How Retro.com

Wooden Framed Sunglasses

2013-06-07T21:39:00.000-07:00

The Wood Look

What goes around comes around in the fashion industry and that's certainly true of sunglasses, the designers of which often look to the past for inspiration, as evidenced by the many retro designs on the market.

Sunglasses with a distinctive wood look have become popular of late and the style refllects mid century sunglass fashions, when wood was commonly used in the frames.

The Baghdad sunglasses below are 'wood effect' rather than real wood but they are also very reasonably priced and once they're on you really can't tell the difference. I bought a pair of these recently and they do have a definite retro look, reminiscent of the 1950s.

Baghdad retro style wood effect sunglasses

Baghdad wood look sunglasses in action

Silvano retro wayfarers with wood and tortoiseshell frames

Wood and Tortoiseshell Blend

Another popular 50s style was the combination of tortoiseshell around the glass but with wooden arms in the wayfarer style, a reproduction of which can be seen in the Silvanos in the picture the at right, although these days plastic, rather than super expensive real tortoiseshell is used.

Sustainable Sunglasses

For the environmentally conscious, Don has brought out a pair of environmentally sustainable sunglasses made from bamboo and polarised lenses. A bit more more expensive that the Baghdads, these are a prety swish pair of sunglasses and have a more masculine look, with an aviator influence.

Handmade Don bamboo sunglasses

Woodzee bamboo sunglasses

Chunky Woodzees

For an ultra trendy wood look, check out thease chunky bamboo Woodzees with an amber lens. They offer 100 percent UV protection in a style that will attract attention.

They look heavy but being bamboo they are in fact extremely light and again, environmentally sound. Available in dark Cardiff stain or light or dark colours, the Woodzees can be found here.

Louis Vuitton wood framed sunglasses with metal insert

Shwood oswald select sunglasses

Luxury Wood Frames

At the top end of the market you'd be paying a pretty penny for these luxurious Louis Vuitton sunglasses (at right) but nice if you can afford it.

The Cartier's below are slightly more affordable and reflect a nice blend between retro and modern styles - the fine wood accent looks just great with the silver frame.

Shwood (below right) also has a great range of wooden frames - again pricey but excellent quality and style. According to their spiel, they merge "precision technology with classic skilled craftsmanship to create a timeless art form". The full range can be found here.

Decorating with Chandeliers

2013-06-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

"The term "chandelier" is from the 12th Century Old French world Chandelier, which evolved from an earlier, 10th century term chandelabre. That's not the end of the story though, because chandelabre came from the latin word candela, meaning candle.

They have a very old and grand history and have been used to grace the fine houses and mansions of the landed gentry and aristocrats of Europe for centuries.

Chandeliers add a fabulous touch of romantic distinction to any living room, bedroom or dining-room. I've even seen them used to great effect even in bathrooms. They work particularly well with French Provincial or Shabby Chic design elements.

Design Changes

Of course in the early days, pre-electricity, all chandeliers employed candles as a light source. The earliest were used in Medieval assembly halls, where light was required to cover a large area. They worked on a hoist mechanism, using a rope or chain suspended by a hook from the ceiling and could be raised or lowered to light the candles.

Modern reproductions of the 'Old European' Medieval style combine the feel and look of the old style with modern functionality. The Laura Lee design at right is created from hand forged iron, holding nine "candles". This would look wonderful hanging over a rustic wooden table.

By the 15th Century chandelier designs were becoming ever more complex and elaborate and were developing into a symbol of luxury and status. Not only were the chandeliers themselves expensive, but so was the cost of lighting them.

A rising wealthy merchant class meant that by the 18th century they were appearing in more and more homes. The style was changing too and instead of being made simply from wood orr iroon, elaborate cast metal and gilded wood versions were being produced.

Mood Lighting

With the invention of gas lighting and later electricity, the candles were replaced. Chandeliers could now become fixed ceiling features. They had come a long way from the crude but effective designs of the Medieval period and ever more elaborate designs were coming onto the market, including magnificent Bohemian crystal designs that illuminated rooms with a sparkling beauty.

In grand ballrooms and dining-rooms crystal chandeliers dripping with opulent elegance created a fabulous mood of luxurious warmth..like basking in jewelled sunlight.

Mini Chandeliers

These days chandeliers don't have to make a grand ballroom statement. The mini chandelier at right, by Minka Lavery is designed to fit into small spaces, such as above a desk or in a reading alcove or decorative nook.

The idea is to create an interesting, casual ambiance by using a traditionally elaborate decorative piece in unexpected ways.

Today's chandeliers come in an amazing variety of shapes and sizes, for every room and occasion....from the mini light to a huge overhanging chandelier. They blend the traditional stylistic designs of the past with contemporary features to create a romantically beautiful yet practical form of lighting.

Through it's long history all of its period transformations, the the chandelier has remained an object of beauty and elegance and has never gone out of style.

Top of the Range: Molteni Stoves

2013-06-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

It was the master chefs of the 1920's who helped direct the development of Molteni stoves, a brand name synonymous with high quality, prestigious and expensiveprofessional stoves and rangehoods. Founder, Joseph Molteni crafted his ranges on the advice and specifications of master chefs and for decades, Molteni stoves and cooktops have been uitilised in some of the best kitchens of the industry.

Recently however, Molteni has moved into domestic home kitchens, offering the household some of the most beautiful and efficient stoves available. They are made to last and apart from the A grade performance, come in a variety of striking colours and gleaming finishes. From the glistening gold knobs to the smoothly opening drawers and fine accents, Molteni reeks of craftsmenship and attention to detail.

Molteni Classic range

Strictly For the Luxury Kitchen

Molteni stoves are big, therefore they not for every kitchen and they are, as you would expect, hand-wringingly expensive - the home range having been designed primarily for the luxury kitchen. However, if you are fortunate enough to have both the room and the funds, they would be a fantastic acquisition.

Molteni craftsmen boast an emphasis on attention to detail, durability and state of the art technology. The solid steel stoves are virtually hand made, having been manufactured one at a time, according to customer specifications.

Moltini Podium

Joseph Molteni

Joseph Molteni, the original stove maker, was born into an ancient tradition of craftsmanship and lived in Drome, just outside Provence. Molteni used to manufacturefourneaux bouilleurs - wood and coal stoves that served the multiple purpose of cooking, central heating and heating water.

What really set him apart was that he listened to his customers; master chefs of the day, taking into account their individual personalities and methods of cooking. This started the Molteni tradition of painstakingly customising their product to suit the user.

The Rolls Royce of Stoves

Described as the 'Rolls Royce' of stoves, Molteni restaurant stoves are around seventy percent more expensive than the average hotel cooker, which is a large divide, yet the price discrepancy only adds to the prestige and the divide in price is equal to the divide in quality. Restaurant models are made entirely of cast iron and don't need servicing for two decades. According to Hotelier and CatererMagazine: "They are an island sland in itself, equipped with everything that a chef would typically need to run a speciality or multi-cuisine restaurant."

Although the name of Joseph Molteni is part of the brand's historical image, Molteni was at some point acquired by the Electrolux group, a Swedish company named by Forbes Magazine as one of the top five companies in the world for consumer durable goods.

Detail and craftsmanship is what sets Molteni apart

Chesterfield Couches

2013-06-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

History of the Chesterfield Sofa

Apparently many Canadians refer to any sofa as a Chesterfield but this is news to me as I've always associated the name with a particular type of classic, large, leather couch, with a padded, buttoned upholstery - very solid and disguished looking and very British. According to the Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, the term Chesterfield is generally used to describe a sofa created in honour of Philip Stanhope, the fourth Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773).

True Chesterfields (as opposed to any old couch) are indeed very distinctive, with a low rolled back and thick, supportive, yet extremely comfortable padding. Chesterfields look even better with the patina of age and as they are made from good quality leather, they're hardy and virtually never wear out, unless you treat them abusively. Perhaps they might survive even then.

Philip Lord Chesterfield

Who was the fourth Earl of Chesterfield?

Philip Stanhope, the fourth Earl of Chesterfield, was an eminent man of letters; a statesman and a whig (a political party in the parliament of England). Born in 1694 and died in 1773, he lived a long life for the times but was not, at least according to Hugh Chisholm, in the 1911 version of the Encyclopedia Britannica, of a particularly admirable character:

Chesterfield was selfish, calculating and contemptuous; he was not naturally generous, and he practised dissimulation until it became part of his nature....

In spite of his brilliant talents and of the admirable training he received, his life, on the whole, cannot be pronounced a success.

Hmmm...well if nothing else, he did inspire a sterling piece of furniture in the Chesterfield couch.

The comfortable and distinguished Chesterfield

Chesterfield Sofas for Straight Backs and Psychoanalysis

Most armchair (couch?) historians suggest the Earl commissioned the couch himself from a cabinet maker because he wanted a piece of furniture that would allow gentlemen to sit with their backs straight and avoid uncomfortable movements and positions. In any case, there is general agreement that the Chesterfield and the Earl are intertwined in history.

Ah now..lie back and tell me all about your mother...

Chesterfields also have a strong association wth psychoanalysis as they represent the classic 'psychiatrist's couch', as represented in literature and film. Evidently Freud did use a Chesterfield in his consultations - he was exploring the unconscious and needed to create a relaxed comfortable environment in which to do it. Thus, while his patients drifted off gently on the Chesterfield he would conduct his psychoanalysis.

Why Own a Chesterfield?

Well if it's good enough for Freud...

As a piece of furniture, traditional Chesterfield couches are about as good as it gets. Long regarded as an elitist piece of furniture, hand crafted by skilled tradesman and out of most people's reach, they are genrally more expensive than the average sofa, however you are buying a quality piece of substantial leather furniture that will outlast most other couches.

One thing is certain...the Chesterfield will never go out of style. Furniture fads come and go but the Chesterfield endures. Its presence would add comfort, luxury and distinction to any home.

Vitage Chesterfield Advertisements

1919 Ad Chesterfield Furniture Upholstered Couch NY - Original Print Ad

Amazon Price: $41.95

1918 Ad Chesterfield Upholstered Furniture Silk Couch - Original Print Ad

Amazon Price: $39.95

Soft fabric version of the Chesterfield.

Elsa Schiaparelli; Shocking

2013-06-06T00:59:00.000-07:00

Shocking Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli was one of Coco Chanel's biggest rivals. In the Paris scene of the 1930s, the Italian born Schiaparelli personified cultivated chic and was a style leader among the fashion icons of the era. Many of her designs were drawn from the creative influences of the Paris art scene and she collaborated with Salvador Dali and sculptor, Alberto Giacometti.

