#one dress a day challenge
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
Death on the Nile (1978) / Mia Farrow as Jacqueline de Bellefort
Anthony Powell designed the costumes for this film, and they look amazing! This dress has such classic art deco lines. I wasn’t entirely sure about the geometric texture in it, but I looked up some authentic vintage 1930s metallic dresses, and patterns like that were not uncommon.
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
Oceans 8 / Mindy Kaling as Amita
This may be my favorite of the “camouflage” dresses the crew wear to blend in with the crowd at the Met Gala. Sadly, they only appear for a short time onscreen, and we don’t get a chance to see them from multiple angles, so I’m very glad the dress has been exhibited. I didn’t even realize that it’s actually a sleeveless dress with a matching coat/cape.
I love the subtle sprinkling of colored beads over the shoulders. They’re not separately visible onscreen, but they add a richness to the color.
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
The Three Musketeers (1973) / Faye Dunaway as Milady de Winter
It’s been a while since I watched these movies, but I’m pretty sure this is from The Three Musketeers and not The Four Musketeers. This beautiful silver gown (looks like satin?) is worn for a nature-themed fancy-dress ball, which explains the butterfly elements.
The costume designer for this film was Yvonne Blake, and I think she did a marvelous job! There’s nothing screamingly anachronistic, and the decoration looks appropriately sumptuous for the French court, with the silver lace and gem-encrusted trim.
One design element I like is the double string of pearls attaching to the central brooch. A single strand coming in from each side would be more expected, but the double strand is more visually interesting.
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
Robin Hood: Men in Tights / Amy Yasbeck as Lady Marian
Marian’s silver wedding dress is pure fantasy, of course, with only the barest nod to anything historical–but of course, so is the movie, so that fits! And the dress is very pretty, with the silver sleeves and the decorative strips studded with little pearls. The skirt is made of some kind of substantial material with a kind of basket-weave pattern; it looks white in some pictures and a paler silver in others.
While looking up pictures of this dress, I found that it’s rather popular with cosplayers, and at least one couple actually had a full “Men in Tights” themed wedding!
@mygreatadventurehasbegun covered Marian’s gold dress from the same movie, here.
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
Darling Lili / Julie Andrews as Lili Schmidt
Lili wears this bead-encrusted golden dress for a night out with Bill, the dashing pilot she’s trying to seduce for information and may actually be falling for. According to the collector’s page (where I also found a lot of the pictures), it’s made of silk faille and chiffon and was constructed by the Western Costume Company in Hollywood.The tiara, gold shoes, and deep-blue fur-trimmed cape make it look like the ultimate in World War I-era luxuriousness. (As interpreted through a 1960s lens, of course.)
I think the imaginative design of the bodice is very attractive. I always thought of this as the “butterfly front” dress, but on studying it more closely, I’d say it’s actually more like a flower shape. I notice that the display photo is missing the central piece of sparkle, with the blue stone, which suggests it is probably a separate piece of jewelry.
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
Diane / Marisa Pavan as Catherine de Medici
Catherine wears this golden gown with orange and red accents to the climactic tournament, in which she represents the Queen of the Sun (with Diane in black and white as Queen of the Moon). It’s 16th century by way of 1950s Hollywood, but Walter Plunkett did his research and knew he was bending the rules a bit. There’s a great article on his costumes for this movie here.
This dress is usually seen from a distance in the film, which allows us to appreciate its overall design and structure, but I wish there were a few more closeups so we could get good look at the detail! I don’t know if the dress has survived; I couldn’t find any auction records for it, which might provide more documentation. The gloves were auctioned, though, so we can appreciate the beautiful and intricate decoration on them.
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
Two for the Road / Audrey Hepburn as Joanna Wallace
I just got around to watching this movie, and I enjoyed it very much! Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney turned in a pair of fine performances in the lead roles. And on the fashion front, this film also coaxed Hepburn away from Givenchy for a short spell to try out costumes by a veritable Who’s Who of 1960s designers. This metallic silver spangle dress is by Paco Rabanne.
It seems to be constructed of a layer of fabric in a color matching her skin tone, with the silver discs sewn on. At first, I thought there was a stripe of color on the base garment, but then I realized the dress was just reflecting the clothing of whoever happened to be nearby! Silver slingback pumps and dangling disc earrings complete the look.
