A TO Z OF HOLLYWOOD STYLE

I picked up this interesting little book in a charity shop for £1. Published in 2012 from the Victoria and Albert Museum ,the author is Sinty Stemp.

The 160 page book covers all aspects of what constitutes Hollywood style, including costume design, elegance,flapper style, jewellery, makeup; using quotes from the people of Hollywood.

Below are some examples.

CARY GRANT: “I was the only one who approved my clothes. Hitchcock trusted me implicitly to select my own wardrobe……generally I wore simple,tasteful clothes – the same kind of clothes I wear off-screen.”

STEVEN SPEILBERG on JOAN CRAWFORD: ” She’s five feet 4 inches but looks 6 feet on the screen.”

ADRIAN: “A character can be sketched by virtue of scissors, needle and thread – clothes talk!”

“Who would believe that my career would rest on Joan Crawford’s shoulders!”

MAE WEST: “Low necklines stylish? They’re imperative.”

“Say what you want about long dresses but they cover a multitude of shins.”

Kenneth Tynan : “At that time (1920s and 30s) the King thug on the Warner lot was EDWARD G. ROBINSON ,wearing vast lapels like the swept back wings of a jet.”

“Before a shot,GARBO always asked her cameraman , “Is ze feets in?’

Her concern was not to conceal her feet if the answer was yes, but to change out of bedroom slippers she wore for comfort under even the most ornate costume.”

John Huston on EDITH HEAD: ” It is said of Edith that the Oscar is written into her contract; she has more Oscars than anyone else in Hollywood.”

Lille Dache, milliner : “Nobody thinks of CARMEN MIRANDA without a turban loaded with flowers, fruit, beads and bangles. Usually I restrain myself a little. But with Carmen, the more fantastic fruits and birds and strange beads I could get together on one turban, the better.”

JAMES STEWART: “I kept my own Western costume for most of my films. The hat, in particular, I wore it in every Western until one very sad day it completely disintegrated.”