Alas, unlike Coco Chanel and others, Schiaparelli fashion failed to be pulled along by the ebb and flow of the fashion world and remained too steadfastly tied to the fashion flavours of the past. Rising stars like Christian Dior had a finger on the contemporary pulse and were coming up with fresh looks Schiaparelli failed to match. Highly individual, Elsa Schiaprella's strong-willed personality somehow resisted the forces of change that were beyond her control. The business languished after World War II and eventually folded in the early 1950s.

Elsa Schiaparelli

Shocking! The Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli

Amazon Price: $374.95
List Price: $65.00

Privileged Beginnings

Born in 1890 in the beautiful Palazzo Corsini in Rome, Elsa Schiaperelli's mother was a Neapolitan aristocrat and her father Dean of the University of Rome and a highly distinguished scholar of medieval manuscripts.

Elsa herself studied philosophy at University and during this time her natural propensity to be shockingbecame evident - she published a book of sensual poems that so shocked her family she was packed off to a convent until she staged a hunger strike and was allowed to escape to London to work as a nanny.

Not that she needed employment, as wherever she went, her wealthy family kept her in considerable comfort. Elsa found such gratuitous privilege stifling to her creativity, so she avowed to make her own way, travelling first to New York and then to Paris, where she became a couturier.

1937 Lobster dress - the result of a creative collaboration between Salvador Dali and Elsa Schiaparelli

Innovative

As a pre-war designer, Schiaparelli was extremely innovative and has been hugely influential on the fashion world, combining the artistic influences of the era with fashion design to produce highly creative pieces- her first line of knitwear featured surrealist motifs and among other innovations, she was the first to use coloured zippers, culottes ( divided skirts that looked like long shorts), wedge shoes, animal fur belts, ornate, quirky buttons that looked like brooches and interesting themes on her patterns and emblems, such as body parts, food and hand prints.

It was Schiaparelli who came up with the concept of the 'boyish figure' believing it was the best of all shapes on which to advantageously display her clothes and she created the theatrical runway concept that utilised art, music and tall, elongated models.

Shocking de Schiaparelli

Elsa Schiaparelli's signature fragrance, Shocking is one of the most divine perfumes in the world, however i do confess to a personal bias here, as it was my mother's favourite and mine too, when I could get my hands on it. In Australia it was very hard to get and had to be especially ordered from Paris. Shocking was released in 1937 and the fragrance was created by renown French perfumer Jean Carles.

Shocking's hot pink packaging was designed by surrealist painter, Leonor Fini and the distinctive bottle is styled in the form of a woman's torso. The vibrant colour of the Shocking box was inspired by a pink diamond, the Tête de Belier owned by a Schiaparelli client - society beauty, Daisy Fellowes. As Schiaparelli said in her own words:

I gave to a pink...the nerve of a red

Shocking was designed to reflect the designers own personality and it became the title of her autobiography, written in 1954..Shocking Life,

Changes to the Formula?

According to Fragrance Review, the formula for Shocking was redesigned by Martin Gras of Gragococo in the late 90s and is not the same as the vintage fragrance, which is heartbreaking news for Shocking fans. So if you can get your hands on a pre '97 bottle grab it. Why Gras wanted to meddle with the formula, I cannot say.

Yves Saint Laurent Style

2013-06-06T00:56:00.000-07:00

The Style King

Easily one of the most recognizable figures in fashion history, by the end of his life, Algerian born Yves Saint Laurent had managed to make his name synonymous with elegant style.

A precocious adolescent, Laurent began designing clothes professionally at 17, while working as a couturier to an assistant of fashion great Christian Dior. Over a career that spanned over fifty years, before his death in 2008, he revolutionized several aspects of the high fashion industry and influenced a host of designers who came after him.

Saint Laurent's rise to fame was phenomenally rapid; at 21 he was named Head of Dior and his first major collection in the spring of 1958 brought him international acclaim - his Trapeze dress, in particular had wowed the industry and public alike.

Achievements

A kind of flared circus tent-like design, the dress was unlike anything before, yet the revolutionary style worked - not only were Trapeze dresses worn throughout the sixties but as the saying goes 'anything good comes around again', they also seen a return to popularity in recent times.

Among his many achievements Saint Laurent made ready to wear clothes a chic and acceptable option. Prior to that breakthrough off the rack clothes were considered well below par by the moneyed, fashionable elite.

Another breakthrough came with his 1966 collection, which introduced the androgynous look and notably, the tuxedo for women - a concept that was so successful it continued to be worn for several decades.

After a brief stint in the army in 1960, due to conscription and which ended in illness, Dior extricated himself from Dior and with his partner, Pierre Berge, started up his own fashion house-House of YSL. Along with his high couture collections, Saint Laurent 's ready to wear line, which included a wide range of accessories, perfumes and cosmetics, was hugely successful and overall netted him far more money that his high fashion, couture ventures.

Although not all his collections were met with the same universal acclaim, Saint Laurent had so many successes his name acquired an elevated stautus in the fashion world and among the public any product with the YSL signature logo denoted quality and style.

Not only was he the first fashion designer to be honoured with an exhibition by the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art under the auspices ofdformer british Vogue editor, Diana Vreeland, but in 2001 he was given France's highest accolade - the Legion of Honour.

The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge

Amazon Price: $59.05
List Price: $95.00

Yves Saint Laurent Tribal Y Shell Braided Rope Bracelet, Ivory

Visionary

"The most beautiful clothes that can dress a woman are the arms of the man she loves. But for those who haven't had the fortune of finding this happiness, I am there."~YSL

One of Saint Laurent's greatest strengths was his eye for social change, possessing the imagination to create styles that reflected the shifting sands for women, as well as men.

YSL was an innovator all the way along - from his early trapeze dress and other revolutionary styes, to his use of ethnic models, and his vast ready-to-wear line, the man who once remarked "fashions fade but style is eternal" lay a bold trail for others to follow.

Yves Saint Laurent died in 2008 as the result of a brain tumour but not before being joined in a civil union with his long-term partner, Pierre Berge. Romantically, his ashes were scattered amid a beautiful garden in Marrachech, Morocco, which seemed a fitting conclusion for a man of style.

Andy Warhol's Soup Cans

2013-06-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

Warhol's Soup Factory

Artist Andy Warhol once remarked in his non-chalant fashion, "art is about liking things". Well Warhol must have been very fond of Campell's soup cans because he painted quite a few of them - 32 in total and all uniformly measuring 510 mm by 410 mm. They were created in 1962, using a silkscreen printing method and each can displaying the varieties of soup Campbells had on offer at the time. artist took ordinary objects from popular culture and emphasised them in ways that transformed them into iconic 'art'.

By the 1960s,the soup can, in all its glorious mundaneness, had been a familiar object to millions. By removing the cans from a familiar domestic context and placing them in a space normally reserved for works of art he was at once mocking the seriousness of the art establishment and at the same time elevating popular culture to the level of art.

Pop Art

The movement known as Pop Art emerged first in England in the mid 1950's and spread across the Atlantic to the US a few years later. During this time, artists became interested in mass media and the consumer products that were being marketed everywhere.The postwar period of the 50's and 60's saw a commercial boom as, after the austerity of the war years, people had more disposable income to spend.

Andy Warhol; the Biggest Brand of All

Of the American pop Art movement, Warhol is perhaps the most famous...he was a notoriously strange character and it's hard to know for sure whether works like the Campbell soup can series and later his series on Mariyn Monroe are imbued with any sort of cynicism about his contemporary world or whether they come from a certain naive affection and affinity for the world he lived in. They certainly served him well on a financial level.

Reputedly, he had a postive view of modern culture and had a tendency to look at everything with an interested, artists eye, however ordinary the sight he beheld. As he said himself, "I like boring things".

Andy Warhol had been a successful graphic artist/illustrator who worked in advertising himself; he understood the industry and its nuances. That is, he had a good idea of what triggered recognition in the public psyche. Many of his projects, not just in Pop Art but in film and music as well, were avant garde and challenging - at the very least least they compelled people think about what was going on around them and to recognise the iconic in popular culture.

Small Torn Campbells Soup Can, 1962

Warhol

Cans of Money

"Art is what you can get away with."~ Andy Warhol

In any case, perhaps because he was the first to paint an ordinary object with such glaring and daring obviousness, the Campbell's soup cans were hugely successful for Warhol, while he was alive and especially after he died. In 1962 you could buy a work such as Small Torn Campbell’s Soup Can for a paltry 30 dollars, yet the same work was purchased recently for $11.7 million..a massive escalation in price.

The Campbell's series was something of a watershed in modern art, as it was now possible to be an artist without the passion and the feeling...Warhol was cool. Art critic Robert Hughes put it succinctly in his series, American Visions when he said of Warhol:

(without realising it) He was a conduit for a sort of collective American state of mind in which celebrity - the famous image of a person, the famous brand name - had completely replaced both sacredness and solidity

Batik Art

2013-06-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

Batik is an Indonesian word and refers to a particular method of dying cloth known as 'resist dying', whereby part of the cloth is deliberately prevented from absorbing colour dyes. Instead of a uniformly patterned colour effect, Batik cloth is a vibrant mix of hues, with varying colour intensity on different parts of the cloth.

Wax or paste is commonly used in traditional resist dying - this is applied to various parts of the cloth before the whole is dipped in dye. As the wax is usually applied by hand and the process not exact, a more random colour pattern is achieved, with indistinct, rather than precise borders around the patches of colour. It's a process that has been used in Asia, Egypt and Africa since ancient times.

Source: Image

Batik reflects the patterns of nature

Source: Image

Natural Look

Batik gives a much more natural look to the material than machine died cloth with its precise, repeating patterns and reflects something of the the beautiful, merging of colours of nature found, among other things, in flowers and variegated plants. Many batik artists take their inspiration from nature, animals and folklore.

Styles of batik range from simple designs to extremely intricate patterns, requiring great skill and practise. Traditionally, batik colours were made from natural ingredients and included brown, indigo (blue) and white, representing the Hindu Gods but modernised techniques allow for a variety of colours. .

Japanese inspired Indonesian batik made during the Japanese occupation of Java.

Source: Image

Javanese Batik

The island of Java in Indonesia developed a particularly beautiful and complex form of batik and its craft people are renown for their skillful techniques, which they exported to other parts of the world.

