Vintage Style Icons

Louise Brooks: From Dancer to Showgirl to Scandalous Flapper Icon

Louise Brooks: From Dancer to Showgirl to Scandalous Flapper Icon

Louise Brooks with her sharply bobbed hair is one of the most iconic figures of 1920s cinema and epitomized the rebellious modern woman of the time. She started off her career as a chorus girl and dancer in 1922, and by 1925 was a dancer for Ziegfeld’s Follies. It was as a Follies girl that(…)

Marilyn Monroe before Plastic Surgery

Marilyn Monroe before Plastic Surgery

Marilyn Monroe photographed in February 1947 when she was still a young starlet. At this time she was still called Norma Jeane, and hadn’t yet undergone her Hollywood makeover. In 1950 she had rhinoplasty (a nose-job) and a chin implant on the advice of her agent who paid for the surgery.  She only changed her(…)

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Mary Pickford

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Mary Pickford

Even if you’re not a silent movie buff you’ve probably heard of ‘America’s Sweetheart‘ Mary Pickford. Here are some interesting facts you might not have known about the famous Blondilocks: She co-founded the movie studio United Artists with Charlie Chaplin, husband Douglas Fairbanks Sr and D.W. Griffith in response to the restrictive and controlling ‘Star(…)

1970s Style Icons: Bianca Jagger

1970s Style Icons: Bianca Jagger

Wife to Mick and mother to Jade Jagger, Bianca Pérez-Mora Macias met the lead singer of the Rolling Stones at a party in 1970. They married in May 1971 when she was already 4 months pregnant. The Nicaraguan socialite quickly became known as one of the most distinctively stylish women of the decade, from the(…)

1920s Screen Stars: Ina Claire

1920s Screen Stars: Ina Claire

Ina Claire was best known as a Broadway actress, but she also made movies between 1915 and 1943. She was born Ina Fagan in 1893, and first made her name on stage by doing impersonations of other people – something for which she had a great talent. Apparently a young F. Scott Fitzgerald fell madly(…)

Fashion Inspiration: Grace Kelly

Fashion Inspiration: Grace Kelly

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(…)

Silent Movie Stars: Anna Q. Nilsson

Silent Movie Stars: Anna Q. Nilsson

Anna Q. Nilsson was a successful silent movie actress in 1920s America. Born in Sweden the enigmatic Q in her middle name stood for Quirentia – she was named for the obscure Saint Quirinius who was martyred by being beheaded in the year 116. Nilsson moved to America aged 17 and soon found work as(…)

Fashion Inspiration: Katharine Hepburn

Fashion Inspiration: Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn was something of a trailblazer in the Classic Hollywood era. One of the first leading ladies to reject Hollywood glamour and wear trousers, she pioneered the casual look and loved wearing menswear-inspired tailoring and collared shirts. She wore mens suits and casual sportswear at a time when it was practically unheard of, and(…)

Vintage Scream Queens: Fay Wray

Vintage Scream Queens: Fay Wray

Fay Wray is perhaps the most famous of all the early scream queens because of her role as Ann Darrow in King Kong. She began her career aged just 19 in 1926 as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars (actresses who the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers thought were on the threshold of movie(…)

Forgotten Silent Movie Actresses: Rubye De Remer

Forgotten Silent Movie Actresses: Rubye De Remer

Rubye De Remer was a particuarly pretty silent movie actress during the 1920s. She landed a spot in the Ziegfeld Follies after being spotted after winning a New York beauty contest, and was dubbed “the most beautiful blonde since Venus” by Florenz Ziegfeld. Like many Ziegfeld Girls she went on to work in the movies,(…)

1970s Style Icons: Liza Minnelli

1970s Style Icons: Liza Minnelli

With parents like Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli, Liza was always going to be a big hitter in the movie world but she was also a real style icon of the 1970s. Her first major film role was in the movie ‘Journey Back to Oz‘: an animation sequel to ‘The Wizard  of Oz’(…)

1970s Style Icons: Bianca Jagger

1970s Style Icons: Bianca Jagger

Wife to Mick and mother to Jade Jagger, Bianca Pérez-Mora Macias met the lead singer of the Rolling Stones at a party in 1970. They married in May 1971 when she was already 4 months pregnant. The Nicaraguan socialite quickly became known as one of the most distinctively stylish women of the decade, from the(…)

1930s Screen Icons: Myrna Loy

1930s Screen Icons: Myrna Loy

Myrna Loy is perhaps known best for her roles as femme fatale in silent movies. Because of her exotic beauty she was often cast in the role of Asian or Eurasian characters but later became a popular female lead in romantic comedies where she was frequently paired with William Powell and Clark Gable. Here are(…)

1920s Screen Icons: Lillian Gish

1920s Screen Icons: Lillian Gish

You might be surprised to know that during the 1910s and 20s the biggest name in American cinema was that of Lillian Gish. I’m sure you’ve heard of her more notorious contemporaries (good time girl Clara Bow springs to mind) but Miss Gish was the star known as The First Lady of The Silent Screen.

1940s Movie Icons: Greer Garson

1940s Movie Icons: Greer Garson

Greer Garson (or Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson Fogelson as she was christened) was a huge 1940s movie star who has rather faded from public memory. She was one of MGM’s biggest stars and also one of the biggest box-office draws during the mid 1940s. She also received an impressive 7 Oscar nominations! She was born(…)

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Lauren Bacall

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Lauren Bacall

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(…)

Mae West Before Her Hollywood Makeover

Mae West Before Her Hollywood Makeover

We all know what Mae West looked like (above). Her sexy on-screen image is probably one of the most iconic of all time. So much so that she had life preservers named after her during WW2 and Salvador Dali created his iconic lips sofa because of his fascination with her. But what did she look(…)

The Short Life of Russia’s First Silent Movie Star: Vera Kholodnaya

The Short Life of Russia’s First Silent Movie Star: Vera Kholodnaya

You may not have heard of Vera Kholodnaya, but she was Russia’s first major silent movie star. The majority of her movies were destroyed by the Soviet regime and she died under suspicious circumstances aged just 25 but she managed to in a lot of living in her short life! Born in 1893 in Poltava,(…)