Editorial Watch

Sophie Srej (with two unknown models)
photographed by Wendy Bevan for June Marie Claire Italia

styling Elisabetta Massari

Like old postcards, no?
Beautiful and haunting at the same time.


Romany

[photos courtesy of fashiongonerogue.com]

Trivial Pursuit...

Featuring one the most beautiful women to have ever walked this earth...

...Elizabeth Taylor
"You find out who your real friends are when you're involved in a scandal."

At one point during her life-threatening illness while filming BUtterfield 8 (1960), Elizabeth Taylor was actually pronounced dead.

She was the first actress to earn $1 million for a movie role, Cleopatra (1963).

In 1963, while the highest paid American business executive earned $650,000 and President John F. Kennedy's salary was $150,000, Elizabeth received at least $2.4 million.

Elizabeth admitted in an interview with Barbara Walters in the late 1990s that she would still like to act but, because of her medical problems, no movie company will insure her. In addition to many other medical problems, including a benign brain tumor she had removed, she has broken her back four times. This causes her severe pain when walking or standing for long amounts of time.

She has appeared solo on the cover of PEOPLE magazine 14 times, second only to Princess Diana (as of 1996).

The stories of Elizabeth's Oscar win for BUtterfield 8 (1960) have grown legendary. It is generally accepted as truth that she won Oscar voters by a vote of sympathy, because of the recent death of her husband, Michael Todd, and her near-fatal illness and emergency tracheotomy to save her life (her scar was very visible on Oscar night). Wisecracker and Rat Pack member Shirley MacLaine, who was favoured to win for her role in The Apartment (1960), said afterward that "I lost out to a tracheotomy."

Judy Garland
"I've always taken The Wizard of Oz very seriously, you know. I believe in the idea of the rainbow. And I've spent my entire life trying to get over it."

Judy Garland was considered an icon in the gay community in the 1950s and 1960s. Her death and the loss of that emotional icon in 1969 has been thought to be a contributing factor to the feeling of the passing of an era that helped spark the Stonewall Riots that began the modern gay rights advocacy movement.

The day she died, there was a tornado in Kansas.

During her first marriage to David Rose, Judy was forced to undergo an abortion at the insistence of MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer who feared that pregnancy would hurt her good-girl image. The event left her traumatized for the rest of her life.

Had intense fears of flying, horses, and guns.

Adding to her appeal within the gay community, Judy always acknowledged her gay fan base at a time when homosexuality was seldom even discussed. Late in her career and in dire need of money, she even accepted work singing in a New York City gay bar.

Jean Harlow
"When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas."

The title of Jean Harlow's movie Bombshell (1933) started the popular term for a blonde sex-pot to be known as a "bombshell."

Between films she didn't worry about her hair or weight and allowed herself to get chubby. She'd have to diet drastically to get back into shape, eating mostly vegetables and salads.

Jean had a photographic memory, and never ran lines. She'd simply look over the script, come out of her dressing room and do it perfectly, take after take.

She had a habit of speaking of herself in the third person.

Jean suffered from a severe inferiority complex. If anyone did anything for her, she'd give them a present, expressing gratitude for practically nothing.

She used to put ice on her nipples right before shooting a scene in order to look sexier.

Jean never wore any underwear whatsoever, and always slept in the nude.

Gene Kelly
"I never wanted to be a dancer. It's true! I wanted to be a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates."

Gene Kelly had a crescent-moon shaped scar on his left cheek caused by a bicycle accident he had as a young boy.

He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in economics.

Martial arts stars Jackie Chan and David Carradine both cite him as an influence.

Gene wore a hairpiece (toupee).

Had a fever of 39.4 degrees celsius (103 degrees Fahrenheit) while filming the famous rain scene in Singing In The Rain.

Gene and MGM studio head Louis B Mayer shared a long standing feud stemming from even before Kelly entered the motion picture business. One evening after seeing Gene perform in Pal Joey on Broadway, Mayer met Kelly backstage and offered to sign him to MGM without a screen test. When Kelly later received a call from a MGM representative requesting a screen test he insisted there was some sort of mistake saying he had Mayer's word he did not have to make one and told the rep to ask Mayer himself. When the rep did, he called back days later stating that he did talk to Mayer and that he still had to make a test. Gene was furious and wrote a scathing letter to Mayer for retracting his promise. For the first couple of years he worked for Mayer, Kelly was uncertain that Mayer even read the letter until Louis brought it up in an argument one evening.

Tony Martin, husband of MGM star/dancer Cyd Charisse, said he could tell who she had been dancing with that day on an MGM set. If she came home covered with bruises, it was the very physically-demanding Gene Kelly, if not it was the smooth and agile Fred Astaire.

Judy Garland's section actually makes me a bit teary. I never knew that she'd had such a difficult time...


Romany

[photos courtesy of cinematicpassions.wordpress.com, familiarface.wordpress.com, sodahead.com and popsugar.com]

The week that was...

So I accidentally took a week off. What do you know? I've been rather busy this week, what with looking for a THIRD job, and all...So keeping that in mind, posts from here on may be somewhat sporadic, until I can get things organised. Comment replying is also high on my list of priorities, so please don't think I'm neglecting you all on purpose. I've tried to leave my weekend almost completely free, so that leaves me no excuse to let blogging take a backseat. Unless I get the flu (one of the dangers of working around sick patients)...in which case, well...
But for now, let's take a closer look at the week that has just come to a close...

Quote

"Well the music was rubbish. Well these are the days of bands like S Club 7 and the Spice Girls. I mean they are great for what they were but for someone who read a lot of books and engaged in conversation with people quite a lot, I felt if I'm going to be a pop star I want to be a real pop star and I want to say real things."