Javanese batik artists used a tool called a canton, which is a small copper container with a bamboo handle (see image below). In the traditional batik technique, known astulis, the canton is filled with wax (beeswax mixed with parrafin, resins and fat), which is then strategically poured onto the cloth by hand(densely woven natural fibre, such as cotton or silk), in accordance with the desired pattern. Often trickles of wax will escape from the outline of the pattern, creating interesting effects and giving the cloth a unique and distinctive character.

The canting tool has different sized spouts to create a variety of patterns.Before the procedure begins, the cloth has to be washed and boiled several times so that any impurities and deposits on the cloth that might interfere with the process are removed.The cloth is then smoothed, ready for the application of wax.The cloth is then immersed in dye and as the waxed parts aren't dyed they are left uncoloured. The cloth is then gently washed in warm water to remove the wax, after which it is then re-waxed and dipped into a different coloured dye, creating more contrasting colours. Usually lighter colours are used for the first dying, so they can be overlaid with deeper, darker ones.

A batik artist at work, using a canton, also known as a wax pen.

Source: Image

Although it is still used, the traditional batik tulis method is very time consuming - a particularly intricate and complex design can take months to finish. Many batik artists, including the Javanese, also employ modern techniques, known as batik cap and batik print which speeds up the process considerably.The Javanese invented a cap made of red copper for stamping designs rather than hand drawing with the wax pen (canting) and works in a similar way to European wood block prints. Patterns are formed by attaching thin metal bands to a frame with a handle.

Batik cap, which has been used since the 1800s, is still a tricky process and requires concentration and precision, though certainly it has made the cost of batik much more affordable. However, some batik enthusiasts believe it is less creative, too exact and lacks the interesting and unpredictable characteristics of traditional tulis batik. Interestingly,in Java, it is mainly women who still use the traditional canton technique. Men took over batik making when the cap technique was invented, seeing the economic possibilities of a faster, cheaper process.

Batik painting

Source: Image

Batik Art in the 1970s

With the ascendance of the alternative 'hippy' culture in the late 60s and 70s, Westerners began to look toward Asian craft for new style inspirations and a more natural look and feel, using natural fibres. During this time Batik clothing became very popular and appeared on T-shorts, kaftans and scarves, as well as wall hangings, throws and duvet covers. The batik wrap skirt, in particular became emblematic of the era.

Iwan Tirta, an Indonesian fashion designer, is generally credited with instigating the 70s batik revival. When he finished a law degree in New York in 1970 Tirta returned to his homeland of Indonesia and instead of practising law, he became inspired by traditional culture, emerging as a designer and cultural advocate in the process. Using traditional cloths and design, Tirta created his own fashion designs, wrote books about batik and promoted it within the fashion industry, via magazines, and in shows. Although the hippy movement helped to popularise batik in the West, Tirta became critical of the kind of mass produced, printed batik that later began to be sold around the world, regarding it as vastly inferior to the traditional handmade method of manufacture.

The Coolness of Smeg Fridges

2013-05-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

Smeg is an innovative, Italian based company specialsing in high quality home appliances for the trendy, moneyed set. Their vintage designs are reminiscent of the 1950's and 60's yet incorporate top engineering and the latest technology.

Founded in the 1940's, Smeg is a family owned company, under the guidance of Roberto Bertazonni, who had the vision to employ some of the best Italian architects (such as Mario Bellini, Guido Canali and Renzo Piano), to work for the business. Smeg's strength was to see appliances as something more than utilitarian objects - with Smeg function and form work together and one is not overshadowed by the other. One of the more iconic objects in Smeg's range of products is the iconic retro refrigerator..otherwise know as The Smeg.

Hand-finished, limited edition of ithe Smeg FAB28

Red Smeg

Cachet

A Smeg refrigerator is a desirable object, with its rounded, retro lines, cool functionality and stunning finish. The European beauties come in a variety of colours, way beyond the bland white and stainless steel of many other manufacturers. The handle alone, is a design achievement - great looking and easy to use.

Available colours include red, lime green, mint green, pastel blue, orange, pastel green,silver, black, pink, blue, cream and some limited edition colour combos (such as the stripe at right) that may be hard to get.

There's no doubt uber cool Smegs have a fashionable aura and almost have a cult following - it's the vintage charm. They have been featured in various films such as V for Vendetta and East Enders and styistically, are an antidote to the souless modern appliances that permeate contemporary showrooms.

Specs

The classic Smeg has a capacity of 9.22 Cu. Ft. (271 Litres) Dimensions are (HxWxD) 57½ x 23⅝ x 27½ inches and features include:

Antibacterial interior
Interior light
Defrost
Thermostat: Adjustable
3 adjustable glass shelves
1 bottle storage shelf
1 fixed glass shelf
4 adjustable bins
1 fruit and vegetable container
1 Ice cube tray
1 diary box
2 adjustable covered bins
2 bottle storage bin
Rating: Tropical
2 egg bins

Perfect for the City trendoid - matching mini and Smeg fridge

Inside a Smeg

Vittorio Bertazzoni

Vittorio Bertazzoni, was born in a tiny village in Italy called Guastalla and started out as an enameled appliances manufacturer and made a name for himself through the use of unique designs and quality craftsmanship.

Smeg is an acronym for Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla, meaning “metal enameling factory of Guastalla - too much of a mouthful for most customers.

Buzzwords

2013-05-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

What's a Buzzword?

Good question. A buzzword is a word that has become so fashionable and over-used, it's almost a slogan. Often such words begin as pop-psychology jargon in the corporate, media or academic world and then spread out to become more widely used.

A buzzword can come across as pretentious, as the word may be an attempt to make something seem more important than it is. When someone says they felt "empowered", what do they really mean? They felt stronger, better, more able to cope? "Empowered" implies they've been injected with a superhuman tonic, which of course they haven't so it's really just a feel-good word designed to motivate people for political, social or personal reasons.

Buzzwords aren't necessarily a bad thing but they do tend to be overused, sometimes to the point where they become meaningless and just glide over the listener, elliciting no emotional response. Often they're very effective as a motivational tool and can stir people to action, such as the call for "the empowernent of women", though that term is now so tired few would be excited by it. They can also be suffocating and even a form of compulsion, especially in a corporate or academic environment, when it becomes a requirement to speak in buzzwords.

Do Buzzwords Deaden the Language?

Buzzwords may be commandeered for propaganda purposes too, and in this case can be dangerous tools of persuasion that allow for no dissent. A popular buzzword term over the the decades has been the expression '"war on drugs", which some people might think is okay except it allows for no discussion or alternative approaches. Using language in this way is similar to George Orwell'snewspeak. Orwell believed buzzwords were used as a kind of convenience; It's so much easier to just copy invented words and phrases than it is to come up with your own. Yet in the end, the buzzword becomes deadened and dull - no-one really listens.

George Orwell's Newspeak

Ingsoc-newspeak for the totalitarian ideology of Oceania

Orwell's concept of newspeak was of a State controlled language that was parred down and simplified, so that shades of dangerous nuance could be removed. In the novel 1984, newspeak was the official language of Oceania, although it was not yet widespread and woudn't have taken over until 2050, by which time it would have completely superceded oldspeak (normal language).

The idea was that once newspeak had taken over, a subersive idea would literally be unthinkable, as there would be no word to express it. The new language of newspeak was divided into three classes of grammar- A vocabulary, B Vocabularyand C vocabulary. A vocabulary was for everday words to express ordinary things such as eating, drinking, sleeping etc. They had very exact meanings and are stripped of any secondary nuance. B Vocabulary were compound words, made up of two words or parts of words joined together in an easy form. The object of the B vocabulary was to encourage a particular political mindset through simplified but forceful language. The C vocabulary were supplemental and contained expedient but unmistakable technical and scientific words and terms used by specialty workers. They had only a singular meaning and no other and were not used in everyday or political speak,

Image from spacekimono

Some Examples of Buzz Words

Best Practices-The best possible method or way of doing a job

Core Competencies-Abilities and capabilities unique to a particular company or individual

Critical path-Everything in sequence that must be completed on schedule before tn entire project is complete

Enabler-One who helps someone take a particular course of action

Empowerment-Feeling a sense of strength and power

Functionality-Function or feature

Meme-An aspect of culture that is passed from one individual to another non-genetically

Monetize-turn something into a money-making proposition, commercialise it

Incentivization-A combination of incentive and motivation

Thinimizatation-Keeping it thin, paring things down, minimizing the fat.

Paradigm-A worldview or ana archtypal example or model of something

Paradigm Shift-A changing worldview, eg; a changing cultural model

Sea Change-A change of direction, following a new path

Synergy-Working together, a joint effort

Value Added-An enhancement offered to a product or service by a company before it's offered to a customer

Marilyn Monroe Posters

2013-05-14T19:47:00.002-07:00

MARILYN MONROE LIPS - 24x36 - ART PRINT / POSTER Collections Poster Print, 24x36 Collections Poster Print, 24x36

Amazon Price: $2.89
List Price: $6.99

Photogenic

Marilyn Monroe, AKA Norma Jean Baker, was one of the most photogenic women in the world. So powerful were her images, she still continues to fascinate half a century after her death. What made her so photogenic?

Well for one thing, many of her pictures were taken by the world's best photographers, including Ceceil Beaton, Philipe Halsman and Eve Arnold ...but it was more than that. Marilyn had many attractive features tht the camera loved; she had the curvacious lines and voluptous shape that resonated in the 1950's; unike the idealised super-slim figures of today she was fleshy, though not fat.

Her facial features were unique and sensuous. Posessed of a rather large, heart shaped head, her big, deep-set eyes were beautifully set and wide apart, her forehead was broad and her lips were generously proportioned. However, perhaps what really set her apart was the langorous, sexual poses she expressed....she oozed a kind of vulnerable sex-appeal and behind the soft, blue-grey eyes, a hint of tragic neediness lurked. As author William Manchester remarked: "Marilyn's need to be desired was so great that she could make love to a camera."

In addition to her natural charms, the dramatic make-up and clothes of the era suited the camera and Marlyn was the perfect canvas. She wore the markers of the classic sex symbol through her stylized look - the platinum hair, dark, arched brows, deeply coloured lips and black rimmed eyes all emphasised her look and worked photogenically.

GB Eye Marilyn Monroe Rules Poster

Amazon Price: $4.79 List Price: $6.99

Marilyn Monroe Poster Print, 24x37 Poster Print, 24x37

Amazon Price: $1.97
List Price: $7.99

Complex

Marilyn's troubled childhood and the lasting effects of her relationship with her unstable, mentally ill mother are well documented. She was a complex woman..a kind of damaged ideal, whose image seems to mean different things to different people. Some see her as a tortured, unhappy soul, others as soft and vulnerable and others still as relying too much on her sex appeal. Her internal life and the suddeness of her death are something of a mystery. The two most significant men in her life were poles apart - Baseballer Joe Demaggio and playwright, Arthur Miller. When asked once what man she most admired, she replied "Albert Einstein". This suggests that Marilyn valued intelligence and she was no doubt conscious that people tended to value her own worth in terms of her sex appeal.

