Vintage Inspiration: It's A Wonderful Life

Oasis pleated dress, $50

Franco Sarto suede platform heels, $89

Noel S.B. Overcoat, $465

Polo Ralph Lauren A21-C1559 Grey Trousers, $392

The black Oasis dress is still available on sale for £30 online. Doesn't the tweed overcoat look so cosy? I've seen quite a few like them in charity shops going for very reasonable prices (especially in the Morningside and Bruntsfield areas). And you could pick up a club tie in just about any charity shop you walk into. Your man could look like James Stewart too!

C x

Style Inspiration: Last Night

I watched this a wee while ago, and had mostly forgotten about it until I saw a photograph of Keira Knightley which reminded me of how stunning she looked in this film. I'm not a KK fan, and I thought 'Last Night' was beautifully shot (by Peter Deming, Mulholland Drive) but not really saying what is was trying to say particularly well, but she was styled divinely throughout the film (by Ann Roth, Cold Mountain) in gorgeous classic pieces:

The 'Night' is spent in a beautiful cashnere camel coat and royal navy silk dress (which I wish I could identify!)

I also liked her casual outfit, the oversized grey ♥cardigan♥ in particular.

So all in all, not a film to put high on your 'to-watch' list but it is worth a flick through to see some impeccable styling, and some of the locations used were terribly stylish too - when is a film set in New York not?

C x

Vintage Inspiration: People Will Talk

I watched one of Cary Grant's less famous films the other day, "People Will Talk" (1951), written by Joseph Manciewicz who you might know better as the writer/director of "All About Eve" (1950). Jeanne Crain co-stars,  and wears some gorgeous early 50s outfits, like this military-influenced coat and tailored dress:

But there was one dress that really caught my eye:

The dress structure is simple enough: a sweetheart halterneck tea dress, but what really makes it is a small lace overlay which drapes over the shoulders to a point in the middle of the back (unattached to the back of the dress, rather like a sailor style collar). I wonder if it might be quite easy to recreate this with a strapless dress, and a small square lace scarf. It could be pinned with a brooch on each side of the chest to hold in place. One would only need a Cary Grant on the arm to complete the look.

C x

Edinburgh Blogs

Presenting a quick list of Edinburgh-based blogs that are well worth clicking over to:

• Greener Leith - Green living and community participation in Leith (relevant to anyone interested in Scottish green living)
• Chatiry World - Crafts, baking and things to see in Edinburgh. Her guide to Independent Shops in Edinburgh is excellent, it's exactly the kind of thing I'd like to do (but now don't need to).
• Veggie Lady - I had no idea this blog existed but I love it, it's as though it was written for me. Fantastic recipes that can be adapted for any budget.
• The Edinburgh Blog - Mainly restaurant reviews, among other things to see and do in Edinburgh. I particularly like the range of budget and luxury places.
• Thingy Bobs - This is filled with lovely things, music and book recommendations, style and interiors, all written by an Edinburgh-based French lady (which, by default, equals good taste).
• Miss Smidge - is a personal blog, filled with lovely photos and inspiring things. She also organises Edinburgh blogger meet-ups, which I might go to, if I can pluck up the courage...
• A Daddy Long Legs Is Not A Father - is a girl after my own heart. A superbly written blog about life, music, film, and anything else that catches Ali's eye. She also has great taste in literature.
• Cupcake Couture Beauty. Fashion. Baking. I don't think more description is required. But this is a great blog, and it's one of Edinburgh's most popular too.

C x

PS - If any other Edinburgh bloggers want to be included on this list, drop me a line!

Tulle Time Special: Academy Awards

First of all, Oscar predictions: how did I fare? 


Picture: The Social Network The King’s Speech: I knew it!!! Next year, I'm ignoring the bookies.
Actor in a Leading Role : Colin Firth
Actor in a Supporting Role : Geoffrey Rush. Christian Bale: boo. I should probably watch the movie though.
Actress in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman
Actress in a Supporting Role: Melissa Leo
Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 3
Cinematography: Wally Pfister (Inception)
Directing: David Fincher (The Social Network) Tom Hooper (The King's Speech): Surprising
Documentary Feature: Exit Through The Gift Shop Inside Job (...really?)
Foreign Language Film: Biutiful Civilisation
Music (Original Score): A.R.Rahman (127 Hours) Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross (The Social Network)
Music (Original Song): Randy Newman - We Belong Together (Toy Story 3): YES! This was the only one where I went completely against the general opinion.
Visual Effects: Inception
Writing (Adapted Screenplay): Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)
Writing (Original Screenplay) : David Seidler (The King's Speech)


9/15 - same as last year. I wish I'd stuck with my gut on 'The King's Speech' winning best picture. 