~Lily Allen, on her irritation with the pop culture of the 1990s-early 2000s.

What do you think? Do you think Lily's music is any different? Do you think Lily accomplishes her mission of saying 'real things'? As far as I'm concerned, the jury's still out on that one...

Wardrobe Envy

Kate Hudson in New York, filming Something Borrowed.
I know it's a film costume, but that doesn't make it any less wonderful. A gorgeous alternative to walking around in just a bikini whilst on the beach (unless it's really hot, in which case, ocean here I come!).

Music

Danish alternative rock duo The Raveonettes dropped their fourth studio album, In and Out of Control, late last year, but I just had to feature it, having heard some of the mesmorising tracks just yesterday. "[Control is about] not giving a shit what other people think of you and most importantly being mad and angelic," says one half of the duo, Sune Rose Wagner. Listen to: Heart of Stone.

News

Michael Kors with Gwyneth Paltrow.

The most prestigious of fashion events, the 2010 CFDA Awards have come and gone for another year. And the big winners were...

Board of Directors Special Tribute
Alexander McQueen

Womenswear Designer of the Year
Marc Jacobs

Menswear Designer of the Year
Rag & Bone

Swarovski Award for Womenswear
Jason Wu

Swarovski Award for Menswear
Richard Chai

International Award
Christopher Bailey for Burberry

Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award
Michael Kors

Marc Jacobs.

David Neville and Marcus Wainwright of Rag & Bone.

In other news...

Angela Lindvall

In a mix of summer fun and eco awareness, Muse magazine chose to feature three green-friendly supermodels on their #22 cover: Gisele Bündchen, Angela Lindvall, and Isabeli Fontana. Each model has done her part to help save the world: from a position as the UN Environmental Ambassador to composting to recycling and sustainable farming. Muse plays with a combination of high fashion editorials and collages for their covers - incorporating the requisite summer beach shots with black and white imagery and cut-and-paste elements.

Gisele Bundchen.

Isabeli Fontana.

Vintage Beauty

Across the Restaurant

photographed by Lillian Bassman, 1949
From the 1940s until the 1960s, Lillian Bassman worked as a fashion photographer for Junior Bazaar and later at Harper’s Bazaar. Haunting, but undeniably stylish photography...

Currently...
...watching: Terminator 2. Hell yeah.
...listening to: The Raveonettes.
...reading: still stuck on Story of O - I'll finish it one day, I really will!
...eating: junk food. Perhaps this is why I've been feeling unwell this week?



Tell me all about your week!



Have a beautiful weekend!


Romany

[photos courtesy of popsugar.com, dailyfill.com, popmatters.com, style.com, pennylifeinpics.blogspot.com and fyms.de]

What a lovely birthday...

Due to a combination of internet troubles, lack of time and, of course, celebrations to organise, there is no recap post this week (and the reason I have been slack in replying to comments - will get onto this asap). Cue the violins. But on a happier note, it's my 19th birthday today (today being the 4th of June here in Australia, so technically, internationally I'm still a hell-raising 18 year old) and what better present than a blog award! And what better way to celebrate than by sharing said award.

Amazing and gorgeous LyddieGal over at Chic on the Cheap has honoured me with the Blog Love Award, and it's definitely a fun one. Thank you, sweetie.

For this, each recipient designs their award to pass on. And so as a tribute to my favourite book, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (I wasn't overly impressed with Kubrik's film adaptation, but he did give little Lolita some very cool, and now iconic, heart-shaped sunglasses) this is the award that I managed to put together.

Passing awards on is always a difficult task, as I never have the time or space to share them with every blogger that I feel deserves the recognition. Considering this award is about blog love I am passing it on to every follower of the robins, even those who may become followers after I've published this post - you lovely people always make my day (if you visit/comment often but are not a follower - consider yourself a recipient also of course). Again, I'm not copping out, I just don't have the time or room to fit so many of you into this post. So receive and share away, gorgeous ones! I look forward to seeing your creations in due time...

Romany

[photo courtesy of nachtkabarett.com]

Editorial Watch

This editorial is several months old, from Oyster Magazine issue 85: Print is Dead. But I was drawn to it because it features none other than Australia's Next Top Model cycle 5 runner-up Cassi Van Den Dungen. It was generally assumed that when she turned her back on the industry after losing (well, not winning) she wouldn't be working again. So you can imagine my surprise finding her modeling in an über-cool editorial of Australia's longest-surviving indie fashion magazine Oyster. I just had to share it...

Teddy Girls
Ali Stepka, Annamarije, Cassi Van Den Dungen, Georgie Fowler, Holly Thompson and Rosemary Smith

photographed by Liz Ham
styling Jolyon Mason
hair Sophie Roberts
make-up Sasha Nilsson

What is a 'teddy girl'?

"The teddy girls of 1950s London -- their sartorial assertiveness contrasted with the bombed out environments they occupied and their feisty appropriation of male styles (often down to the classic duck-tail haircut) set them apart from the standard Fifties Feminine."
Mina Estevez, Hint Fashion Magazine

"The teddy girls left school at 14 or 15, worked in factories or offices, and spent their free time buying or making their trademark clothes -- pencil skirts, rolled-up jeans, flat shoes, tailored jackets with velvet collars, coolie hats and long, elegant clutch bags. It was head-turning, fastidious dressing, taken from the fashion houses of the time, which had launched haute-couture clothing lines recalling the Edwardian era."
The Sunday Times

Pretty damn impressive for a first editorial, I must say.


Romany

[photos courtesy of trendland.net]