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
Cover Girl / Rita Hayworth as Rusty Parker
Rusty wears this dress for the big production number when she’s become a Broadway star. This dress must have looked so luxurious to wartime audiences, with all that gold material in the skirt! It’s a very warm gold color, helped by the pinkish tone of the lights. But as pretty as the dress is, I think the coat that goes with it is even more spectacular. The gif of Rusty removing the coat is from this blog, and the accompanying comment tickles me so much that I just have to quote it:
“I find this footage of Rita Hayworth mesmerizing. The shimmer. The glitter. The gold. It’s like the peeling back of an exquisite chocolate bar. I could watch it for hours. And what does a girl have to do to get those hairpin curls? Oh Hollywood, you’re just not the same.”
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire / Katie Leung as Cho Chang
I’d be tempted to call this dress grey, but it does have a certain sheen to it, and it’s described as silver in the book, so here it goes! I think the combination of eastern and western style influences with a touch of fantasy works well. I love the jacket–it’s so brief that I don’t think it even qualifies as a bolero! And I like how the tiny touches of pink really stand out.
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears / Essie Davis as Phryne Fisher
Phryne wears both silver and gold in this movie, donning this sequined dress and cape to go dazzle an old flame. It’s been long enough since I saw the movie that I don’t remember now why she was wearing this dress in the daytime, but it seems to have the desired effect.
The cape is very pretty! The black top provides a dramatic contrast to the dress, while the gold at the bottom helps to transition into the dress skirt and make the whole thing look like a coordinated outfit. I’ve included a close-up of the organic-looking designs at the transition point.
The bottom photo comes from an exhibit of costumes from the movie and appears to show the dress without the cape.
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears / Essie Davis as Phryne Fisher
This is quite possibly my favorite single costume from Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears. It’s even featured on the DVD cover! Phryne wears this gorgeous dress to a fancy party (Jack is in white tie, as you see!).
While the skirt is definitely silver, the bodice of this dress looks silver in some lights and gold in others. There is a silver shoulderpiece which matches the skirt and is apparently detachable. The dress also has a low, sort of medieval-inspired Y-shaped belt in front and a filmy scarf hanging down the back.
Phryne often likes to wear leaf ornaments in her hair, so the silver wreath she wears in this scene is very much in her taste.
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
The Barkleys of Broadway / Ginger Rogers as Dinah Barkley
I just found out that The Barkleys of Broadway opened on on May 4, 1949, so that makes this dress extra-appropriate for today! Ginger wears this gold lame dress in the opening sequence. Unfortunately, it’s hard to get a good look at it in action because the opening credits appear over this number. Fortunately, you can see a version without the text in That’s Entertainment III (video below).
I’m fascinated by the way the skirt moves! I’m wondering if it might be a little weighted because of the way it twists into those bubble or trumpet shapes.
I also note that the jewelry is a little different between the publicity shots and the screencaps from the movie itself. The screen versions of the choker and bracelet are wider and more open. (Fred also goes from black tie in the publicity shots to white tie in the movie.)
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
King Kong (1976) / Jessica Lange as “Dwan” (Ann Darrow?)
Although this film was given a contemporaneous 1970s setting, the dress Dwan/Ann wears for the climactic performance where she ends up getting carried off to the top of a tall building (the World Trade Center, in this version) has a definite nod to the styles of the 1933 original film. It’s backless, with a geometric, sort of Art Deco-style belt. The display mannequin shows wrist cuffs that match the belt as well, but in the actual film she just wears a diamond bracelet.
When she first arrives, Dwan/Ann briefly wears a filmy cape over the dress, but it is quickly removed. Later, while hanging out in a deserted bar after escaping from Kong for the first time, she randomly tries on a fur coat over it too.
I had never seen this movie before discovering the dress. The giant ape effects are occasionally stiff, but overall, they’re really not bad for the era! The gowns were done by Anthea Sylbert, who also costumed Chinatown.
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
Shakespeare in Love / Gwyneth Paltrow as Viola de Lesseps
I debated whether to call this dress gold/silver or yellow, but I eventually decided it has enough metallic elements to qualify for this month.
Notice that both the inner and outer sleeves are decorated with embroidery! I really like the delicate standing ruff and how it frames her face. The little silver cap is also very pretty.
