Frump to Fab 2021

chanie

Very interesting question, Helen, and I must confess, I’ve had to do a bit of research and thinking before I attempted to respond:

Schitts creek (Netflix) I binged watched this over the summer and costumes were a very important part of the main characters.  The Dad was very much chinos and shirt ‘dad wear’ but the others were interesting.  The mum was very much high fashion, OTT, fabulous and out of place for where they lived, but she owned it.  The son was very metrosexual with man-skirts and fluffy jumpers and the daughter was very boho (think Sienna Miller).

Sex in the City and Clueless were very much films of their time and the fashion is horribly dated now, but style never goes out of fashion, so it’s good think about what may still work now.

The Great Gatsby (Carey Mulligan) the  clothing was amazing and I think we could get away with wearing some of those styles today.  

Games of Thrones okay, hear me out on this one.  I loved the sheer effort that went into the costuming and how it was used to portray the different regions from the practical furs of the Starks, to the luxurious wealth of The Lannisters and Tyrells and  the exotic Martells.  I also love the individual character development as expressed through costume eg Danaerys and Sansa for example.

Wonder Woman the new one.  I think the the Studio were very conscious of the costuming and so the WWs armour wasn’t designed just to show a bit of flesh for the men.  I also love the WW1 clothing as well.  

Floss

I love Mad Men for the 1950s dresses , I love that style and they suit my shape. 

Also Julia Roberts' grown-up clothes in Pretty Woman particularly the polo outfit & the red gown.

maman

Like chanie, I'm going to have to give your question some thought LL. I'm not a huge film fan but I do like period drama so I'll see what I can come up with. I saw a letter in this morning's paper where someone had written in  to respond to an article about fast fashion and how we're less likely to be thinking disposable in the future.  They'd added a photo and it showed a Top Shop floral summer skirt worn by women in a family over a period of years. Some things would stand the test of time and some definitely wouldn't. i watched a programme last night about Beatrice and Eugenie. It showed some of the hideous fashion faux pas that they and their mother have worn over the years. Then it showed Beatrice's wedding photo where she was wearing a delightful vintage dress made from an evening dress (with sleeves added)  belonging to her grandmother. It was stunning. 
Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi release wedding photos - BBC News

Do keep posting savingmore. I know, with life so curtailed these days, there's often not much to say but we can mostly come up with something!  I managed to get dressed up for the odd occasion between lockdowns including one black tie event. I tried to wear heels but they only lasted as far as the car . They felt so uncomfortable that I switched to ballet pumps. At least I didn't go out in my slippers which is what I seem to have lived in for a year! 🤣

I remembered LL that you said you liked Badedas. I love the herby smell of that. When the shops open you might like to try Body Shop's Hemp hand cream. That has a lovely earthy smell too and it's also very effective. 

I've had a really good self care session this morning including a defuzz. I'm still using that cream but the smell is truly awful and it's not particularly effective. I'll finish it off but I won't buy any more.  I think, when we can, I might give waxing a try. 

Another lovely meal sugarbaby but definitely a roast dinner with a Caribbean twist.  Roast beef and two (well a lot more than two) veg here today. I'm really looking forward to it. 😋

It's another glorious day here. It really lifts the spirits. 😊

helensbiggestfan

Wow.....Chanie what a fabulous in-depth answer. Thank you so much.  Lots of food for thought there.  And I love all your choices and I agree with your analysis of the costumes.  

And you not wrong about Game of Thrones.  Those costumes are works art, many worth a place in an art or textile museum.  And I totally agree with what you say about the way in which the designers used costume to ennance our understanding ofcharacter development, especially with Sansa and Danaeyrs as you say.  Their outfits in the final series said so much about how they had changed from shy inexperienced young girls who had suffered so much abuse to become strong powerful rulers.  I would give my eye teeth for that grey fur number than Danaerys wore. I have to say I have a soft spot for gothic and especially steam punk.  I wish I had the nerve ......  