(16x20) Marilyn Monroe in Billowy White Dress, Photo Print Poster

Amazon Price: $0.25
List Price: $15.00

Marilyn's Image Outlived Her

As the song goes her candle burnt out long before the legend ever did" - Marilyn Monroe, aka, Norma Jean Baker, was just 36 when she died in her her home in Brentwood LA, from an overdose of barbituates. The final years of her life had been sucked up in a maelstrom of personal problems, including depression, insecurity, alcohol and drug abuse.

Like other Hollywood icons before her, she was entrapped by her own powerfully sexualised image - the woman inside was really a mystery, certainly to her public, who were, and still are, enthralled by the films and photographs. A commodity in the Hollywood system, there were few chances to escape the industry creation she had become.

Many of those who knew her spoke of her desire for self-improvement, and, tellingly, for normalcy. Somehow she could never quite manage it...as she said herself:

"After all, if I can't be myself, what's the good of being anything at all?'

Marilyn Monroe Movie (Red Silk) Poster Print - 24x36 Poster Print, 24x36 Poster Print, 24x36

Amazon Price: $7.99

Bobby Womack

2013-05-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

Once a back up guitarist for the legendary Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack began his career back in the 1960's, singing in the family R&B band, The Valentinos. Based in Cleveland where Womack was born, the line-up included Bobby's four brothers, Cecil (of Womack and Womack fame), Harry, Friendly and Curtis, all of whom were songwriters. Notably, Bobby Womack wote the Rolling Stones hit It's All Over Now,which topped the UK singles charts.

It was Cooke who 'discovered' the band and offered them a contract with his SAR Records label, much to the chagrin of the boy's father, Friendly Womack Senior, who considered Cooke's brand of music sinful. At that time in the US there were two kinds of black singers - gospel and mainstream secular and to cross over to the latter was seen by some as selling out to the devil. Although Curtis was the lead singer, Sam had singled Bobby out for attention, remarking that he "sang with authority, and commanded attention on stage".

Bobby Womack

Chess and Jubilee Records

The Valentinos had some success, appearing in the national R&B charts but when Sam Cooke was shot in 1964 they switched over to Chess Records for eighteen months before disbanding for a time. They reformed in 1966, this time with Jubilee Records and continued recording into the 1970's.

Over the span of their career, The Valentinos had chart success with several songs, including: Do It Right,Everybody Wants To Fall In Love and I've Found A True Love.

Sadly, Harry Womack died suddenly in 1974 during an altercation with his girlfriend.

American Studios

Throughout his career Bobby Womack had work on the side as a session musician with American Studios in Memphis and in 1968 signed with Minut Records to record some hit singles, including What is This?, It's Gonna Rain andMore Than I can Stand. Steadily he was making a name for himself both as a top session guitarist and songwriter.

In 1971 Womack signed up with United Artists and recorded a hit single off the album Communications with the moody and emotive, That's the Way I Feel about 'Cha.This was followed up with another album Understanding and an ode to his brother, Harry Hippy, which sold a million copies and earned him a gold disc.

That's the Way I Feel about 'Cha...

Personal Life

Bobby Womack stirred the industry pot when he married Sam Cooke's widow, Barbara Campbell, just three months after his death. The marriage created a rumble of disapprobation from Cooke fans and it did affect his career for a time. According to Womack he feared she 'might do something crazy' if left alone. Reflecting on the event, Womack said :

When it came down to me marrying his wife, I never knew his wife. She was just so hurt and outdone that he had went out that way. She was ready to tackle the first thing that was the closest thing to him, that he liked. And that was me. And I was ready to be there because I knew she needed guidance. I knew if I put myself in there, a lot of people were gonna hate me. But if I don’t marry this woman, this woman's gonna do something crazy, and she may not be able to get out of it.

The couple divorced in 1970 and in 1976 Womack married Regina Banks. Interestingly, Bobby's younger brother Cecil married Linda, the daughter of Barbara Campbell and Sam Cooke. The lives of the Cooke's and Womack's seem inextricably bound together somehow.

Born in Cleveland Ohio, Bobby Dwayne Womack was the son of a steelworker and was just sixteen when he was first taken under Sam Cooke's tutelage. The move from gospel to soul must have been a big one, considering how his father felt about it. Yet over the decades, the young r7B singer/songwriter/guitarist forged a highly successful solo career, along with his other joint ventures. Bobby Womack is now a legend of rock 'n roll and deservedly so, as he remains a hugely influential figure in black music.

Rediscovered

Although he'd never really disappeared, Bobby Womack's music was rediscovered through Quentin Tarantino's 1997 film Jackie Brown, which was in part an ode to seventies R&B. Womack never left the industry though and has worked on numerous projects since the 1970's and in the 1980's gained a new, European fanbase with the release of The Poet and The Poet II, as well as another R&B hit in 1985, with the single, "I Wish He Didn't Trust Me So Much".

Among other things, Womack sang on the third Gorillaz album Plastic Beach in 2010 and in 2009 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Zsa Zsa Gabor

2013-05-14T19:10:00.001-07:00

The Gabors Flee Europe

World War 2 created flux and turmoil in Europe. It was a time of change and disorder; families were uprooted, homelands abandoned and for some, a chance for new beginnings in strange lands. Amongst those uprooted and thrown into flux, were sisters Zsa Zsa, Eva and Magda Gabor who, with their parents Vilma and Jolie, made their way from Budapest, Hungary, after the Nazi invasion, to America, sometime in the mid 1940's.

In Budapest, the family had been relatively well-heeled and the girls well-educated; they spoke several languages. In addition, Jolie Gabor, who was a kind of Hungarian Mrs. Bennett, saw to it that her daughters were well-versed in the essential charms a woman needed in order to catch a suitable husband.

Zsa Zsa

Glamor and the Gabors

The girls were quick learners and fast workers; Eva had already secured herself a doctor husband, whom she had met while on holiday in America some time before, Magda was also married and before 1946 was out, Zsa Zsa managed to snag Hilton Hotel chain magnate, Conrad Hilton and had produced a daughter, Constance Francesca Hilton, who would prove to be the only offspring of all the Gabor sisters.

Conrad Hilton was Zsa Zsa's second husband, as she had been married before to the much older Turkish foreign affairs minister, Jan Bychowski in 1937, although she swore the marriage had never been consumated.

Once in New York, the glamorous Gabor sisters were lured by the promise of Hollywood stardom and all that that sparkling Emerald City entailed. Magda had already appeared in a few films in Budapest, Zsa Zsa had been Miss Hungaryin1936, (though Eva too, claimed to have won that title) and it wasn't long before the ultra-feminine threesome established themselves as professional celebrities. They played the game well and with a certain European aplomb; flirting, flitting like butterflies, being seen at the right places, meeting the right people and running up large bills that they somehow avoided paying for themselves.

Career-wise, Zsa Zsa's first big break came in the John Huston film Moulin Rouge, in 1952 playing Jane Avril opposite Jose Ferrer as Toulouse Latrec. She was well-suited to the role and her performance was well-received, although Zsa Zsa would, in the end, be more famous for her husbands than her acting.

I want to choose the man. I do not permit men to choose me! ~Zsa Zsa

Eventually the marriage to Hilton grew a little tiring (he had her on a strict budget) and while still wed she spotted a suave actor on stage one night and declared "he will be my next husband". Thus the fate of the Hilton pairing was doomed, though the couple remained on amicable terms and Conrad Hilton did in fact offer her a lifetime of cheap rate at all his hotels.

Scene from "Moulin Rouge". Zsa Zsa as Jane Avril.

George Sanders

"The Love of my Life"

Actor George Sanders was a debonair, cosmopolitan sophisticate, who's dry personality seemed on the surface, a mismatch with the professionally vapid, vampish Gabor but the two managed to tie the conjugal knot in 1949 - Zsa Zsa it seemed, always got her man.

As fond of Sanders as Zsa Zsa claimed she was - having once described him as '"the love of my life", this did not prevent her from having an extra-marital affair with Dominican playboy Porfirio Rubirosa.

Of course the marriage didn't last and eventually George went the way of her previous husbands and dissappeared from Eva's marital orbit. Oddly, Sanders married Zsa Zsa's sister Magda in 1970 but that too, was shortlived. Sanders later comitted suicide, citing a 'boredom with life' as the cause, though those who knew him noted he was in serious debt at the time.

Nine Husbands

Zsa Zsa's acting career teetered along in no particular direction; she appeared in a few quirky films and scored a few cameo roles on televison,. However hercalculated have-as-many-husbands-as-you-can plan was right on track. There were nine in all, too many too explore here in any depth:

Burhan Belge Turkish diplomat, married in 1937, divorced in 1941
Conrad Hiltonhotel founder, m.arried 1942, divorced in 1947,
George Sanders(actor, married in 1949, divorced in 1954
Herbert Hunter, financial consultant, married in 1964, divorced in1966
Joshua S. Cosden, Jr. oil heir, married in 1966, divorced in 1967
Jack Patrick Ryan Barbie doll designer, married in 1975, divorced in 1976
Michael O'Hara , attorney, married in 1977, divorced in 1982
Felipe De Alba, Mexican actor, married. 1982, annulled, lasted one day
Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, married 1986, still going...

Peas in a pod. Zsa Zsa and sister Eva (left)

Feisty Gabor

Reputedly Zsa Zsa has a strong, volatile personality which has landed her in hot water from time to time. Some very public incidents include: slapping a bellboy, being removed from a plane after it came to light that, among other convenient memory lapses, she had left an upaid bill behind, drunk driving and suing her own daughter for fraud. Controversial to the end, it was reported in the tabloids recently that Zsa Zsa, having already lost a leg to illness and now in her nineties, (although her birthdate, like everything else, is murky) and her sixty-seven year old husband, were last heard trying to have a baby via any means possible. Never say die.

The Eternal Celebrity

In many ways Zsa Zsa was a precursor to the kind of 21st century vacuous celebrity to be found via the likes of her niece, Paris Hilton - infamously famous for being infamously famous. The Hungarian/American glamor queen personified a certain type of woman through the ages - she was a Hollywood Queen, a courtesan, a socialite, notorious husband hunter, a pampered princess and most of all...a priceless treasure in the annals of the kitsch, rich, society beauty sphere.

