Week 17: Rita Hayworth is a Babe. Her Life and Seductive Style.

Rita Hayworth is one of Old Hollywood's most seductive actresses. Her iconic performance of “Put the Blame on Mame" in Gilda (1946) and improvised quick single-glove striptease is 10 times more erotic than any 50 Shades of Grey scene. Rita wears a long, strapless, black satin gown, with a side-slit and big flirty bow at the hip. And of course, the gown is paired with classic long black gloves. The Independent lists this scene in their Ten Best Fashion Moments in Film.

From film You Were Never Lovelier Columbia Picture (1942) Director: William A. Seiter Screenplay: Michael Fessier, Ernest Songs: by Jerome Kern and Johnny You Were Never Lovelier was Rita's third and last film released in 1942 and her second time as Fred Astaire's dancing partner.

Margarita Cansino before and Rita Hayworth after. What a transformation!

Rita started her life as Margarita Carmen Cansino. Her family had a strong background in professional dance, and so her Spanish father pushed young Margarita to dance and she was featured in several films as a dancer. Her first roles were small ones as pretty exotic dancers with no lines. After playing the same kinds of roles as Argentinian, Egyptian and Russian dancers, Margarita decided to change her fate and took on her mother's Irish-English maiden name Hayworth in order to appeal to Americans. That was followed with shortening her name to Rita, changing her Mediterranean hairline with a painful electrolysis procedure, and dying her black hair to, the now iconic, ginger red colour. After that, Rita's career was on the rise.

Rita acted opposite such stars as Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Cary Grant. For three years, beginning in 1944, Rita was named one of the top movie box-office attractions in the world. Hayworth was adept in ballet, tap dance, ballroom, and Spanish routines.

Unfortunately, despite her successful acting career, her love life was a mess. She married and divorced 5 times. Rita's most famous marriages were to Orson Welles and to Prince Aly Khan, which actually made Rita, and not Grace Kelly, the first movie star to become a princess. 

“Rita once revealed with some bitterness that “Men go to bed with Gilda, but wake up with me.””

 

She might have been a femme fatale on the screen, but in real life Rita was a shy and gentle person and suffered from an inferiority complex. However, her image as a sultry fiery beauty inspired creation of hundreds of characters, including Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and beauty looks and styles of millions of women across the globe.

Want to steal Rita's Seductive Style?

I picked three timeless trends and selected the best items online for you. Put that glam on and "Gilda" yourself up!

1. SLIP Dress Trend 

2. long FITTED gown

3. Bedazzling sequins

Week 7: Breakfast at Tiffany's. Audrey Hepburn's Pink Look

Today I am sharing another pastiche of Audrey Hepburn's look in Breakfast at Tiffany's. You can see my first look inspired by the film here.

What do you think about this all-pink look? What other film inspired outfits would you like to see?

Photography: Lisa Pillmore

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Week 7: Breakfast at Tiffany's. SHOP Audrey's Looks

This Week's Themed Shop is not only a selection of Breakfast at Tiffany's inspired items, but an exciting look at all of Audrey Hepburn's outfits in the film! I have searched and hand-picked pieces similar to Holly Golightly's clothes and accessories for every budget from hundreds of brands. Seize this chance to emulate the most stylish Hollywood icon of all time!

Look 1. The Black Gown

This is the most iconic look of the film. You can already see my interpretation of this look here.

One shoulder dresses can look very sophisticated, especially when paired with big earrings and worn with a neat updo.

I’ll tell you a little secret: I am going to be sharing my own recreation of this gorgeous look with you all soon, so stay tuned! Pink can be a very difficult colour to wear, but a lady in all-pink-everything will definitely turn heads! Just leave the pink tiara at home, please. Only Audrey could pull that off.

How incredibly polished is this look? A simple black dress, big hat and sunglasses - you are ready to conquer the world.

Week 7: Breakfast at Tiffany's. My Audrey Hepburn Look

This pastiche of Audrey Hepburn's iconic black dress look from Breakfast at Tiffany's is my favourite photoshoot so far. I put a lot of time into finding the perfect outfit and accessories and styling everything together. I didn't want to copy the look ecactly from the film, but rather I wanted to present a fresh take while preserving the original’s elegance and beauty.

After researching dozens of stores and online shops, I finally found THE ONE –   this stunningly elegant Vince Camuto dress. It completely stole my heart and was a perfect fit for my day as Holly Golightly/Audrey Hepburn.

Photoshoot in Waldorf Astoria Hotel

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