Very much my shit. Spent the rest of the evening humming and singing the music, for which I humbly apologize to my SO and my dog. Might make the perfect double feature withCarnival of Souls(1962)? [letterboxd] [tubi]
This was produced for public television as part of a series called “The American Short Story.” Given that information, the vibe you have in your head is probably accurate. So charming. Shelley Duvall is one of a kind and she is a pitch-perfect Bernice. [letterboxd] [kanopy]
This movie wasn’t new to me, but I watched it again for the first time since college and it was just as great as I remembered. Slovak film has never gotten its due attention. Maybe I should do a feature series on Slovak cinema??? This year marks 100 years since their first feature film too… [letterboxd]
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As always, if you’re interested in any of these and need any specific content warnings ahead of time, feel free to ask!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Restoration (1995) / Polly Walker as Celia Clemence
Celia wears this ornate metallic gown for the brief scene in which she and Robert are officially betrothed. I am honestly not sure whether this dress is gold or silver! If I had to guess, I’d say pale gold–but it looks gold in some shots and silver in others, and the fact that the whole scene is bathed in golden light confuses the matter further. Either way, it creates a spectacular effect, helped along by lavish jewelry.
James Acheson won a well-deserved Oscar for the costume design in this film.
Another movie I haven’t actually seen–for some reason, this month has a record number of movies I either watched for the first time to make screencaps, or haven’t yet watched at all. But I found lots of cool details about the costumes!
According to the head wardrobe designer Suzy Benzinger, “That silver metallic gown is made from Lamé. Lamé now is a little flimsy, but I had the real thing, the silver fabric that tarnishes so you have to paint it because it has real silver in it.”
Also, much of the jewelry in this film was on loan from Chanel. Benzinger adds: “I was lucky that Chanel also agreed to bring back pieces of jewellery inspired by ones Gabrielle Chanel had designed at the time and that were so influential in the 1930s. The gorgeous simplicity of Chanel’s dresses were canvasses to showcase her jewellery. The job was simple to me–put an elegant but simple dress on an actress, accessorize with a Chanel brooch or earrings and I had instant glamour. That’s the genius of Coco Chanel!”
This movie has not one, but two beautifully detailed gold dresses–and this one looks, if anything, even more extravagant than the other one! The side-opening cape and the sheer amount of golden detail give it a Byzantine appearance.
Although this movie’s costumes were known for being loose interpretations of historical styles rather than painstakingly accurate, they did do quite a faithful recreation of Elizabeth’s actual coronation gown, right down to the tassels on the closure! The thing that is surprising is that it’s just one of her regular dresses that she wears to a dance earlier in the film. I looked up the date of Elizabeth I’s coronation, and it was two months after the death of Mary, so in real life she had ample time to have a new gown made for the occasion.
The dress looks far less grand without the accompanying ruff, jewelry, and ermine-edged cloak. In fact, I don’t think I even registered that it was the same garment on first viewing.
(EDIT:@theladyelizabeth mentioned on a reblog that IRL, Elizabeth wore Mary’s coronation gown, just altered to fit her. But in that case, she still would be unlikely to be wearing it to dances!)
Cold Comfort Farm / Kate Beckinsale as Flora Poste
I really love the sheer shouldercape on this dress, with its lacy pattern and the flower design in back. It looks as if the dress might possibly also have a flounced skirt, but since the best full-length view of it is in motion and seen through the bannisters, it’s hard to be sure.
For accessories, Flora has a silver sequined or beaded clutch purse, a delicate watch, and a fancy hair clip.
Pocketful of Miracles / Hope Lange as Elizabeth “Queenie” Martin
Queenie wears this sparkling showgirl’s outfit for a brief scene at a bash celebrating the end of Prohibition–hence the flying streamers that sometimes get in the way of the camera. It was featured on the movie poster and also used for some publicity shots which ironically give us a better view of the costume than the actual film does.
The material seems to have an interesting sort of fish-scale texture, and the double halter straps add some visual interest. The fringes help to accentuate Queenie’s movements, as do the feathers on her headdress and fan.
This has some interesting similarities to Roxie’s silver showgirl outfit in Chicago, with the textured top and fringe skirt, but I’m sure it’s just because they’re looking back to the same set of 1920s/30s originals. (Costumes for this film are by Edith Head for the women and Walter Plunkett for the men.)
The Scarlet Pimpernel / Jane Seymour as Marguerite St. Just Blakeney
I thought at first that this gown was styled a little too early, but after doing a little research, I think it’s spot on. The story is set in 1792, which was about the last gasp of the “classic” 18th-century style before waistlines started creeping upward. Already, the panniers have disappeared, and the hairstyles are more wide than tall.
Costume design is credited to Phyllis Dalton. I doubt she had a huge budget, but this dress looks appropriately lavish for the wife of a nobleman to wear to a ball. The gold lace around the neckline is a particularly nice touch, as it appears in all the close-up shots.
The decorated underskirt only shows briefly when she’s walking or moving, but I managed to get a couple of screencaps where it’s visible.