Diplomacy the Game

2013-05-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

Diplomacy

The other evening I was wandering aimlessly through the games section of Amazon, as is my want, when I came across a product that stirred a strange little memory - partly warm and fuzzy, partly uncomfortable. It was a board game called Diplomacyand when I spotted it I felt a zap of recognition and surprise because I hadn't seen it for years.

My older brother and sister and their friends used to play this game when I was growing up and frankly, as an onlooker, it drove me mad. As I was apparently "too young" too understand the cutthroat and complicated nature of international diplomatic relations, I was excluded from play. I still haven't played it, so this isn't a review but I can attest to the dedication, seriousness and profound involvement it inspires in its players.

The game of Diplomacy

Diplomacy

Amazon Price: $22.99
List Price: $29.99

Political Intrigue and Alliances

The game of Diplomacy usually involves seven players who become totally consumed by the game play, which can go on for many hours, during which time alliances will be formed, traitorous actions performed, slimy promises made, heated words exchanged and copious amounts of tea, coffee and various snacks consumed.

Long suffering little sisters who are not allowed to play will often be sent on tedious missions to provide these nourishments and non players will get annoyed and frustrated as living areas are completly taken over by the game.

Oft described as game of "intrigue, trust and treachery" this is not a game for the faint hearted and in truth I'm not sure how hard it is. As a young teen, I could never make head or tail of it but then, I was never given the chance to learn properly. I mentioned this re-encouter to my star Diplomacy playing brother recently and I don't whether this may be an unfortunate, innate sexism within him but he tells me my older sister, who wasallowed to particpate, never really understood the game either: according to him, she just "pretended too". (Oh my, I know she'll be furious if she reads this.)

The Birth of Diplomacy

Diplomacy has been commercially available since 1959 and was created by Alan B. Calhamer in 1954. The story goes that, as a boy he was intrigued by an old geography book found in an attic that showed a map of the world prior to WWI. Years later, while at Harvard Law School and recalling the geography book, he developed a game of strategy and alliance, which put seven players in charge of the major world powers.

For those who really get into Diplomacy in a big way, there have been tournaments held since the 1970's and playing Diplomacy by mail and now emailhas been an option since the 80's. Not so surprisingly, it's Henry Kissinger's favourite game and evidently John F Kennedy was also a fan.You'd think these politicians would have got enough cuttroat intrigue in real life wouldn't you? Apparently not.

Rules of Diplomacy

There are no dice in this game - it's all about negotiation. The game is set around the turn of the 20th Century, when the major world powers vie for supremacy. According to the folks at boardgames.canada.com,who seem to know all about it:

Military forces invade and withdraw, shifting borders and altering empires with subtle maneuvers and daring gambits. Form alliances and unhatch your traitorous plots as you negotiate and outwitin a delicate balance of cooperation and competition to gain dominance of the continent! In Diplomacy, your success hinges not on the luck of the dice, but your cunning and cleverness.

Yes, from memory that sounds about right. One of these days, I'll get around to playing this game and what's more, I'll damn well win! I know how to be ruthless if I have to...

The Diplomacy Board. Image from boardgamescanada.com

Doris Day Hairstyles

2013-04-07T18:51:00.001-07:00

Doris Day -1954 covergirl

Fresh as a Daisy and Clean as a Whistle

soft and romantic...a very young Doris Day

I confess, in my callow youth I was critical of Doris Day - her appearance, manner and general aura, which seemed so pert, accommodating and just generally reeking of repressed glass-of-white-milk niceness. At that time, the 50s era hadn't yet taken on it's cool retro cachet and it seemed to my sensitive fashion palette an era of excessive bad taste mingled with blatant sexism. I was a 70s snob (yes I know, the 70's! In itself, a fashion disaster).

However, over the years, I've changed my mind about Ms Day. Whether this can be put down to to general maturity or a growing nostalgic wistfulness for the 1950s, I can't say but I'm now prepared to admit that there was more to Doris than meets the eye. She had something...a je ne sais quo, that stretched beyond the full skirted curviness of her figure, white teeth, sparkling blue eyes, the sexy, whispery, breathless....and yet, forceful way of talking and of course her, powerful singing voice. How she used to belt out those numbers, with a voice as clear and clean as rain on a tin roof.

But down to hair...

the blonde is beautiful philosophy

It seemed to me and still does, that much of Doris's fetching perkiness emanated form her crisp blonde hairstyles and the hair itself, with it's suggestive synthentic doll texture and luminous, equally manufactured colour tones. So Hollywood and yet at the same time, so housewife/good girl. Less tarty than Lana Turner's platinum poof but more oomphy than June Alyson's anal bob. How did she pull it off?

Doris Day could never have been dark. It wouldn't have worked. So much of her image relied on the clean clear purity of a golden halo. She was a kind of refined Betty Grable, with perky Ginger Rogers overtones. Never an obvious vamp in the blonde Jean Harlow sense... but rather a dangerous woman of a more subtle, complex strain - exuding part worldly, womanly vixen and part homespun, earthy domestic warmth. Wow, she was hot!

So young..so nice

Decades of Day

Day's hair went through several transmutations over the decades but it's luminous essence remained the same : always blonde, cute and fresh, with fetching waves and contrivances in the right places.

Early Days

Doris Day, from romance on the high seas

Born in 1922, the singer had her first big hit in 1945, with the classic melody, Sentimental Journey and from that pivotal point, she never looked back, career-wise. that early musical success led to a lengthy movie career and she made 39 films in all, beginning with the technicolor extravaganza, romance on the High seas, in the late 1940s. Here, Day's hair was moulded into typically 40s, stylised oomph concoction, with bushy, careful, long curls and scrolled up bangs. and of course, very blonde. It was, for the times, a young, bouncy look that perfectly suited day's vivacious personality.

In the 1950s Doris's hair took on a more sophisticated look, in keeping with the changing styles of a new, modern post-war era. Shorter hair was the go, but it was no less blonde. In this decade, Doris wore her hair pinned up or cut into a classically 50s short bob. It was a more mature look but no less pert than the previous decade. Doris's hair was nothing, if not assertive.

pinned up glamour with Cary grant in that touch of mink

One of Day's biggest film role in the 50s was her portrayal of singer Ruth Etting in the 1955 film love me or leave me, co-starring with legend, James Cagney and her hair radiated the jazzy, sexy appeal of a 50s gamine. The film was a critical and commercial success and further cemented Doris Day as a major talent, as well as a considerable box office draw.

doris day, hot as hades in love me or leave me, 1955.

classic day and hudson, from pillow talk, 1959

Toward the end of the decade, Day launched into the series of profitable, light romantic comedies with hollywood gay hunks Rock Hudson and Cary Grant, for which she is perhaps best known - think pillow Talk. in these films our heroine's hair was less sexy round the edges and more cute and respectable bobsy, in keeping with the squeaky clean tone of the films. It was, after all, the twin bed era.

Doris Day, mature and stylish in a pillbox hat. from midnight lace 1960

the 60s and beyond

still a bob - but longer. Doris Day in the 60s

As the radical 60s swung into action, Doris grooved things up in the hair department, growing her still gold locks into a longer bob and later, for her tv series, the Doris Day how, which ran from 1968 to 73 a youthful ponytail. By now in her 40s [and in the 70s] her 50s, she still looked good. throughout her career, the hugely successful singer/actress managed to project a fun and sexy, yet level-headed image that women aspired to and men admired. Ms Day was the quintessential all-round gal.

a top notch and a bob...such indecision

Hayley Mills: 60s Teen Icon

2013-04-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

Hayley Mills: a golden glow

Hayley Mills made her acting debut at the age of thirteen, when she appeared in the 1959 film Tiger Bay,with her famous actor father, John MIlls and which she won a Bafta Award for, as Best Newcomer. Originally, a boy had been planned for the role but since director, J Lee Thompson was having trouble finding the right boy, Mills suggested his daughter Hayley for the role.

Tiger Bay had an authenticity to it, which Hayley's performance enhanced and her natural charm, beauty and unaffected attitude caught the eye of Walt Disney's wife, Lilian, who suggeted her for the role of Pollyanna (1960) which led to a string of work with the Disney Studio, including The Parent Trap(1961), Summer Magic and That Darn Cat (1965).

Hayley Mills in a still shot from Tiger Bay

Hayley Mills in her Pollyanna days

A Star

As a young performer, Hayley proved to be very popular with baby-boomer audiences world-wide and wonan Oscar for Best Juvenile Performance for Pollyanna. Visually, the camera loved her and her soft, English wispy voice was innocently seductive. Not so great for singing however and although she made it to number 8 on the charts with the theme for The Parent Trap and had some success with a few other promotional songs, after her debut album, Let's Get Together, her singing career went not much further. Her chart success had more to do with her personal charms and popularity than her vocals.

Mills came from an established show biz family herself. Her father John Mills was already an established star long before she appeared in Tiger Bay, her elder sister Juliet Mills, is also an actress and her Mother Mary, Hayley Bell was an authoress, who wrote Whistle Down the Wind (Hayley starred in the film version),Sky West and Crooked, and The Winged Boy. Playwright Noel Coward and consumate actor Laurence Olivier were her god fathers.

Pin It

Hayley's debut musical album

Most Popular Teen of the Decade

Hayley's star rose in paralell with the sixties generation and she was in some ways an amalgamation of two eras. An attractive style and modern parlance and clothes ensured her relevance but she was also a darling of the older generation - polite, squeaky clean, respectful and mannered in a way that was reminiscent of the fifties. It was only when she began to lose her innocence and take on more adult character roles that her luminous star waned.

Poster by Paul Wenzel, 1963, for Walt Disney's "Summer Magic"

Hayley, Roy and son Crispian

Hayley's Marriage to Roy Boulting

In 1971 Hayley Mills stirred the pot by marrying film direct Roy Boutling, thirty-three years hers senior. The pair had met on the set of The Family Way (1967) , which Roy directed and it was a milestone film, not only because of their relationship but it had shattered the sugary sweet, innocent image of Hayley Mills - it was her first real adult film.

Along with his identical twin brother John, Roy was a part of the directing team known as The Boulting Brothers, who produced some classic comedies in the late 1950's and 1960's. Roy and Hayley divorced in the late 1970's and produced a son, Crispian from the union. A second son, Jason Lawson, was born in 1977, the result of a subsequent relationship with British actor Leigh Lawson, who went on to marry Iconic sixties model Twiggy.

