Sunday 30 March 2014

A Trip To The Cinema



May 2013 

The sun is out finally, after weeks of practicality, its time to unleash the real vintage spirit. Fifties has been a running theme recently, but today's outfit, hair, make up, and dress up fun is all centred round one of the most beautiful forties beauties of all time: Moira Shearer. I've decided to combine my two great loves: ballet and vintage, and dedicate a blog post to one of my favourite films, The Red ShoesRed headed, elegant, and ballet dancer to boot, her outfits from the 1948 film The Red Shoes ranged from dramatic to delightful, soft and sultry. The ballet film is a must for everybody who enjoys a good tragedy. The dresses are bordering on fifties- skirts are getting bigger, but there is still a wartime simplicity to them that is reminiscent of the decade. Clothes were getting better- more material meant more extravagant. Most of Shearer's costumes in the film are ballet clothes, and they really do make her the belle of the ball- it's hard not to want to dress up in the elegant duck egg blue and white costumes she wears throughout. Perhaps my favourite costume is the evening gown she wears, which is full on-cloak-and-tiara-included decadence! Her character really knew how to grab the attention of an audience.
Back, however, to how we wore it! 
 So, firstly- make up. Barely a scene goes by when (even if it is running down her face) Shearer isn't without long dark lashes, a pale beyond pale complexion, and crimson lips.



 It's the simplest look to recreate, and effectively goes well when dressing for any era. To channel Moira, I started with the make up, making myself a lot paler than usual and my lips quite a bit darker- the more dramatic, the better! Luckily, I, like Shearer, am a red head, so re-creating her hair wasn't too hard- instead of pin curling it, however, I put it in rolls which is a lot easier and quicker than the latter.

   I picked out black and white floral summer dress, which I think is a perfect mix for the end of the forties fashion- tight waisted, flared skirt, but still slightly reserved and plain in comparison to the colourful creations
that were to come (dress was protected by a wonderful fifties style apron whilst baking). The film is set across Europe, and I thought the red neckscarf matched nicely- mixing up films here, but rolled hair and a nice neckscarf really are the perfect summer combination- Just look at Audrey Hepburn in a Roman Holiday, who immortalised the look (whilst on the back of a scooter. Sadly, I'm not in Rome and do not have any handsome journalists to whisk me away on one).


 The fifties/forties dresses prove to be a simple solution to summer outfits, with a dramatic flair fit to impress. As for the ballet shoes? Well, when in Rome....





No comments:

Post a Comment