One Dress a Week Challenge
May: Gold & Silver
Josie and the Pussycats / Rosario Dawson as Valerie Brown, plus Rachel Leigh Cook as Josie McCoy and Tara Reid as Melody Valentine
The trio wears these sparkly silver outfits for their first music video when they hit the big time. Technically, only Valerie’s is a dress and the other two are pantsuits, but they are a group and should be featured together! I like the fact that each one is unique, with a different neckline.
Valerie’s dress features spaghetti straps and large cutouts at the sides with silver strings to add some visual interest to the empty space. She also has a high slit skirt and lines of glitter up her arms.
Josie’s top has a ring neck, leaving the shoulders bare, while Melody’s is completely strapless and has streamers hanging over her midriff. Melody also has elaborate swirls of glitter on her arms, while Josie seems to have been given just a general dusting.
And of course, they all have kitty-ears headbands!
Monthly “Dress a Day” Challenges for the Rest of the Year
The original “One Dress a Day/Week” challenge will end on June 30. I’ve really been enjoying this project, though, and I’d like to keep going! I have given some thought to some more monthly challenges to finish out the year, and I’m pleased to announce the theme challenges I’m setting for myself. Here’s what I have planned, along with the tags I plan to use:
Monochrome July: Best costumes from black-and-white movies. Real-life color unknown or irrelevant.
Multicolored August: Moving to the other extreme, this month will feature an explosion of color. Too many colors to fit into any single-color theme month.
The Men of September: From business suits to wizard’s robes, let’s give the men’s costumes some love!
Black-and-White October: Not to be confused with Monochrome July, this is for the costumes based around the specific and very classic combination of black and white. (One reason why I waited until today to make this announcement was because I wanted to see if I could get through the month of white and the month of black without using any black-and-white outfits!)
Not-a-Dress November: Pantsuits. Pajamas. Bathing suits. Really amazing hats. This month is for all those great costumes that aren’t actually dresses.
Anything Goes December: Just what it says. Could include runners-up, afterthoughts, clothes worn by stars “as themselves,” cases where I’m not quite sure how to classify the color, and generally anything else that just doesn’t fit into one of the other categories.
Anyone who wants to is, of course, welcome to join me for one or more of these month-long challenges. I’m looking forward to it!
One Dress a Week Challenge
April: Black
Shadow and Bone / Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov
For the transition from the month of black into the month of gold and silver, we have this spectacular embroidered long coat, known as a kefta in the setting. (Seriously, if you’re a fan of embroidery porn, this is the show for you.) The coat itself is made of some sort of heavy textured fabric, with what looks to be a plush edging. The embroidered rays of light in gold and silver signify Alina’s unique ability as the Sun Summoner. The belt buckle features the double eagle of Ravka.
It’s hard to get a good look at the whole garment, but it comes down to her ankles and seems to have slits at the sides for ease in walking. I like her hair ornament too.
One Dress a Week Challenge
June: Grey
The Norman Conquests / Penelope Keith as Sarah
I mean, it’s the 1970s, so that’s an automatic penalty in my book–but as 1970s dresses go, this one is actually kind of interesting. The long-stemmed, stylized flowers (poppies?) give it a sort of “Japanese print” aesthetic. The visible bra line is unfortunate, though!
One Dress a Week Challenge
June: Grey
Royal Wedding / Jane Powell as Ellen Bowen
This cute musical number is supposed to be part of a show that the main characters are doing. In it, a bored king falls for the maid who comes in to dust “Ev'ry Night at Seven.” And yes, the characters are brother and sister … but ehhhh, Fred did romantic stories with his sister when they were on Broadway, and look, the theater was just different in those days, okay?
I had originally pulled this dress back in March for the month of white, only to realize that it was actually a very pale grey. With lace around the sweetheart neckline! And sparkles on the ruffled skirt! And a cute little apron with sparkly trim! The costume harmonizes nicely with the king’s grey uniform as well.
One Dress a Week Challenge
June: Grey
Shadow and Bone / Daisy Head as Genya Safin
I love Genya’s kefta, but I debated where to put it. It’s sometimes described as white, but it looked too dark to fit in with the other white dresses. I considered silver, but it wasn’t very shiny, so I finally settled on grey.
Genya’s kefta is unique not only because she is a Tailor (a rare ability) but also because she is a member of the palace staff rather than attached to the army like most other grisha. It doesn’t follow the usual color scheme, and it also appears to be shorter and lighter-weight than the ones worn in the field; compare Alina’s black kefta, which is ankle-length. The belt buckle seems to have an image of the Ravkan double eagle, like Alina’s.
