SueSueApplegate
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Posts posted by SueSueApplegate
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That trailblazing icon of stage and screen, Miss Lena Horne, in a Helen Rose creation.
(Rose created most of Horne's MGM costumes.)
Helen Rose writes lovingly and respectfully of Lena Horne in her autobiography, *Just Make Them* *Beautiful*, and recalled a moment in her memoirs when Lena Horne first reported to the hair department at MGM. The hairdresser turned to stone as soon as she saw the black singer and "refused to work on Lena," claimed Rose. "She said it was against union rules (which I doubted) and that we would have to send out for a black hairdresser. I blew up. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Lena never lost her composure. She just sat quietly, never saying a word, behaving like the lady she is."
Horne, who was, at times, self-conscious about her body image, according to biographer James Gavin, was gifted with Rose's wizardry for design "to spin the illusion that Lena Horne had one of the best bodies on the lot." Gavin's book, *Stormy Weather*, was published in 2009.
During the filming of *Stormy Weather*, personal issues weighed on Horne heavily during the shoot. Wardrobe test photos show a young woman whose seesawing weight had risen. Rose, who designed the costumes for the movie, recalled how she and a depressed Horne bonded for moral support."At that time we were both rather timid and not too experienced in studio procedure or politics," Rose stated. "To keep our sanity, Lena and I talked about everything under the sun, except the studio. We talked of our families, our beliefs, our hopes and dreams."
Through the years with her personal, professional, and political struggles, Lena Horne's armor might be nothing more but a chiffon sheath, but her attitude of strength and courage, ensured that she survived it all ...in style!
Link to an interview with Gail Lumet Buckley, Lena Horne's daughter, on NPR: http://www.ibwff.com/2010/05/flashback-npr-interviews-gail-lumet-buckley-about-her-mother-lena-horne/
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Thank you for those kind words of encouragement, Cinemaven! And, yes, I have done a little reporting before.... B-)
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June Alyson, Joan Collins, Dolores Gray, Ann Sheridan, Ann Miller, and Joan Blondell sporting those delightful Helen Rose creations....
Helen knew how to drape the divas! I especially enjoy all those costumes from *The Opposite Sex.* It would be abfab to have Joan Collins introduce the restored print of that film at TCM Festival 2012 with Robert Osborne. Can anyone arrange that for me?
I just have to know more about Dolores Gray's three-tiered bouffant number with the sparkly azure clutch, Joan Collins' sunrise strapless in tulle with appliqued white poppies, Ann Sheridan's deep v-neck plunge with white satin gloves, Joan Blondell's off-the-shoulder satin number, and Ann Miller's strapless flowered mermaid...
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Doris dons Helen in *Love Me or Leave Me* ...
And this sparkly blue number has sass!
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No, Cinemavester! I cannot believe that it is Mrs. Iselin, or Jessica Fletcher, or Nancy in *Gaslight*, or Edwina Brown in *National Velvet.* Angela Lansbury is a treasure!
And I think that some of her most beautiful moments, even though her character of Em in *Harvey Girls* was a stinker up until the last reel, are in that film. She was absolutely gorgeous, and none of those images I posted here equal the beauty of her persona in the film. She just glows!
She was Princess Gwendolyn in *The Court Jester,* and here's a commissary confidential in a regal Edith Head design.
Here Angela dines on hamburger and french fries, and still retains at least a minimum of regality,
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Angela Lansbury looked her loveliest in these Helen Rose creations for *The Harvey Girls.*
( ^ I think this was a publicity photo.)
Angela-ooh-la-la...
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Thanks Cinemave, and VDOVault for your kind words earlier in the column.
"Just make them beautiful" was Louis B. Mayer's request when Helen Rose was emloyed at MGM.
And she did. Starting at the age of 15, Helen Rose designed night club and stage costumes (some of them for vaudeville), and made some of the most popular wedding dresses of the 20th century for Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell, and Grace Kelly. Rose, one of my favorite designers, also continues to inspire current fashionistas, if you consider the spouse of the future King of England a fashionista. (And I do!)
For Grace Kelly's formal wedding gown, Rose used twenty-five yards of silk taffeta and one hundred yards of silk net. The 125-year-old rose point lace was purchased from a museum and thousands of tiny pearls were hand-sewn on the veil by a small army of wardrobe assistants.
*Kate Middleton's Bridal Ensemble*
*The design..*
The lace appliqué for the bodice and skirt was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace. The lace design was hand-engineered (appliquéd) using the Carrickmacross lace-making technique, which originated in Ireland in the 1820s. Individual flowers have been hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle to create a unique and organic design, which incorporates the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock.
Hand-cut English lace and French Chantilly lace has been used throughout the bodice and skirt, and has been used for the underskirt trim. With laces coming from different sources, much care was taken to ensure that each flower was the same colour. The whole process was overseen and put together by hand by Ms Burton and her team.
The dress is made with ivory and white satin gazar. The skirt echoes an opening flower, with white satin gazar arches and pleats. The train measures two metres 70 centimetres. The ivory satin bodice, which is narrowed at the waist and padded at the hips, draws on the Victorian tradition of corsetry and is a hallmark of Alexander McQueen's designs. The back is finished with 58 gazar and organza covered buttons fastened by Rouleau loops. The underskirt is made of silk tulle trimmed with Cluny lace.
*The Fabrics...*
French Chantilly lace was combined with English Cluny lace to be hand-worked in the Irish Carrickmacross needlework tradition.
All other fabrics used in the creation of the dress were sourced from and supplied by British companies. The choice of fabrics followed extensive research by Sarah Burton and her team.
