Films & Frocks - Films That You Love For Their Inspirational & Beautiful Clothing?

[EleanorMc67]

Following on from a current thread (about the OP's dream wedding dress by Cawley Studios), another poster mentioned how their clothes reminded her of the film "Valerie & Her Week of Wonders" - which then led on to me thinking of some of the many films that I love in part because of the clothing ... or even that I don't love - but still, the clothing!!!

Three of my own favourites for starters:

• Rear Window - the scene where Grace Kelly opens her tiny overnight valise & out tumbles a ridiculous froth of a negligee ... https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwhdwEtsb6U/?igsh=c3c5aDkxbDFsa2N2 All her fabulous clothes were Edith Head creations.

• The Graduate - Anne Bancroft looking foxy as hell in a leopard-print bra & matching half-slip ... https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYjpJHNt8sJ/?igsh=b3p5eXh5MWlpOTZy. Oh, also that scene where she rolls her sheer black stockings back on ... Mike Nichols wanted her to look like "a beast in the jungle".

• The Duke of Burgundy - set in an unknown mittel-European country, with a Victoriana-meets-70s-soft-porn aesthetic - it works. And even had a perfume developed especially for it!

Contributions awaited, especially from those who commented on the previous thread:
@Tocsin
@PhaedraTwo
@MorganaLeFey
@OVienna
@RegularFrankieFan

(Oh, & feel free to mention TV series too, not just films ...)

@EleanorMc67 you’ll have to forgive a) name change and b) instagram deletion - so I won’t offer links, just quotes from a previous thread, as I don’t think I can improve on what I said there. And these are mostly TV, rather than films.

1. Helen McCrory as Kathryn in 'MotherFatherSon: Not sure I've seen such astonishing care taken over a contemporary woman's wardrobe in a TV series before. I think I gasped every time she appeared on screen - but there's a golden dress she wears to a wedding ... For a while the character became a weird style icon for me - if ever I was unsure about a purchase I asked myself Would Kathryn wear this?. (I’m over it now!)

2. My TV style icons - Kathryn, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Nessa Stein in 'The Honourable Woman', Rebecca Hall as Sylvia Tietjens in 'Parade's End', are all the opposite of me in how they look and experience life. The clothes, though ...

3. Hannah Waddingham in Ted Lasso. Utterly amazing. I am not a woman who understands skin tight clothes, so l watched her with this face . But definitely someone owning their own style.

4. Olivia Colman's tiny cameo in The Bear S.2 took my breath away. Don’t think I have ever seen a woman look more beautiful, more womanly, more sparkling with intelligence and genius than she does on screen for about five minutes. And lord knows how much that black shirt cost. She's utterly magnificent in her role.

5. Rene Russo in The Thomas Crown Affair. Every single S&B poster who prescribes a Very Cheap Shroud for any woman over 30 should watch it 100 times.

I have spent considerably more time in cinema auditoriums recently, so I may remember a few more.

Doris Day in Pillow Talk (1959). Her outfits are absolutely beautiful.

Rear Window definitely, not just the outfits but the way they’re part of the story - James Stewart doesn’t take Grace Kelly seriously at first because she’s into clothes. We all know what that feels like, don’t we.

The Doris Day / Rock Hudson rom coms - Pillow Talk, Send Me No Flowers and erm.. I’ve forgotten the name of the other one. But it’s not the screenplay or the acting that I watch them for (although they’re surprisingly risque for their time) but for Miss Day’s fabulous wardrobe.

(I’m into 1950s fashion at the moment in case it’s not obvious.)

Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) in The Avengers and Lady Penelope in Thunderbirds.

And I can’t go without mentioning Diane Keaton wearing her own clothes in Annie Hall.

Aha another Pillow Talk fan! Pleased to meet you @AlimportantMermaid

‘My Man Godfrey’ and Fred & Ginger films for ultimate 1930s glamour.

’Gentleman Prefer Blondes’ and ‘How to Marry a Millionaire’ for fun 1950s looks.

There’s an Italian film called ‘The Leopard’ with gorgeous period costuming.

1967’s ‘Casino Royale’ is a terrible film with fabulous costumes.

A Shirley MacLaine film called ‘What a Way to Go’ has some insanely good gowns.

I could do this all day!

Remake of Ipcress File. Loved the suits and dresses. Sigh

Cate Blanchett in Carol, gorgeous 50s tailored suits and coats, plus all the hats & gloves and so on.

René Russo in the Thomas Crown Affair and Kristin ST in the English Patient.

I have to nominate all the old James Bond films, questionable quality, awesome outfits

@WhatWillIWear What do you mean by " Every single S&B poster who prescribes a Very Cheap Shroud for any woman over 30 should watch it "

Rene Russo was 45 (according to everywhere on Google) when she made that film. On the Style & Beauty board there are rules applied loosely to women over 30 but pretty conclusively if you’re stupid enough to still be wearing clothes at 40. Firstly they must be as cheap as possible - why spend £50 when you could spend £25? Heck, my friend’s hairdresser’s MIL’s sister found a frock, only slightly grubby, at the bottom of a dredged up river the other day. She wore it to a wedding and looked fabulous. Secondly, you’re an utter fool if you want anything vaguely fashionable That look really only works if you’re under 22, seven stone and at least 5’10. Thirdly, the only acceptable criteria are your exact body shape as defined by someone you’ve never met, and ‘your colours’, as must be defined this weekend by someone you must pay, or ChatGPT. It really doesn’t matter if it transpires that you don’t like those colours, or they look deeply dated this spring - that’s what you have to wear, so suck it up. Because you’re really very lucky that you’re allowed to buy clothes at all at your age.

Julianne Moore in Far From Heaven

Emma Stone in Cruella

Tilda Swinton in just about everything.

And obviously Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung in In the Mood for Love.

Fantastic clothes in the Netflix series The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.

Most of the costumes (there's a dire dress she wears at one point) and all of the brooches worn by Theresa Russell in "Bad Timing".

Been doing the jewellery and jackets since the 1970s and still getting compliments, which is not my motivation, but nice any way.