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Post by Andrea Doria on Jun 11, 2023 14:47:11 GMT
Yes, Laurence Harvey looks phenomenal in, "Butterfield 8" as they all do in every scene, what a great movie to look at.
I just start tearing my hair out at the end while Elizabeth is driving 95 miles an hour for the longest time without ever once looking at the road ahead, always backward at Laurence, who hasn't enough sense to realize that if he quit chasing her she might slow down.
Now, I want to watch it again. Dina Merrill's character is frustrating to watch, too, she's so desperate to save her marriage but doesn't stand a chance against Liz. Sigh. I need a lot of ice cream to get through this one.
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Post by Fading Fast on Jun 11, 2023 15:04:23 GMT
Yes, Laurence Harvey looks phenomenal in, "Butterfield 8" as they all do in every scene, what a great movie to look at.
I just start tearing my hair out at the end while Elizabeth is driving 95 miles an hour for the longest time without ever once looking at the road ahead, always backward at Laurence, who hasn't enough sense to realize that if he quit chasing her she might slow down.
Now, I want to watch it again. Dina Merrill's character is frustrating to watch, too, she's so desperate to save her marriage but doesn't stand a chance against Liz. Sigh. I need a lot of ice cream to get through this one. |
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Post by BunnyWhit on Jun 11, 2023 21:01:20 GMT
Pleated blouse from the 1930s:
Pleated blouse from the 1950s:
I'm inclined to agree with you, NoShear. I feel all of the costumes in Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) (with the exception of what we see Mercedes McCambridge wear) are more representative of the 1950s than the 1930s. Of course these generic pics are not of exactly the same style as we see Taylor wear in the film, but they do seem to illustrate what I mean.
Pleats were very popular in the 1930s, less so in the 40s, and again in the 50s. Pleats require more fabric -- the more pleated a garment is, the more fabric it requires. The pleats on this green silk blouse from the 30s are much tighter. The stitched pleats at the waist and shoulders are necessary to wrangle all the fullness created by the pleats. The blouse is a slip over with a keyhole closure in the back, which allows the pleats to be the star of the show. On the blouse from the 50s, the pleats are not nearly as tight, but they do have a cute bit of smocking to further accentuate the design. This blouse appears to be nylon, which is period appropriate, but the blouse worn by Taylor in the film certainly appears to be silk, and I'd expect nothing less. Though this blouse features a peter pan collar, and Taylor's blouse has a mandarin collar, both were very popular in the 50s, but also in the 30s.
So far it sounds like it's a toss-up, right? Well, the feature on Taylor's blouse that puts it more into the 50s for me is the hidden button placket. It's a gorgeous detail. The hidden button placket allows the wearer's face to capture all attention -- not that a little thing like a button could ever keep one's eyes from Taylor's beautiful face. This feature also allows jewelry to appear more prominent, should one choose to wear a necklace, brooch, or both on the blouse. Sometimes buttons detract from other style features of a garment, jewelry, and/or the wearer, so hiding them eliminates this problem and creates a clean line. Very often (not always, of course) buttons on garments of the 30s were made into a feature, even when the garment had other prominent design elements like pleats, smocking, embroidery, or a busy fabric. Even moving the placket to the back of the garment makes a feature of the buttons.
So, let's consider some other garments from the film. Taylor wears a beautiful (green) sundress with a scarf to hold back her hair -- straight up 1950s.
And the gorgeous white bathing suit? Yep, 50s all the way.
And this lovely dress. I don't even need to say it, do I....?
Interestingly, costume designer Oliver Messel received one Oscar nomination in his career -- for Suddenly, Last Summer. But the nomination was not specifically for costume. It was for art direction/set decoration, which he shared with William Kellner and Scott Sliman.
(As a little aside, the green silk blouse here would have been quite appropriate in the later 1890s-1900, and this cream blouse would have been perfectly at home in the 1980s. Just saying.)
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Post by jamesjazzguitar on Jun 11, 2023 23:39:06 GMT
Great comments on Suddenly Last Summer and the costumes representing more of a 50s style than 30s. This is something I never thought about, but it is very clear to me now. I guess I was too distracted by Liz's white bathing suit. Yea, that is the ticket.
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Post by Broadway on Jun 13, 2023 18:39:49 GMT
Takakura also looked darn cool in his turtleneck and jeans jacket:
Oh yeah! Turtlenecks under jackets is an incredibly cool look. Particularly, I think this style looks really good on Roy Scheider in The French Connection and The Seven-Ups. I can't tell you how long I have been scouring the thrift stores in an attempt to find a nice turtleneck to try this style myself.