*The Royal School of Needlework...*
The Royal School of Needlework (RSN), based at Hampton Court Palace, assisted the Alexander McQueen team in accurately cutting out the delicate motifs from the lace fabrics and positioning the lace motifs with precision into the new design. The lace motifs were pinned, 'framed up' and applied with stab stitching every two to three millimetres around each lace motif. The workers washed their hands every thirty minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine, and the needles were renewed every three hours, to keep them sharp and clean.
The RSN workers included existing staff, former staff, tutors, graduates and students, with the youngest aged 19.
The RSN's work was used primarily for the train and skirt of the Bride's dress, the bodice and sleeves, the Bride's shoes and the Bride's veil.
*Veil...*
The veil is made of layers of soft, ivory silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers, which was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework. The veil is held in place by a Cartier 'halo' tiara, lent to Miss Middleton by The Queen. The 'halo' tiara was made by Cartier in 1936 and was purchased by The Duke of York (later King George VI) for his Duchess (later Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) three weeks before he succeeded his brother as King. The tiara was presented to Princess Elizabeth (now The Queen) by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday.
For more information, visit:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/29/sarah-burton-kate-middleton-wedding-dress_n_855299.html
Edited by: SueSueApplegate on Nov 28, 2011 5:46 PM
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I hope the Brown Derby exhibit from the First TCM CLASSIC Cruise EVER can be part of the fun at TCM Film Festival 2012!
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Now the Essential Passes are sold out. They really didn't last long this year!
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Yikes!
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The delightful Helen Rose sketch for Grace Kelly's wedding dress..
The civil ceremony took place on April 18, 1956, and the Catholic ceremony followed on April 19. Helen Rose had dressed Grace for her role in The Swan, also starring Alec Guinness and Louis Jourdan. Some of Rose's other iconic films included The Opposite Sex , Designing Woman, Butterfield 8, Dangerous When Wet, Latin Lovers, and Dream Wife..By the balcony somewhere in Monaco...
Life seemed a veiled mystery about to unfold...
The actual wedding photo of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier...
A formal pose...
Can't get enough of that dress! Here are the lovely maidens surrounding the former Grace Kelly...
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On November 2, 2011, T.S.H.s Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco attended the opening of the highly anticipated exhibition, Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess, at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, Canada..To read more about it, follow this link: http://royalcorrespondent.com/2011/11/03/t-s-h-s-prince-albert-ii-and-princess-charlene-of-monaco-attend-the-opening-of-grace-kelly-from-movie-star-to-princess-exhibition-video/...or this one...: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1080455--royal-newlyweds-arrive-in-toronto-to-open-grace-kelly-exhibit -
Spotlight Passes are SOLD OUT! Yikes! (Call 1-877-TCM-5764 to be put on the waiting list.)
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Cinemavester,
Great *Vertigo* post. I am with Jackeeee...I think you will again be enchanted, but perhaps in a different way...
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Conception with Ava...
Reality...
Conception with Vivien...
Preservation...
Reality...
Conception....
Preservation...
Reality...
Parody...
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Wonderful post!
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Walter Plunkett might be just the right designer for a Halloween theme...
Mae West, then again she may not...
Or a Young Queen Bess!
Or a flame-haired Queen of Technicolor as a gypsy temptress...
Or a Vivien Vixen!
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Thank you for bringing such majestic beauty to this highrise in the concrete jungle of TCM City. We hope to hear from you soon!
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You deserve the best, Barb!
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Teresa Wright is also one of my favorites...I think *Shadow of a Doubt* sealed that adoration for me.
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My dearest thanks, Miss Mave! I would love to, but I am knee-deep in research papers, most of which are about "Harrison Bergeron."
Maybe in a fortnight, or during Shrovetide, because it is definintely past Michelmas.
I must learn to be content with simple perusal of such lofty comments from you, Miss G, and other savvy posters, such as the Queen of Bronxshire....
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I am at work right now, but I just wanted to let you ladies know that I enjoy reading this thread very much. I am so glad that there was interest shown in *Youngblood Hawke*.
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More stylish sketches from the colourful Edith Head:
This is one of Edith's all-time favorites--Grace Kelly's dress for the costume ball sequence in *To Catch a Thief* ...
More Grace from *Rear Window* ...
Elizabeth Taylor's stunning floral-bodiced off-the-shoulder sweeper...
Joan Crawford's rags-to-riches simple stay-at-home smock on steroids...
Audrey Hepburn's *Roman Holiday* regality...
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Happy Belated Birthday, Barb!
I made a yummy surprise just for you! Plus, I am airmailing my homemade cheese crackers, some of my best spaghetti sauce, a crockpot full of minestrone, and some homemade french bread!
Then I will make some homemade Mozart Kugeln candies mit zah almond Marzipan, und a spritz mit B and B wid da crushed pecans und walnut snowflakes...und all dipt in dark chocolate....unless you vant die Constanze Kugeln mit die milk choklat...
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Edith Head looking a little too serious for some of the frivolous ensembles she actually designed....
Like this one for Barbara Stanwyck in *Ball of Fire*.
Edith and Grace Kelly checking out a few sketches...
Remember this little number from *Rear Window* ?
And this stunning fun-in-the-sun number from *To Catch A Thief* ?
SUE SUE'S TCM FESTIVAL TRAVEL BLOG...
in General Discussion
Posted
I hope everyone had a few moments to reflect on those dark December days of 1941 and remember our American servicemen who valiantly served the United States of America and gave their lives to protect us.
My uncle was a galley cook on the ARIZONA and his name is on the momument at Pearl Harbor. Please remember how the efforts made on behalf of the safety of our country continue to inspire the American spirit.
I never met him because I was born many years later, but I knew his spirit, valor, and humor through the lovingly told stories of my family who remembered his many gifts.