And The Oscar Goes To...

I used to look forward to the Oscars, back when there were at least a few good movies out and the host was funny. But last night's were the most boring ones ever! I got excited when it opened with Neil Patrick Harris in sequins and lots of showgirls and feathers, but after that it when downhill since no one did anything crazy, the jokes were predictable and everyone kept mentioning that glorified video game (why wasn't Dr. Parnassus nominated more? It's a far more brilliant film and it had actual actors in it). And the lighting was terrible! Did they embrace the fad of eco-lights? It just made the guests look washed out and dull, but with frizzy hair. But that good have been because most of the gowns were in muted colours and everyone seemed to be wearing very pale lipstick. Does anyone know why John Hughes got his own tribute? Other far more important directors have died in the past decade and none of them got their own tribute. And why didn't they hand out the honourary Oscars at the ceremony? I was looking forward to the Lauren Bacall clip show (I've also started re-reading her autobiography) and to her speech, which would have been much more entertaining and shorter then the interpretive dancers. And no one thanked the caterers or used Victor Borge's line "I'd like to thank my parents for making this evening possible". What did you think of the Oscars?

I didn't have a favourite dress or even a worse dress, everything seemed to be quite boring this year, but here are some of the highlights:

Doesn't George Clooney look like he lives in a tuxedo. Although he did forget his Brylcream.
All of the gentlemen seemed to wear the same tuxedo and there was no sign of a top hat and tails. But I did like the eccentric touch of Robert Downey Jr.'s blue bow tie, even though his choice to wear running shoes is a hideous crime to all things sartorial.
I liked how the silver and lace dress made Miss Bullock look like a living Oscar statue.
Miss Mulligan's dress is probably the only time in history in which steampunk will ever make an appearance at the Oscars, but a different lipstick would have been better, no?
I didn't watch the pre-show, so I thought that Miss McAdam's dress was a huge grey blob, but on the red carpet, it is actually a rather nice blue flowery number. I still don't like her blonde hair though, it looked better when she was on Slings and Arrows.
I think that Miss Bigelow's dress is sort of meh. But her girdle is fantastic! If I ever go to the Oscars, I want to wear that girdle (since the Oscars are really all about the dress and it is live television with billions watching).

If you haven't read The Complete Book of Oscar Fashion, then rush out and get a copy! See all of the gorgeous gowns from years past and imagine playing dress up in them.

Here are some of my favourites that I could find online (one would have expected that there is a database of past Oscar gowns, but no)
Remember before the Oscars became a really big deal? Doesn't Janet Gaynor look cute and sporty with the first ever Oscar and rightly deserved for all those who have seen her in Sunrise.
I wish I could have found a full length colour shot of Vivien Leigh with her first Oscar, but you'll have to make do with this one.
Everyone has seen Grace Kelly's gown before, but not a picture of her with her awesome needlework bag, which could actually fit all those necessities in it.
Did you know that Joanne Woodward made her own dress? Amazing! She could act, sew and she married Paul Newman -such a lucky girl.
My favourite ever! If I ever go, I would want to wear this, since it doesn't wrinkle and it's short enough so that one doesn't trip on those slippery stairs. Plus you can wear ballet slippers with it, since four-inch stiletto platforms and free champagne don't mix well. What would you wear to your fantasy Oscar win?

Here's David Niven and the best comeback ever!

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Vintage Books {84 Charing Cross Road}

Let me just say that this is one of the most delightful and humourous books that you will read this year! It's a true story of a twenty year correspondence between Helene Hanff, a New York writer and Frank Doyle, a book seller in London and his co-workers, wife and neighbours.

The book wont take you very long to read (about an hour) and it's such a wonderful testament to the dying art of letter writing, which ought to be revived as it's so much more personal then a few lines dashed off in an email. The correspondence begins as a request for obscure books (imagine -a leather bound first edition for $2!) and develops into a series of friendships between people on both sides of the Atlantic who have never met. Aside from books, it also tells of the generosity between Miss Hanff and the book sellers as she sends much needed food parcels to alleviate the continuation of post-war rationing and even includes passages about the importance of nylons, one or two recipes and touches upon embroidery and the theatre.

Here is the trailer for the film with Anne Bancroft and Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Cinema Tuesdays {I Know Where I'm Going!}

What can I saw about IKWIG, aside from that it's one of my two all-time favourite films. It's such a wonderfully beautiful film and a testament to the power that black and white has over colour. It's a modern fairy tale of a love story that's both simple and complex and offers some important messages to those who care to listen. It could even change your life, if you'd like it to. And if not, it will at least make you smile.

This is Joan Webster, played by Dame Wendy Hiller. Joan is 25 and has always known what she's wanted -to have the security of material wealth without sacrificing too much of her independence.

We begin with Joan taking her father to a night club in the middle of the war. She's engaged to the head of the company that she works for. Sir Robert Bellinger is one of the richest men in England and also a war profiteer.

Joan really only wears that one suit, since she spends most of the film travelling and everyone used to have one good wool suit for long journeys. Keep note of the circumstances in which Joan pulls out her compact since those moments do say a lot about her character and is something which only us girls would notice.

Mr. Webster doesn't like the idea of Joan marrying someone old enough to be her father or that she doesn't really love him or that she must travel to the Hebrides to marry him. But he still takes her to the station since he can't fight her decision.

After over a day travelling, she finally reaches the Isle of Mull where she is supposed to catch the ferry to an island called Kiloran. Joan thinks that Sir Robert is the owner of the island.

But there is a storm preventing any boats from crossing and she meets Torquil MacNeil, who lives on Kiloran and is trying to spend his leave there.

After waiting to see if Sir Robert sends a boat for her, she gives up and goes to the big house that Torquil told her that she could stay at.

