Silver Screen Modiste

Thanks for your comments Page. I'm glad you en...

2012-05-28T23:17:25.621-07:00

Thanks for your comments Page. I'm glad you enjoyed this post. That's great that you have Corinne's autograph - she was a real beauty and a savy star. Stay tuned for more fashion shows soon.

2012-05-28T23:13:38.169-07:00

This comment has been removed by the author.

Christian, Sorry I'm so late to the fashion s...

2012-05-28T18:15:15.214-07:00

Christian,
Sorry I'm so late to the fashion show! It's a good thing you can't see what I'm wearing.

Really fascinating info you've provided. As a big fan of Adrian and wanting to know as much as possible this was a great read. Just when I think your fashion posts have covered everything, you provide more.

Interesting about Paul Bern. I know so little about his work. I'm a fan of Corinne's and having just purchased her autograph after years of wanting it I've been trying to find as much info on her as possible.

I love the gowns from this era with the beads, long trains. I would love to see them in color so we can really appreciate they fabrics they used during that era.

OH, I love Our Dancing Daughters. I much prefer Joanie in her silents then early films.

Your posts are always so interesting and this one didn't disappoint.
I hope you've had a nice holiday weekend.
Page

Mrs. D - Glad you found my site and that you enjoy...

2012-05-25T16:15:11.330-07:00

Mrs. D - Glad you found my site and that you enjoyed the Donfeld post. He was a great designer.

Great stuff. Just found your page while looking fo...

2012-05-25T16:03:32.471-07:00

Great stuff. Just found your page while looking for info on Donfeld (just watched the video of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood in Las Vegas and she is wearing an amazing costume by him and it intrigued me).

Thanks for your comment Dawn. I'm glad you lik...

2012-05-24T14:54:53.994-07:00

Thanks for your comment Dawn. I'm glad you like these silent film fashion show styles. I'll see if I can do another post from this era before I move on to the 1930s.

Christian, I love the clothes from the silent era....

2012-05-24T13:46:04.919-07:00

Christian, I love the clothes from the silent era. Please add me to the list of not knowing about the fashion show movies. Wonderful pictures and posters. Cant wait for your upcoming posts.

I always knew you were chic FlickChick!

2012-05-24T13:14:38.922-07:00

I always knew you were chic FlickChick!

Christian - thanks to you, i shall now ben known i...

2012-05-24T12:27:37.816-07:00

Christian - thanks to you, i shall now ben known in fashion circles as Flick-chic!

Gypsy, Thank you very much for these sites. I had ...

2012-05-23T13:33:29.767-07:00

Gypsy, Thank you very much for these sites. I had visited the Silent Film Archive before, but had not seen Walterfilm's excellent site, though I had bought photos from them before. The latter was a jewel for the Fashions for Women film. I appreciate your referral, though now I have more films I'll need to cover!

Christian ~ regarding the images from “Fifth Avenu...

2012-05-23T12:11:03.377-07:00

Christian ~ regarding the images from “Fifth Avenue”, you can get an idea of the costumes created for the film at the following link: http://www.silentfilmstillarchive.com/fifthave.htm (a mix of the sublime and “what were they thinking”). Regarding the images from “Fashions for Women”, you can see a collection of production stills at the following link: http://museum.walterfilm.com/thumbnails-41.html The images are part of the Walter Film Digital Museum collection, and there is roughly 100 photos including recreations of the fashion show (the staging is pure art deco bliss).

Thanks for your comment Lady Eve. It's interes...

2012-05-23T10:34:32.821-07:00

Thanks for your comment Lady Eve. It's interesting to look back at these silent films and see how the new phenomena of fashion and fashion shows just took off. And as we'll see in the 1930s, they stayed popular for years.

Christian, I know relatively little about the sile...

2012-05-22T23:42:54.927-07:00

Christian, I know relatively little about the silent era and certainly didn't know that fashion show movies existed that long ago. This is incredibly interesting movie history with a wonderful variety of images of stunning dresses, gowns and posters. Really looking forward to your upcoming posts.

Gypsy - thank you for your comments and observatio...

2012-05-22T16:26:59.236-07:00

Gypsy - thank you for your comments and observations on the fashion shows and their the cast members. These silent films were very fascinating and the fashions of course must have made a great splash when they first came out. Dorothy Seastrom and Cecilia Evans (I used Evan since that's how she's crdited on the photos themselves) were stars in their own right, but I assume they just made great models. Neither were given screen credit, but in those days credit lines were brief as you know. I wish I had images for the other fashion show films, mentioned in this post and those that are not. I suppose they may be in one of the big collections like the one at the AMPAS Herrick Library. I'll have to search for them when I go there again. But when I get to "The Women" and "Lovely to Look At" I have scads of photos.

Christian ~ you have written an absolute treasure ...

