The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor

Enjoy these wishes and dreams.  The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor goes up for auction at Christie's New York next week.  You can go and see the exhibition before the items are sold this week, but you must buy advance tickets.  If you want to skip over the jewelry in the video (but I recommend you don't), the couture clothing starts about 6 minutes in.  Le sigh.....

Fashion in Film: Elephant Walk

When Elizabeth Taylor passed in March of this year, the prolific stories and images about her reminded me of one of her films that I hadn't seen in years.  Elephant Walk had entranced me as a young woman because of the stunning clothes worn by Elizabeth Taylor.  It was perhaps one of the seeds that was planted early on that grew to become my fascination and love for vintage dresses from the 1950s.

The film was made in 1954 and Edith Head designed the costumes for Elizabeth Taylor.  The movie was filmed on location in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and the setting is stunning.  Head does a great job of making the star stand out amidst such exotic backgrounds.

The clothes that Taylor wears might seem out of place on a remote tea plantation if we weren't told early in the film that her new husband treated her to a new wardrobe in Paris on their honeymoon.

Head dressed Taylor in full skirted dresses with tiny waists that accented her ample bosom.  The dresses were always belted and most of the belts had some sort of adornment or beading to draw the eye right to Taylor's miniscule waistline.

Taylor wore this pink peignoir set on her first night on the plantation.  She looked very romantic and beautiful.

My favorite dress in the entire film is this evening gown.  Purple lace sculpts Taylor's figure very tightly and a white tulle full skirt floats beneath it.  You can see the gown in action in this video.

Like the look?  I have this 1950s dress available at Couture Allure that was probably inspired by Taylor's dress in the film.  Pretty, isn't it?

Goodbye, Elizabeth Taylor

Taylor and Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun, 1951

Hollywood legend and screen idol Elizabeth Taylor has died at 79. Known for her glamour, both on and off screen, her many marriages, and her jewels, Taylor was one of the best actresses of her generation, winning 2 Oscars for Butterfield 8 and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.

Many of the costumes that Miss Taylor wore in her 50 films sparked fashion trends of their own. Edith Head designed the costumes for A Place in the Sun. In it, Taylor wore a strapless evening gown with a bodice covered in white violets and a skirt made from miles of white tulle over green satin. Paramount studios sent the dress on tour, displaying it in department store windows across the country. Thousands of copies were sold and the style was the look for that year's proms and parties.

In 1959's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Taylor only wore three costumes: a simple blouse and skirt, this white slip, and a dress that launched a new phase in designer Helen Rose's career. The deceptively simple slip was actually designed more like a dress. It had darts and a side zipper and fit Taylor like a second skin.

Miss Taylor was the one who persuaded director Richard Brooks to allow the third costume for the last portion of the film. Helen Rose designed this white chiffon dress with a plunging neckline to show off Taylor's cleavage. The actress liked the dress so much, she asked Rose to make extra copies and variations for her personal use. In the months following the film's release, Rose received so many requests for the dress, she decided to go into the wholesale garment business. Her ready-to-wear line met with great success.

Taylor will always be best remembered for her role as Cleopatra in the 1963 film of the same name. The photo above was taken by Bert Stern for a Vogue magazine article promoting the film.

Irene Sharaff designed Taylor's wardrobe for the film. She did extensive research in art museums and it showed in Taylor's 65 costume changes during the nearly 3-hour film. The incredible headdresses and wigs and the exotic make-up styles were influential in fashion for years to come.

In this video montage, you'll see several of the costumes shown above in action. It is a beautiful and fitting tribute to one of the greatest actresses of our time. Farewell, Liz. Your legacy will not be forgotten.

Goodbye Liz

Goodbye Elizabeth Taylor

The Last Real Hollywood Star

Lassie Come Home (1943)

Cleopatra (1963)

as Amy March in Little Women (1949), one of my favourite movies 

"  I adore wearing gems, but not because they are mine. You can't possess radiance, you can only admire it "