But now the important bit - the dresses!

I LOVED the red-heads in navy. 


Someone let down the tulle team - Halle Berry. When I saw the first photo, I thought we were off to a positive start. Then I saw the rest of her dress:

It's like she looked in the mirror and decided it wasn't zinging enough (compared to her usual get-up), so she popped down the road to Remnant Kings, grabbed a roll of tulle and stapled it on. Then stuffed the gaping chest ("No, I stuff...outside...the bra" - points if you can name the Friends episode) and thought "That's a bit more exciting".


But some people did effectively deploy the tulle.

That's a lot of off-white. 
I thought the two on the left - Jackie Weaver and Haliee Steinfeld, looked stunning. Both are wearing age-appropriate gowns (63 and 14, respectively) in very flattering shapes. Mandy Moore used her gown to clean the dishes prior to going out (re-do in sky blue?), and Mrs. Colin Firth had a very pretty dress to start with, but followed Halle's lead and stapled on an extra tail. Maybe she was hiding V.P.L. Nevertheless, I think she looked incredibly pretty and I bet she's thinking "Who cares? I get to go home with this tonight:

 "

The fashion blogs are full of bitchiness about the awards, so I feel I ought to be positive about a few:

• Mila Kunis wore an icy purple lace gown, which I think is my favourite colour of them all:

• Cate Blanchett was the only non-conformist, and her dress would be my favourite if I hadn't read on one of the afore-mentioned bitchy blogs that her chest looks like a verruca, and now I can't STOP seeing it:

She pulls it off though, like red cowboy boots (more points for naming the sitcom reference). I doubt any-one else could, except maybe Tilda Swinton, who should have been there for being the best ever Scot-turned-Russian-émigré in a semi-dirty Italian film. I Am Love, seriously, go rent it.

I was chatting to my Mum about what's 'fashionable' at the Oscars, and she mentioned a picture she had seen in one of the Sunday magazines of Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn together at the 1961 awards (which unfortunately I can't find), and we both thought that it was such a shame that actresses are now under this huge pressure to be fashion-forward, whereas back then, women just wore what they felt fabulous in, and it didn't matter if they returned to the same style, time and time again (n.b. Rachel Jennifer Aniston and her black dress collection). Here's Audrey in her timeless Oscars dress:

Perfect. For me, there was only one person who looked as timeless, and I'll admit to not even having heard of her - Matthew McConaughey's partner, Camila Alves:

That much décolletage might not have been on show in the sixties, but I think we could look back at this dress in twenty years and still yearn for it, oh-so-much. Incidentally, I think it didn't necessarily have to be black to be timeless, this could have been burgundy or that ice-purple from above and still look fab. 


So that's it. I promise to stop talking about dresses and timelessness and ice-purple.


C x


(all images via IMDB except the Audrey Hepburn one, which is from the style storm. Thanks!)

Black Swan

Divine. Engulfing. Terrifying. Black Swan may replace 'The Fountain' as my favourite Aronofsky film. I'm sure many people will disagree, and I know 'The Wrestler' had the most commercial success (*snort, until he finishes Wolverine 2, whaddajoke). I can't say much about it because it will ruin it for anyone going to see it, but I promise it's a visual, suspenseful treat. It feels very much like a 50s noir and there were a lot of neat wee tricks that Aronofsky obviously borrowed from them (like the use of mirrors and 'poison'). There was also, not to anyone's surprise, truck loads of tulle!

 

Natalie Portman was fantastic, and before even seeing most of the films which will probably get Oscar noms for Best Actress, I have her picked in my winner pool. She was really, really good. 

Here's a quick peek at the costume designers, but it sort of contains *spoilers*.

C x

(All images via link source)