Of relationships, Hayley once remarked: “You are either old souls who connect and share the same interests... or you are not.”

Adult Career

After starring in the weird little thriller,The Twisted Nerve in 1968 with Hywell Bennett, Hayley's career began to slide. Apart from the fact that she was now all grown up and a busy mother, her adult performances lacked the zing and charisma of her teen performances. Although she continued to work on stage and in the odd film, plus made-for-TVParent Trap sequels and like many fading stars, dutifully appeared onThe Love Boat (four times... she never matched those early heights of her career again. Perhaps she never felt the need to.

In the 1980's Hayley Mills returned to the small screen with a successful British miniseries The Flame Trees of Thika (1981), and keeping up the African theme, also starred in an ITV series, playing an expatriate British vet's mother-in-law in Wild at Heart(2007) .

Driving a Manual

2013-03-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

The Slow (and Painful) Death of the Stick-shift?

Once upon a time all cars were manuals and although strictly speaking, the first auto transmission was invented by a Canadian in 1921 (a compressed air affair, not hydraulic fluid) It wasn't until the 1940s that General Motors introduced it's "hydro-matic" marvel, first employed in battle tanks during WW2 and later marketed to the general public in the form auto Oldsmobiles. Drivers took to the new concept and by the time the 1950s rolled around, autos were commonplace in many models.

Now, as the world upshifts jerkily past the first decade of the 21st Century and technology continues its exponential thrust forward, automatic cars have got really, really good and as a result, more and more people are using them, at least in many parts of Asia, Australia and of course, the US, where they've always been very popular. The advantageous savings in fuel economy hitherto enjoyed by manual drivers are now negligible compared to modern autos and ditto for power and thrust. Apparently. On top of this, there are a number of alternatives to the base manual, in the form of manumatics and cvt's.

Perversely, despite all the marvellous strides forward in auto cars I recently chose to buy a basic manual. As a confirmed auto driver who hadn't driven a manual since I was a learner, so long ago I can barely remember, I hadn't intended to, not in my wildest dreams, so why did I do it?

Two sticks?! 1963 Rambler 440 hardtop with twin stick manual overdrive transmission. Source

Well cost, primarily. On a practical level, I could get the second-hand car I wanted hundreds of dollars cheaper but there was also a smaller, niggling reason. Someone had said to me, while discussing the merits of autos and manuals: "you always shy away from a challenge". For murky reasons unknown, that simple statement got to me.

Interesting stick. 1973 Hornet hatchback V8 Source

My attitude to gears had long been, "why muck around with sticks when you can get the car to do it for you?" but as a new manual owner, I now sympathise with the stick-shift lovers. They do offer a more exciting ride and a convincing impression of being *more in control* of the car.

Of course for some people, that can be a deficit. Being in control means you have to make the decisions and more decision-making means more stress, whether the driver is conscious of it or not. Some people would rather let the machine do the thinking and I can understand that view. After all, it was my own view for a long time. Autos just dash around effortlessly and all you need think about is steering, braking and accelerating - it's all so easy. Why create complications?

Stick Stress

Confident manual drivers may scoff but I confess, after 20 odd years of auto driving, the manual was quite fear-inducing in the beginning. Highway driving was fine but in the first week I found myself suffering waves of anxiety in heavy traffic and every time I approached an intersection. What's the best gear for the situation? Should I block change or go down through the gears? Do I sit at the lights in neutral with my foot on the brake or in first gear with my foot on the clutch? There was a lot to think about. What if I roll back on that hill and crush the car behind or....horrors...stall halfway through the intersection, thus creating havoc? I did stall, more than once and I did put in the wrong gear, more than once but it wasn't the end of the world. Stalling generally happens when you're stationary, so at worst you hold up traffic for a few seconds. No-one beeped or tried to attack me with a machete in road rage.

I also made some disturbing mistakes, missing the right gear, after which a truly horrendous crunching sound, accompanied by severe jerking, would ensue. I feared for my car's safety. But hey, it's been a few months and it's all relatively smooth now. I'm zipping around in my baby Mazda and loving it and the gears are almost second nature, if more stressful (and some studies have shown that manual drivers do suffer more driving stress). It is a little more driving work but I'm glad I took up the challenge.

Sexier?
So are manuals sexier? Well, I guess that's debatable but let's face it, the phallic overtones of a nobbed gearstick are hard to avoid...all that caressing and fondling and there is something a tad wimpy about an auto, despite the strides forward. Personally, I think manuals are sexier, if only on an unconscious level and in truth, I feel sexier driving one. I like holding that gear stick. It's a tactile thing.

Gratuitous car shot. The outside of the '63 American Rambler. Source

Edith Head: Costume Queen

2013-03-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

Edith Head. Image from Broadway World

Legendary Hollywood costume designer Edith Head received more Academy Award nominations (35 in all) than any other women in Hollywood and won eight of them. Head was a power house of design, a true original, a trend-setter and fashion-wise, ahead of her time. Even today her severe black hair and eccentric thick-rimmed, tinted glasses would not look out place.

Born Edith Posener of Prussian immigrants, as a child, Head moved around frequently with her mother and step-father, eventually studiying at Berkely. Her list of academic achievements is impressive - she earnt a BA in Letters and Sciences with honors in French in 1919 and an MA in Romance Languages at Stanford the following year

Paulette Goddard in gold bugle beads, designed by Edith Head

A mink and sequins clad Ginger Rogers in a still from "Lady in the Dark"

Luscious Dorothy Lamour in a still from "Hurricane".

Head in Hollywood

After a stint teaching French and Art at the Hollywood School for Girls, Head scored a job with the costume department at Paramount Studios. In the interim she had married Charles Head, whom she divorced in 1938. Although she lter remarried she keptHead as her professional name.

The silent film The Wanderer (1925) was Heads first major project and she designed the costumes for it. The Wanderer was the start of a beaufitul career and by the 1930's she was acclaimed as one of Hollywood's top costume designers. 1938 was a breakthrough year for her, as that was year the studio's prominent designer, Travis Banton, left the studio, allowing Head toshine independently.

Head went from strength to strength and it was during her Paramount years that she was nominated for her academy Awards.Many of the iconic Hollywood fashion items from the period were designed by her; think of Dorothy Lamour's sarong dress from Hurricane , Ginger Roger's mink and sequins gown inLady in the Dark (1944) , Bette Davis's lush suits and gowns in All About Eve (1950) and later after, she joined Universal, Grace Kelly's coolly urban wardrobe in Rear Window(1954).

Critics

Head was not without her critics though, many of whom criticised both her work methods and her opposition to unions, which would have given studio-based designers more clout in the industry. The designer also had a reputation for claiming credit for the work of others, although in the early days of Hollywood, it was common practice for a head of a costume departments to put their own name to the studio designs.

On a personal level, many of her contemporaries speak highly of her warmth and generostiy - she was a great home entertainer and fully enjoyed the company of others.

Edith Head publicity shot. Photo from Cinema Style

Head and Hitchcock

In 1967 Edith Head switched over to Universal, where she stayed until the year of her death in 1881. During this period she also branched out into televesion work as the studi system was changing and many of the great stars she had worked so closely with where no longer around.

At Paramount head had formed a close professional relationship with British director, Alfred Hitchock and the pair worked on many of his films together. Some suggested her move from Paramount was spurred on by Hitchcock's move from Paramount to Universal a few years earlier.

Head and Hitchcock worked on many films together, including Notorious, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, Vertigo, Marnie, The Birds, The Trouble with Harry andFamily Plot

Edith Head died in 1981, four days before her 84th birthday and was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.The legendary designer has a studio named after her and her own star on Hollywood Boulevarde but her true legacy will be remembered via the millions of film viewers who continue to admire the many wonderful costumes she created.

Grace Kelly, elegantly dressed by Edith Head for "Rear Window"

Edith Head and friends

Edith Head died in 1981, four days before her 84th birthday and was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Her final film was deadMen don't Wear Plaid, starring Steve Martin and the film was deciated to her.

The legendary designer has a Prop Building at Universal Studios Hollywood and a Costume building at Paramount named after her and her own star on Hollywood Boulevarde but her true legacy will be remembered via the millions of film viewers who continue to admire the many wonderful costumes she created.

Grace Kelly in an Edith Head classic from "To Catch a Thief"

Vintage Soft Toy Pattern

2013-02-19T06:18:00.003-08:00

Cutesy +

Saw this 1953 image on Etsy whilst browsing vintage patterns and found it fairly irresistable How cute can a stuffed dog get? The pattern is downloadable here as a PDF file for around $6. If only I could crochet...I'd be tempted to have a go at these.

Yoko

2013-02-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

Young Yoko...Image from "Yokos Blog"

In the chunky annals of celebrity romance, few relationships have provoked as much controversy as that between John Lennon and Yoko Ono. They famously met at London's Indico Gallery in 1968 and while love was not immediate, it didn't take too long for the fires of passion to ignite with an explosive force. Of course it was nobody's business but their own but the press and fans didnt see it that way. They rarely do.

No, they were famous figures parading about out there on the world stage, John through his music and Yoko by association, so in media terms, it was open slather. Once it became public knowedge that a hallowed Beatle had not just hooked up with, but was positively flaunting, a strange new girfriend, the criticisms came thick and fast and it was largely Yoko who bore the brunt. Why? What was it about Yoko Ono that people so loved to hate?

Xenophobia

For a start Yoko wasn't mainstream, not even by hip rock n'roll standards. She was an avant garde artist who wore offbeat clothes and no make-up and therefore was not acceptably glamorous in the traditional tabloid-beauty sense.

In interviews and photographs she appeared confident and strong..arrogant even and perhaps not fawning, feminine and visibly appreciative enough about securing one of the world most celebrated sons.

And of course she was Asian. The 1960's wasn't yet far enough away from the Second World war for there not be some residual resentment toward the Japanese. It was not often overtly mentioned but there was an undecurrent of suspicion and distrust; Yoko was described variously in the press as "harsh", "'ugly" ,"scheming', "homewrecker", "ambitious", "crazy",a "gold digger" and "the destroyer of the Beatles".

While she may have been ambitious, Yoko was no gold digger. Already independently wealthy, her background was far more illustrious than John's. Yoko was the great grandaughter of the founder of the Yasuda Bank and in Japan she had been educated at Gakushuin School, widely considered to be the nation's most prestigious private school. The family had relocated toward the end of the war to avoid the bombing threat and in America Yoko went on to study music at Sara Lawrence College. Always experimental, she developed an interest in minimalist art and off the edge music and began staging her own performances and exhibitions from early adulthood.

