Anyone who has been reading this blog for a while would know that I'm a big fan of old movies. My interest has its genesis in my childhood, as my Aussie grandparents were both big movie buffs, loved 'their' Golden Years of Hollywood, and as a result had amassed a big collection of classics on VHS. Every school holidays - when I wasn't coming up with elaborate games set in the 'olden days' with my cousins, or playing down at the beach - I was watching movies. Some of my favourites were Little Women (with Janet Leigh & Elizabeth Taylor), Pride & Prejudice (with Greer Garson), Gaslight, High Society, Intermezzo, Rebecca, Casablanca, My Fair Lady, anything starring Shirley Temple or directed by Alfred Hitchcock (except Psycho or The Birds ... too scary) and, of course, The Sound of Music and Gone with the Wind.
My Nanny was obsessed with Shirley Temple as a child in the 30s and kept a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about her. She's also had a lifelong crush on the young Laurence Olivier. My Grandfather has always fancied 1940s songstress Deanna Durbin, who has somewhat faded into obscurity now. I, however, watched an awful lot of her movies when I was young.
So, when I found out that Debbie Reynolds was auctioning off her UNBELIEVABLE collection of movie memorabilia, I had to take a look at the
catalogue. The breadth of it filled me with wonderment and sadness. Wonderment at the quality and fame of the items (it is wonderful to see some of the costumes in colour for the first time) and sadness that such an important collection is being broken up. Apparently Debbie intended the collection for a museum, but the project got into financial difficulty, and so she's had to auction off the items to appease creditors.
Here are a few of the costumes included ...
Other costumes include that white Travilla dress that Marilyn wore in
The Seven Year Itch as well as the red sequin dress she wore in
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Dorothy's ruby red slippers.
And it wasn't just costumes up for grabs; there was movie posters, stills, props, scripts & contracts, paintings & illustrations, and even cars. You can tell that Debbie was someone that really loved her industry.
The first part of the auction happened yesterday and the Cecil Beaton designer Ascot dress from My Fair Lady fetched a staggering US$ 3.7 million. Judy Garland's Dorothy dress and red slippers were worth US$ 1.7 million and, wait for it, Marilyn's iconic white dress was snapped up for a cool US$ 4.6 million.
When I saw Andrew O'Hagan speak a few months ago, he thought that Marilyn Monroe has now superseded Joan of Arc as the most famous woman in the world. This latest auction result goes some way to proving his theory. Discuss?
PS Speaking of old movies, I recently watch The Best Years of Our Lives for the first time, and highly recommend it. A brilliant film, in any decade, it also stars my Mum and my current retro crush, Dana Andrews. He is also very sexy in Laura. Check him out.
From the new Prada winter campaign. Can someone knocks these off please. And don't forget the buttons! 
Other costumes include that white Travilla dress that Marilyn wore in The Seven Year Itch as well as the red sequin dress she wore in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Dorothy's ruby red slippers.
Making me wish that I had never sold the violet faux fur jacket that I had for many years, this moody editorial is from the July issue of US Vogue. Shot by Peter Lindbergh, styled by Grace Coddington, and featuring Lara Stone (with eyebrows!) and the yummy Alexander Skarsgard, the looks featured here all have a 1940s flavour. I absolutely adore that Miu Miu dress with the embroidered swallows.
13-year-old Elle Fanning looked so pretty in vintage at the premiere for her new film Super 8 the other day. The look is very sparkly Virgin Suicides and I love the Chloe wedges she (or her stylist) paired with the dress. The outfit is quite fitting as Super 8 is set in the 70s. I saw the preview the other day and thought it looked reminiscent of ET. Has anyone seen it yet?
The film Water for Elephants is inspiring fashion editors and viewers everywhere with it's lovely 1930s costumes. I saw the film over the weekend with my friends Helen and Emma and while the film had its issues (for me), I still found it really entertaining and oh so very pretty. Costume designer Jacqueline West fitted Reese out in gorgeous separates for day-wear (love that scarf), slinky bias cut gowns (which were worn sans underwear in the 30s) for evening, and sparkly, revealing costumes for the big top scenes. I loved the art direction too; the big top scenes were fantastic.
I like the floor skimming maxi skirts that are back in vogue right now, but unfortunately I'm not the right height to wear them. I can, however, wear a knee to calf grazing midi skirt and this pic of Keira Knightley strolling around LA with her boyfriend had me wanting to pull out all of mine and pair them with a crisp white shirt. There's something eternally chic about a fulsome skirt in a bright colour or vibrant print cinched with a belt and paired with a tight top. Dovima and Ava Gardner (in Mogambo) demonstrate how to work the look in summer with a sleek halterneck or off-the-shoulder top. A cropped knit works well for winter.
As an aside I watched Mogambo recently and Ava was absolutely mesmerising in it. She lit up the screen as the cheeky girl with a heart of gold and her beauty was breathtaking. The scenery was great too, but those two elements were the best part of the film. I found Clark Gable and Grace Kelly's romance kind of lacklustre, which is funny considering that they were having a real-life affair while filming.
