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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
I have so many gold and silver dresses that I didn’t get to in this month, so I couldn’t resist sneaking in one more. This one has the perfect mix of a silver dress and gold backdrop! It’s from another movie I haven’t seen, but based on the pictures I’ve found, it looks like it might be worth checking out just for J Lo’s costumes alone.
I’m often a fan of asymmetrical design in dresses, and this one really leans into that concept, to the point where it looks like two entirely different dresses from different sides. On the right, it has a long skirt and is open from the waist up; on the left, it has a long, trailing sleeve and a high slit skirt, almost like a miniskirt. I like the accents of black that help tie it together: shoes, belt, and handbag.
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!”
The Hustle / Anne Hathaway as Josephine Chesterfield
In this scene, Josephine is pretending to be a naive (but wealthy) tourist so she can pull off her con unsuspected. For that purpose, this sequin-covered dress with puffed sleeves and cutout back makes her stand out visually from her surroundings. According to Shop Your Movies, it’s designed by Carolina Herrera.
I haven’t actually seen this whole movie, but I know it’s a remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which I have seen–and also the movie that was based on, with David Niven in the sophisticated con artist role. I think it was called Bedtime Story.
Death on the Nile / Gal Gadot as Linnet Ridgeway (later Doyle)
Linnet wears this glamorous silver dress for her first appearance, establishing her as a wealthy style icon. The skirt is made of chiffon or some similar material in silver-grey, while the bodice is of silver lame with strips of the same material hanging down over the skirt. The construction of the bodice is quite intricate, with triangular insets just under the bust in front and a low back with a hanging loop of fabric that looks forward to 1940s styles. (For comparison, see the coat that goes with Ginger Rogers’ pink dressfromThe Barkleys of Broadway in 1949.) The “lift” photo shows that this loop swings freely.
There is a matching shoulder cape as well, but we never get a good look at it, as she removes it immediately upon entering the club. Otherwise, she keeps accessories to a minimum: silver pumps, small earrings (pearl?), and a rather nice bracelet (see below).
I just saw this movie for the first time, and I found it really intriguing, sort of a test run for the MCU. It seems to be set in a parallel world that’s half 21st century and half noirish 1930s/40s, and the costuming reflects that. Elektra’s low-backed metallic dress with wide silver bracelet has definite classic Hollywood vibes–although it’s a bit more revealing than anything that would likely have made it to screen post-Hays Code. Interestingly, the dress as worn in the movie has a thin halter around her neck, but not on the mannequin.
(Minor spoilers from the photos, so sorry about that! But the movie is from 2003, and it’s a plot point you can pretty much see coming anyway.)
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.)
I haven’t seen this series, but according to the description, it’s set in Miami starting in 1959. This character looks to be a bombshell type, and the simple sheath dress covered in sequins is certainly eye-catching, even without the diamond necklace.
The popular image of 1950s fashion is of flared skirts, but the stripped-down sheath look existed alongside that style for much of the decade. The contrast is even a plot point in Bells Are Ringing, with the dress that was the subject of my very first “Dress a Week” post, here.