Speaking  of how clothes  can be used to depict Character development I also watched "Late Night" last night.  Emma Thompson as an English stand up and host of an American chat show.  The filmmakers looked to Ellen Degeneres and Joan Rivers for costume inspiration. Thompson's wardrobe was terrific.  Lots of amazing jackets, trouser suits etc.  Fantastic tailoring offset with some  gorgeous jewellery, some museum quality, to stop the suits being too masculine. Put me in mind a bit of Annie Lennox and Tilda Swindon.  Alas I'm too curvy to pull off that androgynous look but I still like sharp tailoring.  I can lose a stone just by wearing a well cut jacket.  

Keep your ideas coming ladies. After a year in lockdown my creative edge needs sharpening.  😂.  

Have just spent a happy couple of hours weeding and tidying up in the garden.  It's lovely out there.  Going to take a break now,  sit and read and rest, maybe do a bit more later.  Although..... my shoulder and right arm are giving me gyp.  I definitely need to try and get some help there.  Pain killers and gels don't really touch it.  

helensbiggestfan

Oooh this is fun......I love talking about fashion. (And films and tv). 

floss...Madmen, yes.....those 50s styles are perfect for curvy girls.  So feminine too.  And of course Pretty Woman......a classic Cinderella story.  That red evening dress, wow and that little silk spotty dress for the polo match scene,  perfect.  

Chanie meant to say I love twenties style,  so wearable, even today.  I have a gorgeous (unworn yet) grey lace/sequinned evening dress a la 20s Downton Abbey.  My next cruise. 😂

Maman.........poor Sara and her daughters dont half make some sartorial howlers, but I agree Beatrice's  wedding dress was lovely.  Thanks for  the body shop tip re hemp cream,  


I know this sounds a bit vacuous maybe but I am sooooo looking forward to real shops opening up.  Especially chazzers.  👍

pattycake

My favourite film of all time is Doctor Zhivago.  I well remember emulating Lara’s ankle length military coat in the late 60s.  Mine was black with silver buttons and I wore knee high patent leather boots with either a very mini skirt or hot pants.  Those were the days!

If anyone has watched Bridgerton on Netflix, the costumes are sumptuous.

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

A slight ache in my left armpit rather than any real pain, so I am almost there   

LL my favourite film is The Dressmaker with Kate Winslet. The clothes that Kate Winslet's character Myrtle 'Tilly' Dunnage makes for various other characters in the film, transforms their self esteem, challenges their personal view of who they are and their place in their own lives. It demonstrates just how important it is to dress your body in styles that enhance your body shape and not to be afraid of your own sensuality.  I have watched  this film every time it is on television and at various times I have recorded it and watched it time and time again. 

My favourite television series was Revenge. Emily Van Camp as Emily Thorne wears some of the most stylish clothes I have ever seen and I love the fact that like Kate Winslet this actress has curves (not as defined), but her clothes really make the character Emily Thorne stand out from all of the other female characters. 

sukeyboo

LL - you have reminded my that I have an unused bottle of Badedas in my wardrobe - I love the fragrance - might treat myself to a long soak in the bath with it tonight.

With regard to the fashion question, I am not a big film watcher but I do love the 1930’s fashion in the television series of Poirot - the evening gowns are so elegant. Also, I find that the women in the 1940’s wartime era always looked so smart even though they had to ‘make-do-and-mend’.

Lovely day here again - off out for a long (but probably still muddy) walk in a little while so will enjoy soaking in my bath later on.

littlegreenparrot

Robin Wright as Claire Underwood in House of Cards on Netflix always looks amazing. 
Very simple plain colours, beautifully cut. Something to aspire to.

We are hoping to move soon, this has given me the shove I needed to sort everything out. 
I'm trying everything on, anything with niggles is being sorted out properly or passed on. If I never wear a jacket because there's another I like better, it can go. I'm trying to keep William Morris in mind, keep only things you know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. 

candygirl

I loved the fashions on The Serpent, and Bridgerton,  n also love the ones on Madmen. Just like Mum used to wear ❤