about Bewitched that you might not know: We’ve all tried to twitch our noses like Samantha, right? The trick to doing it was that(…)
Jean Shrimpton is one of the best-known models of the 1960s and was an ‘it girl’ and icon of Swinging SIxties London. With her slim figure and coltish long legs she represented a real departure from the more grown-up sophisticated models of the 1950s. After finishing a modelling course at the Lucie Clayton Charm Academy (famed(…)
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,(…)
It was a total coincidence that I watched Grand Prix on the same weekend we heard about James Garner’s death. It is a movie I’ve meant to watch for a long time. I spent this weekend pretty much immersed in motorsport, with my son karting at Buckmore Park all day on Saturday plus it being(…)
Some of the biggest movie parts in history were first offered to other actors, including the part of Indiana Jones. Can you imagine anyone else playing that part? Take a look at the actors who turned these parts down below. Do you think the movies would have been as successful if the directors had secured(…)
After last week’s disappointment watching Citizen Kane I was delighted to discover a real gem this week. Don’t be put off by the grim movie poster (right), this isn’t a harrowing war movie it’s a delightful James-Bond-style wartime spy thriller with the delectable Christopher Plummer as debonair British double agent Eddie Chapman. I knew nothing(…)
Wow, talk about a movie Epic! You think Harry Potter’s Deathly Hallows was a long movie? Try this one, it’s a full 3 hours of sandals, sword-fighting and sex-appeal! Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren are the headliners and they have fabulous on-screen chemistry. Whether they love or hate each other (and there’s plenty of time(…)
An actor or actress dying suddenly during the filming of a movie can either make it a huge success of cause enormous problems (like Oliver Reed dying during the filming of Gladiator). Here are 9 classic Hollywood movies which either the star died suddenly on-set or was murdered/committed suicide during production. Marilyn Monroe: “Something’s Got(…)
You don’t see fur adverts much these days (or at least I haven’t come across many) but basically fur advertising hasn’t changed much since this type of ad (above) from the 1960s. Why she’s holding a lit cigarette lighter that close to her flammable fur coat I have no idea… Anyway, by now you probably(…)
Actress and singer Nichelle Nichols is best known as the fabulous Lieutenant Uhura in the 1960s Star Trek series. Her role was groundbreaking at the time as she was one of the first black women featured in a prominent role in a major TV series. When she considered leaving the series to pursue a career(…)