The house is owned by Catriona Potts nee Maclean and she tries to take Joan under her wing. Also there is the permanent house guest Col. Barnstaple, an eccentric falconer.

Torquil, of course, sees right through Joan materialistic persona and immediately falls for her, once he can straighten her out of course and show her life beyond urbanity. Wait till you hear Roger Livesey's voice, it sounds almost like velvet!

Naturally, the storm turns into a gale overnight and Torquil and Joan decide to take the bus into town to stay at the hotel.

On the way there, they stop at the Gothic Moy Castle that has a curse upon it.

Torquil reveals himself to be the poor Laird of Kiloran who has merely rented out the island to Sir Robert for the duration of the war.

On the bus, we meet a group of locals and Torquil shows that his job is to know the names and relatives of all those connected with Kiloran and to find out what's been going on and how he can help them.

The locals also tell of how Sir Robert is building a swimming pool on the island, so that he doesn't have to swim in the local rivers and lakes and how he orders fish from the mainland instead of buying it from the island residents and thereby depriving people of jobs and money. Joan, in a fabulous stocking cap, still clings to her city-dweller beliefs and avoids seeing the logic of the dying traditional lifestyles. Or is she lying to herself?

In town, Joan and Torquil contact Kiloran by radio (remember the time before telephones and wi-fi). Sir Robert, who has a terrible voice, tells Joan that she should stay with the visiting Robinsons who are "the only people worth knowing" on Mull.

All ready by the time they reach the hotel, Joan's hair has become fluffier, she's stopped looking at her compact and she's nervous to be left alone with Torquil.

After reading some of the reviews by internet users, I should point out that Joan is in no way a gold digger. She's a very proper, but misguided young woman who is desperate to get to Kiloran before she succumbs to Torquil, whom she knows that she has fallen in love with.

The next day, Joan visits the Robinsons, who live in a large, touristy castle.

Their daughter Cheril knows that both Joan and her parents are phoneys. That's actually a young Petula Clark before she was a singer.

Mr. and Mrs. Robinson are very vain and have rented the castle also for the duration, so that they don't have to live in a city during rationing and air-raids. Cowards!

They take Joan to see Rebecca Crozier, all that's left of the Scottish aristocracy in Mull.

And look who's there having tea with Rebecca, looking quite amused.

Rebecca talks nostalgically about what life was like on the islands before the war. Joan is very interested (as should you be)

but alas, the Robinson's only care about playing bridge after tea and that puts an ends to the lecture.

Isn't that one of the most fantastic, but over the top hat who've seen this year?

Since Joan and Torquil don't play bridge (such a nasty game) they go to a ceilidh given for the diamond anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Campbell.

Back at the hotel, Joan has a crisis and prays for the storm to die down. It doesn't and so Joan and Torquil go back to Catriona's in case Mrs. Robinson comes looking for Joan.

I love the character of Catriona! She takes one look at Torquil and Joan as they come in and immediately knows more about their relationship then they do themselves.

Joan, now heading towards a breakdown, bribes the young boatman Kenny to take her across that afternoon during the height of the storm. Kenny's fiancee Bridie (played by Maureen O'Hara's sister) can't understand why Joan would be so selfish as to ruin so many lives and so Joan confesses to Catriona what Catriona already knows.

Torquil tries to reason with her, but fails and lets her storm out.

So Catriona tells Torquil and he's out to the boat like a shot, which is good since he knows how to mend the boat with water splashing around.

The boat trip doesn't go well, since they float towards the whirlpool instead of Kiloran. That shot of the whirlpool is the actual one taken by Michael Powell with a handheld camera and no special effects.

These two shots are my favourite ones. Just look at how much two silhouettes convey about the film and the characters and how perfect they are photographed. Hooray for B&W!

Naturally, the trip doesn't go well and all return home to Catriona, wet but safe and Joan has lost all of her luggage, including the satin wedding dress that she worshipped (imagine, a new dress made out of satin in the middle of the war!). It falls upon Catriona to tell Joan what she's never been told her whole life: "money isn't everything".

The next morning and the sea is safe enough to cross. You already know what happens next, but I won't tell you how they get together, aside from that it's romantic with just a touch of the Gothic.

Daily Outfit

I saw Nine last week. I was disappointed with it. When I saw the trailer, I thought "Fellini and a musical together? That could be awesome" but it wasn't awesome. I got bored halfway through and wanted to turn it off. I don't think that the film makers understood what 8 1/2 was about and that is the struggle to tell a story on celluloid. And the costumes were terrible! They weren't very Italian or early Sixties and Anouk Aimee's glasses were no where to be seen (I've been looking for a new pair of glasses for the past few weeks to no avail, so I've been looking at a lot of pictures of glasses). And Nicole Kidman's face didn't move once, the person playing the town whore was too skinny and Daniel Day-Lewis is no where near as handsome as Marcello Mastroianni was. But Penelope Cruz and Judi Dench were very good, especially Dame Judi's musical number. However, the ending was unwatchable, it didn't make any sense compared to the original ending. If you're looking for an update to the original film, then watch Stardust Memories instead, or if you want some style inspiration then watch 8 1/2, but remember to watch Terry Gilliam's introduction on the Criterion DVD first because he explains the plot better then anyone else. I think I should have watched A Single Man or rewatched Dr. Parnassus instead.

Is everyone else excited for the return of Glee in April? I must have watched the promo dozens of time and by the looks of it and the spoiler photos on WWEPW, it looks like Emma gets some fantastic new outfits that I can't wait to see.

Cardigan: thrifted and I added my vintage button collection to it.

Skirt: vintage

Blouse: thrifted

Belt: Jacob

Tights: Hue

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell