No matter what we call them, or if we love them or not, they impact our lives. I can't think about Cleopatra without seeing Elizabeth Taylor ,  the depression is a series of photo stills from The Grapes of Wrath and How to Marry a Millionaire and Rear window taught me all I needed to know about 1950s fashion. Gone with the Wind was my history book for the Civil War and Anne of a thousand days was my educational source for the Renaissance period. Who needs school?( I'm kidding, of course), but we can't deny the powerful influence that films have on our perception of time and place.  We sometimes define an entire era on the images we've seen on the silver screen.

This week, in preparation for the Academy awards, I'm hand picking a few photographs from a different decade everyday from the Best picture and best actress Oscar winners who impacted how we view the era in which they lived!  I'd love to hear your stories about how films have been a part of your life!  I'll be sharing them on the last couple of days before the awards show. You can read my article about my own personal film education Here.

I don't think anyone can think of 1920s Hollywood without remembering  the muse actress known as "America's Sweetheart," "Little Mary" and "The girl with the curls, Mary Pickford.  Her long curls were legendary and women all around the country tried to duplicate all of her hairstyles. Sound familiar?   I adore the dress she wore when she accepted the Oscar for Coquette!

  

"Adding sound to movies would be like putting lipstick on the Venus de Milo."
MARY PICKFORD

    

"I was forced to live far beyond my years when just a child,
now I have reversed the order and I intend to remain young indefinitely."
MARY PICKFORD


Claudette Colbert with Clark Gable in It Happened One Night

               

                           

"Men don't get smarter when they grow older.
They just lose their hair."
  Claudette Colbert

One of my FAVORITE movie wedding scenes from The Broadway Melody. If you are dreaming of a vintage wedding, take a look at some of the vintage wedding gowns at DRESS.

Of course, no 1920s Hollywood focused fashion blog would be complete without the incomparable Norma Shearer. A true original with a style that was uniquely her own and the personality and wit to match!

 

I LOVE this outfit with the great argyles!

"An adventure may be worn as a muddy spot or it may be worn as a proud insignia.
It is the woman wearing it who makes it the one thing or the other."
NORMA SHEARER



Costume Designer Spotlight:  GILBERT ADRIAN

   

The Great Ziegfeld 1936- from sketches to reality


    





Norma wisely chose the masterful Gilbert Adrian to design the costumes for The Divorcee

Movie Posters from the Oscar Winners