movie inspiration: phyllis diller

There's a really great doc on Netflix right now about Phyllis Diller - Goodnight, We Love You. You see most of her final stand-up performance, hear interviews with tons of comedians and her family, and you get to see inside her closet - and she has kept everything. I've always loved her. She didn't make fun of anyone except herself, and her on-stage persona owned every one of her flaws and foibles.
And the clothes.. you know I love the clothes.



She wore this in the 60s to drive around in a vintage convertible -



This is maybe 1/20 of her closet.



All of the glasses -




And for good measure - my Phil Dil records -



When I'm an old lady I am totally doing my eyebrows like that.

movie inspiration: bulldog drummond (1929)

I am so pleased that Netflix finally added the very first Bulldog Drummond movie. This one stars Ronald Coleman as Bulldog - he's great but Ray Milland in Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937) is my favorite. This is actually the first talkie B.D. - there was another made in 1922. I've seen 5 of them now. They made 19, and there is one slated for 2013!!! No other info available on that one. Believe you'll hear about it when I know.



This one takes place all in one night, so there's only one costume to mention, but it is one of the best examples of draping I've seen. At first I was just into the jewelry and shoulder jazz she's got going on -



but then I got a look at the whole dress. It looks like it's got a separate skirt at the back, but if you watch her move throughout the film you'll see it's all of one piece.





And the silver shoes are lovely too -

movie inspiration: the spanish cape mystery (1935)

The Spanish Cape Mystery (1935) should be great - it's Ellery Queen and the costumes (gowns by Lettie Lee) are really very good.. but it sucks. Like watch-in-fast-forward-for-the-clothes-alone sucks. What you should watch is the Mandarin Mystery (1936) even though it is the absolute stupidest mystery ever. Eddie Quillan as Ellery Queen is just so flipping charming. Almost as charming as Ray Milland as Bulldog Drummond, though little has ever in the universe been quite that charming. Anyway watch Mandarin Mystery if you can find it, then go ahead and watch the Big Sleep again so's you can't say you didn't have any meat.
But you want to see the dresses... I know.



Bias-cut silk satin with surprise criss-cross back. Major neckline - I think that's part of the dress and not a necklace.




Taking bets on what color it is. I'm going to say emerald green.



silly frilly shoulders over sweeping black velvet


...with another surprise back. I'd love this dress.



Of course when you walk to the water with a gentleman you go ahead and shimmy your shoulders on out of there -





OK so there's apparently no natural way to stand in this but I do love a good nuts jumpsuit.



Yeah that looks natural.

movie inspiration: shag

This is one of the very few modern movies you'll get an inspiration post on here - Shag was a huge influence on me when it came out in 1989. Melissa and I watched this a gillion times - like enough to actually learn how to Shag. (The dance, pervert. We were 12.)
It's mostly about the hair-



I mean if you're going to bother doing your hair, you might as well...








it's also a little about the glasses






I was really into this cigarette pants/skirt thing





OK it's obviously mostly about Phoebe Cates' eyes.

movie inspiration: gentlemen marry brunettes

Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955) is one where I like the costumes better than the movie, though I do really like Jane Russell in this. Showgirls in Paris in the 50s, plus some 20s flashback scenes. These are some of my all-time favorite pieces. Costumes by Travilla.

The stand-out best for me is this green & white outfit-



Striped jersey off-shoulder column dress with waspie-waist overskirt. Absolutely genius. I need to find/make this . It will happen





Dolce&Gabbana-esque leopard dresses -



I do love dance outfits, especially vintage warm-up rompers.



The straps at the leg cut-outs are brilliant.
And this is the absolute best little striped jersey dress ever. Get in my wardrobe now
please.





Velveteen bow silhouette sticker on the shoulder. Where do I get these?
We also have these slightly more formal audition rompers -



The one on the right is how I want to dress all the time. With a velveteen bow sticker on my shoulder.

There's a shopping spree scene with some real gems from 1955 as well -





There's even a stand-out hat - pink pagoda with pearls-




I left out a lot of really good pieces. It's definitely worth a rainy day watch.