2012-05-22T15:52:57.709-07:00

Christian ~ you have written an absolute treasure on the allure of fashion and fashion shows in silent era films; you’re a man after my own heart (I apologize for the hyperbole, but this post reflects many of my obsessions). The film starring Leatrice Joy is a new title to me, and I wonder if you can tell me whether Cecilia Evans and Dorothy Seastrom were well-known mannequins (models) who were hired to appear in the film as added “name recognition” and “box office draw”? I am familiar with both “Mademoiselle Modiste” and “Fig Leaves”, the first with lovely Corinne Griffith and the second with my best girl Olive Borden. I have seen “Fig Leaves” and was aware of the fashion aspect, but I did not know Adrian had designed the costumes for both films (an extraordinary collection of images). I’ve seen photos from “Fashions for Women” and “5th Avenue”, but I believe both to be lost films. Thank you for confirming what I have suspected for years: Ann Dvorak does appear in “Our Blushing Brides”; I thought I recognized her as one of the models. I know we have commented on this in the past, but as always I wish I could see these costumes in color (although the challenge was to make them appear alluring in shades of black, white and silver). Thank you again for your excellent post, and I look forward to the next installment.

FlickChic, so great that you love these photos. I ...

2012-05-22T14:39:07.926-07:00

FlickChic, so great that you love these photos. I hope you enjoy the ones to come too. Thanks!

Christian - I loved this post and can't wait f...

2012-05-22T12:57:42.914-07:00

Christian - I loved this post and can't wait for more. The photos you've chosen just make my mouth water. Did I say I loved this?

Kay - I'm happy that you enjoyed these costume...

2012-05-22T09:46:31.546-07:00

Kay - I'm happy that you enjoyed these costumes, most of them from the Silent era. And they were all from the "Pre-Code" days so they allowed more skin to show. For Corinne's costume, which was meant to be theatrical, the cut was very low on the bodice, and the shoulder straps helped somewhat in the coverage. But in those days the flat-chested look was still popular, so either her bra or the gown's foundation helped achieve that look. As I go further into the 1930s the fashion show gowns will get more and more glamorous. Thanks for your comments Kay.

Thanks Kim, I'm glad that you've come arou...

2012-05-22T09:33:52.149-07:00

Thanks Kim, I'm glad that you've come around to appreciating the costumes in the fashion shows.

Oooooooooooooooooh, man o man!!! I am in AWE of th...

2012-05-22T05:42:50.210-07:00

Oooooooooooooooooh, man o man!!! I am in AWE of these amazing gowns and thank you sooo much for the wonderful post showing so many films I've never seen! GREAT work, Christian! Corinne Griffith was one of Loretta Young's idols and I've always wondered why. Now I get it. But, one question...how on EARTH does anyone wear that overall-strap number and stay, well, covered? It's pretty darned racy, isn't it? I only wish I could get that poster of Corinne...it's AMAZING! LOVED this! Can't wait for more of the same. XO Kay

Thank you Inge for the nice compliment. I'm gl...

2012-05-21T18:23:38.100-07:00

Thank you Inge for the nice compliment. I'm glad you enjoyed this post and I look forward to covering the other film fashion shows.

Always informative! I used to think those in-movi...

2012-05-21T17:13:18.558-07:00

Always informative! I used to think those in-movie fashion shows were a waste of time, but as I got older I grew to appreciate the clothes.

Christian, you are THE BEST! Once again, a masterp...

2012-05-21T08:35:11.482-07:00

Christian, you are THE BEST! Once again, a masterpiece. I have never seen this period so well covered. My proverbial hat is off to you! Can't wait for the 1930s version. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thanks for your observations Kimberly. Yes, Travil...

2012-05-09T15:33:29.352-07:00

Thanks for your observations Kimberly. Yes, Travilla did some amazing work on film as well as his own label featuring great garments that you can occasionally see in vintage clothes stores. Good idea about doing a post on Seven Year Itch and those wonderful Travilla dresses.I'm sure you can point out how great they would look today.

Thanks for this post, Christian! I love Travilla ...

2012-05-09T15:15:07.285-07:00

Thanks for this post, Christian! I love Travilla and his work. Though he was known for dressing voluptuous Marilyn, I think the craftsmanship behind his masterful tailoring is far too underappreciated. I plan to do a summer post very soon on SEVEN YEAR ITCH since that dress is one of the icons of fashion in film. People know it and people know her, but the masses still don't generally know Travilla's name. Incredible considering how instantly recognizable that dress (and its many knock offs) is.

Fascinating to learn that television enlisted all those great studio designers. Knew about Miller and Mackie, but did not know about Travilla so thank you for sharing that.

Working in vintage in Los Angeles, I have had the great pleasure of being around his work and it's truly art. I love that great designers like Helen Rose, Adrian, and Travilla departed the studios and launched their own efforts. Someone I knew had an Edith Head original and I nearly fainted just seeing the tag. lol One of the great delights of living in this city.

Thanks so much for sharing!