John and Yoko

Soldiers of Peace. John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Relationships and Volatility

Yoko had had an impressively dramatic and volatile life before John. Her first marriage was to composer and pianist Toshi Ichiyanagi and things had ended badly. While still married she had attempted suicide and was institutionalized for a period in Japan, during which time she met future husband jazz musician Anthony Cox, to whom she became pregnant.

Before their daughter was born, Yoko had divorced Ichiyanagi and married Cox, though it was not a particularly happy union either. Cox was prone to mood swings and erratic behaviour and would later take off with their child Kyoko (whom he had custody of) raising her amid a Christian cult called the The Walk.

That Yoko and John Lennon were both still married when passion rained down on them like sheets of water in a hurricane, added fuel to the bad press fire but if they cared too much, they didn't show it. Theirs was a publically defiant union - and the world -and the Beatles, could shove it. Far from shrinking into the shadows they staged public events, that were often quirky and attention getting and made loud noises about world peace.

Yoko formed the Plastic Ono Band but apart from one hit, Give Peace a Chance, featuring John on vocals, the public didn't warm to Yoko's shrill, off the radar music which has been bagged by some critics for being as melodious as "nails on chalk". Yoko always did blend art with music, somehow in the process rendering it inaccesible to the mainstream.

Eventually, with the birth of their son Sean, the couple settled into a version of domesticity, but by the close of the seventies, more music was on the horizon . The Double Fantasy album came out in 1980 and in an event that rattled the world, John was murdered by Mark Chapman at the entrance to the Dakota Apartment Building later that year.

Still Screaming

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

~ Dylan Thomas

After Lennon's death Yoko went through a quiet period, largely out of the public eye but eventually resurfaced through various art and music projects as well as her comittments to world peace.

Never shy of self-expression, Yoko is still screaming in her 70s (she was born in '33). The artist/musician/squillionaire has been blamed and criticised for many things. Perhaps some of it has been justified, some of it not. Did she break up the Beatles? Doubtful -it seems likely a split was inevitable; nothing is forever. and they were pursuing their own interests, going their own way. Probably above all else, she's been criticized for just being herself but love her or hate her, Yoko Ono is an original. Keep on screamin'.

Cynthia Lennon writes

Billy Hughes and His Daughter

2012-05-30T10:38:00.001-07:00

Helen Hughes and her father

Secrets

One of the saddest episodes in early 20th century Australian history to emerge in recent years is the poignant story of Helen Hughes, daughter of Prime Minister William "Billy" Hughes. It's a mysterious tale of bad behaviour, exile, suffering and ultimately death - as well as a terrible indictment on the cruel social and moral edicts of the era. The story, which had remained quietly concealed for over 70 years was brought to light in 2008 by actor and amateur historian, Martin Vaughn, who had become fascinated by mysteries surrounding Helen's life and death.

Politics of a Self-Made Man

Billy Hughes was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1915 (the same year his daughter Helen was born) to 1923, serving throughout the turbulent years of WW1. He was a controversial, polarising figure, partly because he was perceived as a Labour Party 'rat', after having deserted the party over the issue of conscription, which he had enthusiastically supported (throughout his career he was to change political parties five times) and partly because of his vivid, over-bearing personality. Reputedly he could be both charming and ruthless and seems to have been multi-facted, presenting as a hero to some and a scurrilous renegade to others. In any case, he was to distinguish himself as our longest serving parliamentarian and died at the age of 90, still working to the very end.

William Hughes

Born in London to Welsh parents, Hughes had immigrated to Australia at the age of 22, working at first in various odd jobs, including stints as a bushman, labourer and cook. Later he moved to Sydney, where, after a period of poverty, he became heavily involved in politics, joining the Socialist League in 1892 at the age of 30. Among other things, he became a soap box speaker for the Single Tax League, an organiser for the Australian Workers Union and the Shearers Union, secretary of the Wharf Labourers Union, National president of the Waterside workers union and eventually was elected as an MP in the very first Federal parliament in 1901. After years of part-time study, in 1903 he also managed to secure a law degree and became a Kings Counsel a few years later.

In addition to his political activities, in the early days in Sydney, Hughes had formed a defacto relationship with his landlady's daughter, Elizabeth Cutts, a union which produced five children. Cutts died in 1906 and five years later he married Mary Campbell, with whom he had one daughter, Helen.

Helen

Helen Hughes as a child

From all accounts, Helen Hughes was strikingly beautiful, stylish, vivacious and clearly the apple of her father's eye.. 52 when his daughter was born, Hughes used to take his daughter everywhere with him -their's was a particularly close father/daughter relationship. According to historian Diane Langmore, although Hughes was often volatile and abusive toward the people around him, he seems to have been unusually gentle and affectionate with Helen:

You see a much more tender Billy. I think there is a warmth and tenderness in his relationship with Helen that you don't see with any of his other relationships of his life.~ Diane Langmore, Rewind

In fact, Hughes and Helen appear to have been much closer to each other than ether of them were to Mary Campbell. An affectionate letter from Helen in childhood to her father hints that there may even have been some jealousy or at least disapproval from Mrs Hughes toward the relationship:

Darling Daddy, I have just got your dear little letter. I hope you can come home soon. I miss you so much. Don't let Mummy see. She might get angry. Love from your only little daughter, Helen.

Helen virtually grew up in the public eye and as a young woman, was well known in society circles: a popular, feted debutante, often appearing at public events with her father, her photograph appearing in newspapers and women's journals. She had a privileged, golden future ahead of her and everything to live for. Yet at the age of 21, after leaving for a trip to London, ostensibly for a holiday, she disappeared from public view, never to be seen again. Six months after her departure Helen died, alone and ill in a London hospital.

Contemporary newspaper reports of her death were vague and contradictory - one reported she had died of appendicitis, another claimed her death was caused by a duodenal ulcer but in neither case did the facts really add up. Rumours surfaced in certain circles that she had died from an illegal abortion but nothing of that nature was reported in the papers. How different the media was back then - there was a tendency to regard the reporting of scandalous sexual conjecture about public figures as irresponsible - a painful and needless intrusion into private lives, as well as potentially damaging to public office. Things were hushed up.

Moral Failure

Some moral values in the early 20th century left something to be desired and were particularly punishing for women. In the 1930s, social mores were such that young women were taught to eschew any thoughts of sex before marriage. It was regarded as a shocking thing to do - a woman's reputation could be eternally shattered by such a scandal. Sex before marriage presented a tremendous risk for the woman and if a pregnancy followed she would be utterly ruined. It would have been unthinkable that the daughter of such a prominent man, who held the highest office in the land, should find herself in such a situation. Thus it would have been most unusual for a woman in Helen's position to contemplate a pre-marital affair - the consequences were simply too great.

Helen with Billy and her mother Mary

Yet have an affair she did, because as Martin Vaughn eventually discovered after years of painstaking research, Helen was indeed sent off to London because of an unwanted pregnancy. She did not however, have an illegal abortion but died from toxaemia as the result of a Caesarian, performed after after a gruelling 24 hour labour. There is also a suggestion that Billy Hughes arranged to have the medical records go missing. That all this should be uncovered so many years after the event is testimony to that old maxim - the truth will out.

It was of course, tragic for Helen that she should have been compelled by a now redundant and unjust moral code to hide away in a foreign country and suffer the agony of a lonely, painful and 'shameful' death but also devastating for her family in Australia and in particular, a loving, doting father who appeared to have worshipped her. Ironic too, in that he himself had fathered five illegitimate children.

To add further intrigue to the story, it seems the baby, a boy, survived. Decades later, it was revealed that in 1938, nine months after Helen's death, Billy Hughes had made provision for the maintenance and education of a nine month old boy, D.E. Hughes, "under the guardianship of Australia House, London", though, sadly, it appears he had no relationship at all with the child, who remained a closely guarded secret.

Given the social climate of the time, it would have taken remarkable courage and meant disgrace and the end of his political career for Hughes to publicly acknowledge the means of his daughter's death and the grandson she left behind. It is perhaps more an indictment of the era than of the man. Helen's son, who has changed his name, was eventually tracked down and is apparently living in Sydney. However, according to the historians who found him, he apparently did not wish to be identified, nor did he want anything to do with the Hughes family.

Island Painting

2012-05-24T06:22:00.002-07:00

Oil on canvas Island Painting - where in the world?

Mystery Painting
This lovely old oil painting turned up recently at a Church garage sale in Melbourne, Australia and was bought by an acquaintance for five dollars (after he outbid a $2.50 offer). We're trying to unravel the mystery of the location and if possible, the artist, though he/she is probably unknown. Just on the remote chance that a passing viewer might recognise the scene, I thought I'd put it up here.

One art dealer has suggested the setting is Asia, possibly Indonesia or Brunei, while another is more inclined to think it is the South Seas - Honolulu? Tahiti? In the background a white built-up area looms from above the natural landscape, which is perhaps a town or city.

Although it's hard to say with any certainty, the painting has a 1950s feel, when island scenes were popularly depicted, though it's less garish than many from that era.The frame, which is wooden, looks hand carved. Both agree the painting is well executed, with one proclaiming it "beautiful". Seen in the flesh, the native scene does have a strangely involving effect on the viewer - it draws you in and the cool greens are soothing to the eye

The painting is signed but the signature almost impossible to read - the middle letter appears to be a "B" and the last letter a "y" but the rest is very difficult to decipher. It's a pity I don't have a better photograph but this is all I've been given as yet. If anyone out there can throw any light on this mysterious work please send me a line at jane@howretro.com.

The Gamine Haircut

2012-05-08T10:06:00.007-07:00

Gamine Shirley Maclaine Source

Short, pert and easy to care for, the gamine cut, popularised in the 1950s/early 60s was a radical departure from the kind of fussy, contrived hairstyles that featured in the 40s and early 50s, with their overworked rolled bangs, pins and perms.

The word gamine comes from the French gamin and means 'waif' or 'urchin' - an ideal gamine is a little bit tomboy, yet paradoxically girlish too, with a vulnerability and unique appeal. You don't have to have short hair to a gamine (Audrey Hepburn was one) but the 'gamine cut' was designed to conjure up that particular look.

Not quite as radically short as the pixie cut, the 50s gamine left enough hair around the face and over the top of the ears to be flattering, allowing that sly femininity to sneak into an otherwise boyish look.