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Post by NoShear on Jun 14, 2023 15:51:27 GMT
Re: "I agree also on your camel hair coat comment. It is one item I never bought for myself as the price of a good one - and you have to buy a well-made one - always seemed out of my budget for a coat that was a nice to have but not a need. Now I kinda wish I had though." Well, Fading Fast, as long as the lady is paying, why not take the vicuna?  |
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Post by Fading Fast on Jun 14, 2023 15:57:29 GMT
Re: "I agree also on your camel hair coat comment. It is one item I never bought for myself as the price of a good one - and you have to buy a well-made one - always seemed out of my budget for a coat that was a nice to have but not a need. Now I kinda wish I had though." Well, Fading Fast, as long as the lady is paying, why not take the vicuna?
"Why not take the Vicuna?"
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Post by NoShear on Jun 21, 2023 16:57:30 GMT
Re: "I'm climbing out from under it....slowly, but surely." Checking in on you with a pair of Martin Shaw-related period pieces here for you - I hope you're feeling a heck of a lot better, BunnyWhit... "Not so happy, yet much happier" - Shakespeare   You will not be king, but you will be Inspector George Gently:  |
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Post by BunnyWhit on Jun 21, 2023 17:13:58 GMT
Thanks so much, NoShear! Indeed, I am doing much better.
Thanks also for the fine pics. Just now it's 95F where I live (real feel well over 110F), yet I find looking at these lovely coats to be strangely.....cooling?
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Post by Fading Fast on Jun 23, 2023 5:18:31 GMT
It would be hard to have a less-original thought than noting how insanely cool the style is in the 1963 French movie "Breathless." But for this thread, I just want to note how perfectly styled Jean Seberg is in the movie with her severe pixie cut (I should cross-post this with the "Hair Salon" thread) and her Breton-striped outfits.
 
She even rocks her freakin' adorable "newsgirl" getup:
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Post by sepiatone on Jun 23, 2023 15:51:05 GMT
That striped shirt she's wearing up there reminds me of those 3/4 length sleeved "beachcomber" shirts worn by both men and women in the '60's. Usually matched with pants known as "clam diggers".  My Mom laughed saying, "Just a fancy name for pedal pushers in order to sell more."  Sepiatone |
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Post by BunnyWhit on Jun 23, 2023 23:28:13 GMT
Capri Pants vs. Pedal Pushers vs. Clam Diggers
These terms are often used interchangeably -- and additional names such are matador, toreador, cropped, calypso, floods, jams, culottes, walking shorts -- can be thrown in just to confuse matters even more. The length of these "not all the way down" pants goes up and down across the decades, as do hem lengths on skirts/dresses. I feel that the term most prevalently in use has to do with with the length of pant most popular at the time, and perhaps the age or regional locale of the speaker. For the most part, I think you could use most of these terms in conversation and someone would have a pretty good idea what you mean -- mainly that you're not talking about long pants.
To my understanding, the historical definitions of capri, pedal pusher, and clam digger are as follows:
Capri pants end at the ankle bone. (became popular late 1940s - 60s) Pedal pushers end mid-calf. (became popular 1950s - early 60s) Clam diggers end at the knee. (became popular 1940s -60s) (As you can see from this cover of Life, they call these pedal pushers -- and in the 1990s they'll be called walking shorts.)
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Post by NoShear on Jun 27, 2023 15:08:24 GMT
Fading Fast, please make an appointment with the Hair Salon at your convenience... |
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Post by sepiatone on Jun 27, 2023 16:32:37 GMT
Capri Pants vs. Pedal Pushers vs. Clam Diggers
These terms are often used interchangeably -- and additional names such are matador, toreador, cropped, calypso, floods, jams, culottes, walking shorts -- can be thrown in just to confuse matters even more. The length of these "not all the way down" pants goes up and down across the decades, as do hem lengths on skirts/dresses. I feel that the term most prevalently in use has to do with with the length of pant most popular at the time, and perhaps the age or regional locale of the speaker. For the most part, I think you could use most of these terms in conversation and someone would have a pretty good idea what you mean -- mainly that you're not talking about long pants.
To my understanding, the historical definitions of capri, pedal pusher, and clam digger are as follows:
Capri pants end at the ankle bone. (became popular late 1940s - 60s)Pedal pushers end mid-calf. (became popular 1950s - early 60s)Clam diggers end at the knee. (became popular 1940s -60s) (As you can see from this cover of Life, they call these pedal pushers -- and in the 1990s they'll be called walking shorts.)
I never thought of Coulottes as being in the same class as he others.But usually only seen them with the "legs" so baggy one might mistake them for a skirt at first glance..  And the different lengths caused some confusion too. Sepiatone |
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Post by BunnyWhit on Jun 28, 2023 7:17:35 GMT
You're right about the confusion, Sepiatone.
I've even seen garments referred to as culottes which were clearly palazzo pants. Neophytes.
The French culot means "the lower half of a thing", so when referring to garments -- technically -- I guess anything from booty shorts to leggings to BDU pants could be correctly called culottes, though I think doing so fell out of vogue after, say, the French Revolution. And it is my understanding that culotte meant the lower garments for both men and women.
I'd love to know if the terminology caused as much confusion for Louis XVI as it does today. He's looking natty here in his culottes though, is he not?
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