Fashion Friday - Dracula

Not many people think about the fashion involved in horror films.  I personally think the fashion is an integral part of these gems.  They set the mood for the wonderful scenes in the film.  Who doesn't look at the suave Bela Lugosi and think Dracula?  There is conflicting information about who created the iconic look, but Bela Lugosi is largely credited with popularizing the tuxedo and cape look.  While actor Raymond Huntley apparently was the first to use this look in the 1924 London stage adaptation, not many people know it [1].

Fashion Friday - Lucky Lucy

Elois Jenssen black and pink gown costume sketch for Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy (Desilu, 1951-1957)

Creepy Short - Time Out for Trouble (1961)

Shorts are one of my favorite types of film.  They can provide a great musical or dance number, be funny like a Joe McDoakes short, or teach us things.  But in the guise of teaching us, sometimes films can be just darn creepy.  This is a perfect example of an informative film gone horribly creepy.  The premise of the film is to teach us how to be calm and not hurt ourselves through the carelessness that comes from anger or distraction.  While actually having a good lesson and good tips to alleviate these problems, all I could think about was that our clocks are possessed and secretly are plotting our death.

Warner Archive Wednesday - The Swan (1956)

The Swan (1956) [1]

The Swan (1956) - Grace Kelly (Princess Alexandra), Alec Guinness (Prince Albert), Louis Jourdan (Dr. Nicholas Agi), Agnes Moorehead (Queen Maria Dominika), Jessie Royce Landis (Princess Beatrix), Brian Aherne (Father Carl Hyacinth), Leo G. Carroll (Caesar), Estelle Winwood (Symphorosa), Van Dyke Parks (George), Christopher Cook (Arsene).  Directed by Charles Vidor. Studio - MGM.


Fun Fact: This film was released the same day Grace Kelly became a real princess - April 18, 1956, the day she married Prince Ranier of Monoco [2].


Fun Fact: Many thought this would be Grace Kelly's "swan song".  She would star in only 1 film after this, High Society, released July 17, 1956 [3].

Awesome Ebay - Inscribed Photo Circa 1936

1936 Ebay Item

There are a lot of cool items for sale on Ebay, and this is definitely one of them.  It looks like it was from a fun event and has signatures from many people I adore.  The hefty price tag of $9,999.00 clearly makes it a clear impossibility for purchase.  I can't even afford my groceries or to fix my car, so this definitely is not going to be in my collection.  But it's just so cool, I had to feature it.  The item is from the collection of Saul Goodman (1919-2003), apparently a businessman who loved getting cool photographs and having celebrities sign them.  Because of the rarity of the photographs and rarity of some of the autographs, the prices for items from his collection are insanely expensive.  This is clearly not an exception.  But it is exceptional.

Vintage Inspiration - Rhonda Fleming

Rhonda Fleming; 1949

Warner Archive Wednesday - The Unsuspected (1947)

The Unsuspected (1947) - Claude Rains (Victor Grandson), Joan Caulfield (Matilda Frazier), Audrey Totter (Althea Keane), Constance Bennett (Jane Moynihan), Hurd Hatfield (Oliver Keane), Ted North (Steven Francis Howard), Fred Clark (Richard Donovan)

Feed Sack Fashion

One printed, plain weave cotton feed sack, unstitched wtih band paper label.
Print is a purple ground with a pattern of mandolins with green and orange accents.
Label reads "PILLSBURY'S BEST/XXXX/FEEDS." "100 LBS." Circa 1940s.; MNHS

My Marilyn in a Potato Sack Post got me thinking about I adore feed cloth.  It's beautiful and usable.  Our industrious ancestors used this cloth not only to fold the life giving flour, but for a multitude of cloth articles in the home including towels, rags, clothing, toys, blankets, aprons, and a multitude of other amazing things.

Marilyn Monday

Marilyn in a Potato Sack

Marilyn and Miller

     Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller by taken by Sam Shaw in 1957.  Monroe and Miller were married from 1956 to 1961.  Here are some gorgeous pictures of "The Egghead and the Hourglass".