Shirley MacLaine
One famous gamine of the era was Shirley's MacClaine's fetching cut in the 1960 hit film, The Apartment (a good film by the way). The style suited her roundish face, bright eyes and eccentric, fun personality. Shirley wore the style in several films and it gave her distinction and an edge among the Hollywood starlets who, by comparison, looked as though they were trying to hard with their glammed up hairdos.

Sultry but sweet. Shirley MacLaine with her co-star in The Apartment, Jack Lemmon.

Mitzie Gaynor
Another striking, earlier gamine but with extra-glamour was that worn by versatile dancer, singer and actress Mitzie Gaynor in the 1950s. That decade was really the first to see very short hair become popular. Although short bobs had been worn in the 1920s they weren't quite as short as this. Gaynor starred in a host of Hollywood musicals, which included There's no Business Like Show Business (1954) and Happy Anniversary (1959).

Mitzi Gaynor - glam gamine

More stylised than Shirley's cut, Mitzie wore a pouffier version, accentuated by classically 50s wispy tendrils curling over her face and cheeks. This gave the short style an extra emphasis but looked less natural.

Leslie Caron

Leslie Caron - Lili

French actress and dancer, Leslie Caron was a great gamine-cut fan and wore variations of the style to good effect in a host of films, most notably An American in Paris (1951) Lili (1953) and Daddy Long Legs (1955).

The short hair gave her soft, feminine features a dramatic impact, helped along by a seductive French accent and a winning personality.

Trained as a ballerina, Caron often played the innocent and intriguing ingenue and did much to popularise the gamine style, proving beyond doubt that short hair was no barrier to being ultra-feminine. At right and below are four versions of Leslie's gamine cut.

An American in Paris

Feminine gamine, Leslie Caron

Leslie Caron with 50s wisps

Great Vintage Haircuts
Hot Hairstyles of the 1960s
Long Hairstyles of the 1950s
Cleopatra Hair
The Eton Crop

Jane Russell

2012-05-03T11:21:00.014-07:00

Mid 20th century sexpot, Jane Russell in a 'come hither' pose

The Black Queen
Described by film writer David Thompson as "immense and impervious", with her cascading raven hair, fine, wide-spaced eyes, red slash of a mouth and generous physical proportions swathed in sexy cloths, American 40s/50s actress Jane Russell was the walking embodiment of a wolf whistle. Yet unlike many of the other sex symbols of her era, Russell's persona was not that of the whispery, pouty sex kitten but rather a feisty lioness with a soft underbelly for the right man.

Typically tawdry Macao poster

Although some of her films were a tad tacky, with an obvious kind of Hollywood-charged sex appeal that left little room for subtlety, she nonetheless managed to salvage a certain dignity in her performances. Onscreen she could be mesmerising - her luxurious dark looks were photogenic and her face had interesting dimensions; often she appeared to be on the verge of a sneer, which gave her beauty the hint of a hard edge.

While perhaps not the greatest actress (I couldn't see her playing Ophelia), through her considerable physical assets and a distinctive personality, she commanded attention and was well suited to the kind of simmering B grade dramas that were often thrown her way. She also had a wry line in smart rapport and a natural sense of humour: no small commodity in an industry plagued by ego and insecurity.

One of my favourite Jane Russell B films is Macao (1952), co-starring an amusingly cynical Robert Mitcham, William Bendix and Gloria Graham, a fabulously sulky B grade 50s actress. In Macau, a"fugitive's haven", Russell's earthy and highly sexy (naturally) character is allowed full reign in an exotic/erotic setting. Russell is perfectly cast as ultra-sultry nightclub singer, Julie Benton - wise to the antics of men and the ways of the world but capable of self-sacrificing passion, which she reserves for ex-serviceman Nick Cochran, played with cool aplomb by Mitcham. It's worth a watch just for the flirty 50s clothes, complete with hoop earrings and bust-popping halter necks.

Tomboy Roots
It could be that Russell's unique film presence had its foundations in her rough and tumble upbringing on a ranch in the San Fernando Valley in California. Although she almost always played the sex queen, there was an undertone of true grit to her performances. Growing up she was a tomboy with four brothers, messing it up in jeans and check shirt amid the horses and hay and even as an adult she claimed to loathe fussy feminine preening and pseudo fragility. She believed women should be treated as men, receiving no special deference by virtue of their sex, yet she was no feminist and once declared "a man should be the head of the household and a woman the heart "(Guardian obituary).

Jane Russell was an ideal 50s fashion plate

The former tomboy's acting career took off after she screen tested for eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes, who had launched a nationwide search for new talent with the va va voom factor. Immediately impressed by the va in her voom, Hughes adopted the nineteen year old as his protege, at one stage even inventing a special 'seamless' bra for her and on top of the money she received for her film work, paid her a 1000 dollars a week for life. Perhaps it was a possession thing but nice work if you can get it.

Hughes's first project for Russell, who had never acted before, was The Outlaw, a 1943 Western which Hughes co-directed with Howard Hawks (the latter uncredited) and which featured Russell as Rio McDonald, fought over object of desire by Billy the Kid (Jack Buetel) and Doc Holiday (Walter Huston). launched Russell aa star, helped along by some creative camerawork which focused on lingering close-ups of Jane's body parts..."just bend over to pick up those pails Miss Russell!" Her highly sexualised performance ushered in a new standard in breast-centred pin-up glamour that would follow through into the 1950s and turn aspiring stars like Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield into screen goddesses - part-woman, part-Hollywood manufacture.

Russell went on to make many more films, including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Underwater (another personal favourite) with Richard Egan and His Kind of Woman (1951) with Robert Mitcham. She also dabbled in some comic turns with Groucho Marx in Double Dynamite (1951) and Bob Hope in Paleface (1948), who described her as "the two and only...".

Oh Mr Freud, what does that gun signify? Jane Russell in a publicity shot for Outlaw

An American Ideal
These days I am a teetotal, mean-spirited, right-wing, narrow-minded, conservative Christian bigot, but not a racist~ Jane Russell

Russell, who was nothing if not honest, died in 2011, aged 89. She had been a devout Christian since childhood and a staunch Republican as an adult. An early botched backyard pregnancy termination left her unable to have children but rather than supporting safe and legal abortion, in keeping with what appeared to be very black and white views, she became stridently anti-abortion.

Married thrice, first in 1943 to football player Bob Waterford, with whom she adopted three children, then in 1968, the same year as her divorce, to actor Roger Barrett, who died three months after the marriage and finally to real estate broker, John Calvin Peoples who died in 1999.

Film critic Mark Cousins, who wrote her obituary in The Guardian and met her in later life, recalled that Russell was "exactly as you'd expect her to be" - "no nonsense, down to earth" and "she laughed a lot". The contrast between Russell and her contemporary sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe is hard to avoid. Whereas the more fragile Marilyn got swept up and eventually mangled in the Hollywood image machine, Russell was able to detach and keep her feet firmly planted on the ground. There's a sense that perhaps she never took the sexy spiel too seriously or at least didn't let it get in the way of her own sense of identity.

50s glamour in full force. Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

On screen, Jane Russell had represented an ideal of voluptuous womanhood at a particular time in American cultural history- sexual and feminine but at the same time, savvy and strong. Marilyn had been all hot sex and breakable vulnerability, while Jane was hot sex too but earthier and thus somehow more tangible. Male audiences searching for the American dream could fantasise about possessing such a woman as a running mate, taming her like a wild horse, until ultimately she would bend to his macho will. Quite a challenge.

Diana Dors
Dorian Leigh
Horst Buchholz

The First Feature Film

2012-05-01T22:24:00.006-07:00

Ned Kelly's helmet. Source

The Story of the Kelly Gang

The Kelly Gang cast on location at Heidelberg. Source.

Surprisingly, the first feature film did not emanate from Hollywood or the UK but from Australia. A feature film is generally described as 80 minutes or longer and at over an hour in length, The Story of the Kelly Gang, released in Melbourne in 1906 was the first long-length film to be made.

Alas, only seventeen minutes of the film survives but what has remained has been digitally remastered by the National Film and Sound Archive. The story centres around the legendary colonial Irish rebel, Ned Kelly, a bushranger and his gang of renegades - Dan Kelly, Joe Byrne and Steve Hart. In Australia, Ned Kelly was (and still is) is regarded by many as a National hero, who, while hung by the neck in 1880 for murder and theft, had colourfully symbolised the struggle of the poor and disenfranchised against the cruel establishment. There are others who view him simply as a ruthless cop-killer but either way, he is one of our most famous or infamous, historical characters and a fitting subject for our first feature film. It was to be the first of several film adaptations of Kelly's life, two of which starred Mick Jagger (1970) and Heath Ledger (2003) as Ned.

The real Ned Kelly

Renown for his home-made suit of armour, which included a vest and bucket-like full face helmet made of heavy iron, Kelly died young, at 25, his arrest occurring at the finale of a dramatic shoot out with police at the Glenrowan Hotel in country Victoria. At the end, he stood on the gallows and ended his notorious life with the philosophical statement, "such is life". It's incredible to think The Story of the Kelly Gang, which is now a national treasure, was released a mere 26 years after Kelly's execution. It seems so very long ago.

Charles Tait

Charles Tait

The Kelly Gang was written and directed by Charles Tait, who was born in Castlemaine, Victoria, in 1868. Tait was one of three brothers who were theatrical entrepreneurs and whose interests included concerts blended with screening short, popular films at the Athenaeum Hall in Melbourne.For the production of the Kelly Gang the brothers joined up with Mildred Johnson and William Gibson and the group eventually formed Amalgamated Pictures in 1911, making feature films and newsreels.

The film starred Frank Mills as Ned Kelly, Nicholas Brierly as Joe Byrne and Charles's wife, Elizabeth Tait as Kate Kelly plus several Tait relatives in various roles. Outdoor scenes of the Kelly gang were shot mainly on Tait's wife's family property in Heidelberg, a suburb of Melbourne that was largely bushland at that time but there were also location shoots at neighbouring Eltham and Greensborough, as well as Mitcham and Rosanna. The indoor shots were filmed in inner city St. Kilda.

The Anti-Hero Onscreen
When the film was first screened at the Athenaeum, a maelstrom of controversy erupted, as some critics claimed the film gloried crime and in some parts of Victoria it was even banned. Nonetheless the film's backers made a considerable fortune from The Story of the Kelly Gang and it was screened around the country for the next 20 years - audiences were keen to watch a visual representation of one the most iconic stories of Australian folkfore. Ned Kelly is still a controversial figure but whether they regard him as rebellious hero or murderous thug, every Australian knows his name. Ned Kelly is ingrained in the national psyche.

Ned Kelly's World
National Film Archives
Australian Screen