Iconic Fashion Films by Sarah Chun
Iconic Fashion Films
{by Sarah Chun of Shop The Shows}
{by Sarah Chun of Shop The Shows}
When did you realize you wanted to review movies?
Because of my limited Cantonese, conversation with my non-English speaking grandfather was typically sparse. He lived with my parents, my brother and me and most days he watched the soccer game on Univision or the news on CCTV, but one day he turned over to TCM. The image of Lana Turner modeling some exquisite fashions caught my attention right away. Apparently, my grandfather had seen Imitation of Life several times on the big screen and it still brought tears to his eyes. Seeing him well up, I sat down and joined him. I didn’t know the plot details, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t long before Mahalia Jackson’s choir performance broke me down. To this day when a film shakes me up like that, I tend to go on about it to anyone within earshot, and so I started writing down my ramblings.
All-time favorite movie:
I have too many favorites! At the moment, I’m loving Auntie Mame starring Rosalind Russell. I recently watched it again for the zillionth time and I am always struck by Mame’s joie de vivre. “Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!” I love her witticisms and charisma whether enduring the stock market crash, charming the in laws over a chaotic hunt, to hosting divine dinner parties or attending dreadful ones.
Movie you quote a lot:
Annie Hall. I relate to both Annie’s awkward eccentricities and Alvy’s neuroses. Some of my favorite lines include, “Oh, well, ha-ha. La-dee-da, la-dee-da, la-la, yeah,” which is my go to line to transitioning from awkward conversation. And Alvy to Annie: “I lurve you. I loave you. I luff you. Love is too weak a word.” I just luff that stuff.
Movie character that reminds you of yourself:
Annie Hall, mainly her social awkward musings.
Movie you wish you could un-see:
As an Audrey Hepburn super-fan, I couldn’t unsee the whole movie, but parts of Breakfast at Tiffany’s are painful to watch. I love Hepburn’s performance especially her rendition of “Moon River” and the fashions are a stunning example of 60s style, but the parts with Mr. I.Y. Yunioshi make me cringe. Mickey Rooney’s bucktoothed yellowface caricature of him is a painfully overt racist depiction of an Asian man that distracts from the rest of the film. I’m glad to see how far we’ve come and am optimistic in looking forward.
You can find Sarah writing at Shop The Shows and Style Bust.
Learn why Sarah curated a section of best fashion movies: I always wanted to dress like I was in the movies. Classic films have been my fashion education - informing, influencing and inspiring my personal style and love for timeless design. While film fashions serve as costumes or period pieces, designs reflect their era and can spark trends that change the direction of mainstream fashion. Costume designers like Edith Head and Jean Louis designed some of the most stylish clothes on films, making stars and fashion icons of the actresses who wore them. From Lauren Bacall to Diane Keaton – I love these leading ladies for their incredible poise, intellect, humor, spunk, and their impeccable style. For my selection of films spread across diverse film genres and eras, I wanted to highlight movies that I love for both their stories and their iconic fashion.
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- Pandora's Box: The Criterion Collection DVD
- One of the masters of early German cinema, G. W. Pabst had an innate talent for discovering actresses (including Greta Garbo). And perhaps none of his female stars shone brighter than Kansas native and onetime Ziegfeld girl Louise Brooks, whose legendary persona was defined by Pabst's lurid,… [ read more ]
- $39.95
- The Big Sleep DVD
- Iconic on-screen pair Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall star in the heart thumping noir thriller "The Big Sleep" (1946). Based on Raymond Chandler's debut novel and directed by Howard Hawks, "The Big Sleep" follows Bogart as a private investigator hired by dying millionaire to protect his… [ read more ]
- $19.98
- How To Marry A Millionaire Blu-ray
- One of the first movies filmed in glorious CinemascopeÖ, this funny and sexy romantic comedy looks like a million dollars on Blu-Ray. Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable star as three gorgeous models who concoct a wild scheme to marry rich men. The girls rent a lavish Manhattan… [ read more ]
- $24.99
- Roman Holiday: Special Collector's Edition DVD
- "Meticulously restored frame by frame with brilliant picture and sound quality. Starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in her Oscar-winning, first starring role. Roman Holiday was nominated for ten Academy Awards, and Audrey Hepburn captured an Oscar for her portrayal of a modern-day… [ read more ]
- $8.99
- North By Northwest DVD
- "One of Hitchcock's most entertaining American thrillers." -Pauline Kael, 5001 NIGHTS AT THE MOVIES Cary Grant teams with director Alfred Hitchcock for the fourth and final time in this superlative espionage caper judged one of the American Film Institute's Top-100 Films and spruced up with… [ read more ]
- $5.98
- Bonnie And Clyde DVD
- Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway ravage the screen as partners-in-crime, in "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967). The drama centers around the beautiful Bonnie Parker, played by Dunaway, disgusted by her blasé life and wanted a blood-rushing change. To her surprise, she is bewildered by the charming… [ read more ]
- $14.98
- Rosemary's Baby: The Criterion Collection DVD
- Terrifying and darkly comic, Rosemary's Baby marked the Hollywood debut of Roman Polanski (Repulsion). This wildly entertaining nightmare, faithfully adapted from Ira Levin's best seller, stars a revelatory Mia Farrow (Hannah and Her Sisters) as a young mother-to-be who grows increasingly… [ read more ]
- $29.95
- Annie Hall (Repackage) DVD
- Romantic adventures of neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer and his equally neurotic girlfriend Annie Hall. The film traces the course of their relationship from their first meeting, and serves as an interesting historical document about love in the 1970s. Expert Review: Annie… [ read more ]
- $14.98
- Love Story DVD
- Strife-torn America wanted a meat-and-potatoes romance in the late '60s, and the country embraced Erich Segal's slim, generic-sounding novel in a big way. It did so again for the film adaptation in 1970, starring Ryan O'Neal as a law student who defies his rich and powerful father (Ray… [ read more ]
- $9.98
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