While Lynn Redgrave may lament the typecasting as she said as “the happy lass with the broken heart” that her iconic role Georgy Girl led to, it’s a pretty wonderful role to be remembered by. And if you’ve not seen it, I recommend after Lynn’s recent passing you check it out.
From a famous family of thespians, Lynn was known as the comedian, perhaps even the less perfect “ugly duckling” (though she was certainly by no means ugly at all), but that only made her a most sympathetic and lovely actress. She sucummed to a long battle with breast cancer.
Muse to Helmut Newton, one of the faces of her generation, and nary a wikipedia entry for the lovely Miss Lisa Taylor? After seeing the gorgeous, tawny, athletic lady in this weeks movie pick, where she pretty much plays herself, I couldn’t NOT choose her as this week’s style icon, even if there’s barely any information out there about her. Did manage to find several photos of this iconic star though.
When Jadin Wong passed away at 96 recently, it was proclaimed “the end of an era”. I was introduced to the brassy, ballsy, eccentric and spectacular woman in a clip from a Budd Mishkin interview where, at 90, she was still dancing and told the world that she “kicked tush”. From nightclubs to Broadway to comedy to film, her career was varied and pioneering.
While the art of Vali Meyers isn’t quite up my alley, I was fascinated with this witchy, tattooed enigma from the first photos I glimpsed of her which, admittedly, was only recently – the Australian artist, despite an impressive list of friends (Dali, Tennessee Williams, and Jean Cocteau to name a few) and a semi-permanent Chelsea Hotel address, just wasn’t a household name stateside.
Aside from her painting, Meyers was a tightrope walker, a tattoo artist who marked Patti Smith, and a muse. Below/after the jump are just a few images of the striking and truly unique beauty that passed away at 72 a few years ago.
As one of France’s most beloved dancers, Cleo de Merode caught the eye of artists (Gustav Klimt) and kings (Leopold II), the latter of which resulted in scandalous rumours that haunted her throughout her life despite the lurid tales of an affair being wholly untrue.
She gained even more admiration from a wider audience when she joined the Folies Bergere. Here’s a link to a 1897 article about her stateside arrival which describes her actual upbringing as much more humble than the royal background she claimed . I find her beguiling and the fashions she dons in her many portraits to be inspiring and beautiful. There are many to gaze at below/after the jump.
Headdresses, satin appliqued capes, feathers, gold leather, football pads, teeny bikinis, looking like leather boys and lady like business women – of course The Ritchie Family is my style icon of the week after capturing my attention. The Philadelphia disco queens had several hits off their concept albums in the 70’s, but sadly, I have to admit until now I’d never heard of them.
But better late than never when the song is a yelping disco rendition of Brazil (wonder if Terry Gilliam ever considered it instead for his movie). The song, as you can imagine is this week’s pick of the week in that category. Below/after the jump is a gallery of the fantastic fashions.
Catherine Malandrino just does not seem to get much buzz; she’s not considered particularly trendy or hip lately, and yet she almost always delivers collections that I adore. This fall her Malindrino collection features cocoon coats, abstract animal prints, incredible draping, a focus on the waist with crafted leather accessories, and interesting new silhouettes in pants. What’s not to love?
Between her musings on her adorable cats and her scene stealing appearance in The September IssueGrace Coddington won my heart this week. From her early days as a super model (which I learned from the film) to working her way up the ranks of Vogue to become the Creative Director, Coddington exudes a passion for life, and a humanity that is not so common in the industry.
I love her shock of long red hair and her confident personal style that actually ignores trends but never looks unfashionable. Team Grace for sure.
On a co-worker’s recommendation, I pushed the Diana Ross as young upstart fashion designer/model vehicle Mahogany to the top of my queue strictly for the over-sized jewelry (which, no doubt you know, I’m a big fan of – ever want to get me a gift, just type HUGE into the vintage jewelry section of eBay).
It’s a terrible movie, but the style is fantastic – plus, you’re exposed to constant flashes of the unbelievably broad smile of one the most charismatic men around (the great Billy Dee Williams) as well as a riveting and creepily realistic performance by go-to weirdo Anthony Perkins as a Machiavellian fame wrangler (at least, it feels accurate to me, though I’ve never personally been to the gun room of a Phil Spector type, but I imagine Perkins got it right).
The plot (which calls to mind a dumbed-down, simplified take on the story lines of Jacqueline Susann) is as thin as Ross, who plays “young” not entirely convincingly, but with an amazing amount of sassy charm – there’s a reason that this broad is a star! And there’s a reason her creation, Mahogany, is my style icon: it’s all kimono sleeves, rainbow gowns, jersey capes, feathers, statement hats, body paint, gonzo hairstyles, Egyptian influence, and sequined or Navajo wraps. LOVE IT. There are a good many stills to peruse below/after the jump.
It takes a whole lot of love and devotion to stick by your man sometimes, but the adorable (yes, even more adorable than the toothpick that played her in the movie) June Carter had both in spades for her troubled and (if the movie is to be believed) kind of pain-in-the ass husband, Johnny Cash.
A comedian, singer, songwriter, wife and philanthropist (she and Cash helped build a village through the SOS Children’s Villages in Jamaica) June passed away with her family by her side in 2003. The man in black followed months after.
Georgy Girl
