"You can try and tell her what to do, but she'll only do it if she wants to, Jack..."

Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990)

Just the mere mention of her name stirs up so much admiration and fascination in me. She was always my idea of what a real woman was like; someone undeniably beautiful, mouth like a trucker and unapologetic about the way she lived her life. I've always felt a sort of kinship towards her (even though she passed away when I was 3 years old) There is no way I can say everything I'd want to say about her in just one post so while this one will be a Little bit longer, I'll just provide the basics.


She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers (1946). She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her work in Mogambo (1953). She appeared in several high-profile films from the 1950s to 1970s, including Bhowani Junction (1956), On the Beach (1959), The Night of the Iguana (1964), Earthquake (1974), and The Cassandra Crossing (1976). Gardner continued to act on a regular basis until 1986, four years before her death of pneumonia, at age 67, in 1990. Married three times (Mickey Rooney,Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra)



I highly recommend reading her most recent biography, Ava Gardner: "Love is Nothing" by Lee Server. It is very interesting and I learned alot about her. Here is a small excerpt for you; 'She was who she was:Ava Gardner. Actress,love goddess. Resident of London, Madrid, Hollywood, and Grabtown. She liked jazz and driving too fast and nights that went on forever. She loved gin and dogs and four-letter words and Frank Sinatra. Once upon a time she was thought to be the most beautiful woman in the world. She had luminescent white skin,eyes like Andean emeralds, eminent cheekbones, a wide, sensuous crescent mouth, a sleek,strong body that moved with a feline insolence and a dancer's grace. She played temptress,adventurers,restless woman, in the movies and in private life. On the silver screen she conveyed a powerful image of dark desirability. To see her in the flesh was said to have made the blood race, the hair on the arms stand up. To know her more intimately was to surrender to mad passions, to risk all. "I'm a plain simple girl off the farm," she liked to say, "and I've never pretended to be anything else."-(Love is nothing Pg.4)

There are two videos today. This first one is of her in the film noir 'The Killers'(1946) The casting directors wanted a woman so beautiful that you could understand why Burt Lancaster's character would go to jail for a crime he didn't commit. They nailed it! (Please be aware that the pace of film noir movies is a bit slower than you might be used to, but it is well worth it! ;) ) This is also one of the few films where ms.Gardner was allowed to sing in her real voice.

(Video Credit-YouTube User:sweetheart60)

It's almost like haunting beauty to me. ;) The next video is a scene from 'The Barefoot countess' co-starring Humprey Bogart. The storyline is almost eerily close to her real life. Ava's character called for a Spanish accent. This is such a great scene to me, Enjoy!
-L

(Credit-Youtube user:sweetheart60)

"Are my seams straight?"

Hello mystery reader(s)! Today's topic is Hollywood Costume Designer; Orry-Kelly.



Orry-Kelly was the professional name of Orry George Kelly (31 December 1897 – 27 February 1964), a prolific Hollywood costume designer. He went to Hollywood in 1932, working for all the major studios (Warner Brothers, Universal, RKO, 20th Century Fox, and MGM).

He designed for all the great actresses of the day, including Bette Davis, Kay Francis, Olivia de Havilland, Katharine Hepburn, Dolores del Río, Ava Gardner, Ann Sheridan, Barbara Stanwyck, Merlan Olsen and Marilyn Monroe.He won three Academy Awards for Best Costume Design (for An American in Paris, Cole Porter's Les Girls, and Some Like It Hot) and was nominated for a fourth (for Gypsy).



He wrote a column 'Hollywood Fashion Parade' for the International News Service, owned by William Randolph Hearst, during the war years.A longtime alcoholic, he died of liver cancer in Hollywood and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills). His pallbearers included Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Billy Wilder and George Cukor and his eulogy was read by Jack Warner. His Academy Awards went to Jack Warner's wife, Ann

He worked on many films now deemed classics, including 42nd Street, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Arsenic and Old Lace, Harvey, Oklahoma!, Auntie Mame, and Some Like It Hot.(via wikipedia)



The man had talent, pure and simple. The shape of his clothing complimented a woman and his tailoring and style was somewhat advanced for his time. For example, the dress see-through dress he created for 'Some like it hot' was risque without being vulgar (even with a little cut out heart on the bottom). He used strategically placed strings in his designs to draw your eye directly where he wanted it to.



An interesting thing I learned about Orry-Kelly while filming 'Some like it hot' with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon was that since both Curtis and Lemmon had to dress up as women for a majority of the movie, they wanted to looking somewhat convincing and well-dressed. Curtis asked director, Billy Wilder (Another genius we will get to on another day.) if Orry-Kelly could design their wardrobe..



Amazing but still hilarious right? lol Today's video is a scene from 'Some like it hot' so you can see what the costumes were like for all characters in a nutshell. PLEASE notice Marilyn's Fur trimmed Coat and Dress which I absouletly LOVE LOVE LOVE! Enjoy! ;)
-L



(Video Credit-Youtube user:MarilynMortician)

I'm ready for my close up Mr.Travilla'

Today we will be discussing the fabulous costume designer, Mr. William Travilla.



Some quick info: Willam Travilla (March 22, 1920 - November 2, 1990), who went by the professional name of Travilla, was an American costume designer for theatre, film, and television. He is perhaps best-known for dressing Marilyn Monroe in several of her films. Including 'Gentlemen prefer blondes'. His designs were totally
the style I aspire to be/have. Showstopping,statuesque and Breathtaking. In today's video, Mr.Travilla talks about how he had to change Marilyn's original 'Diamonds are girls best friend" costume the the well known pink bow dress.



I personally perfer the original costume and if you're familiar with the number, you will be able to see how the original costume would have matched MUCH better. The studio however was concerned that they would LOSE money were marilyn too risque. Which is sort of undertandable for the time period but the original, to me, is a gem we never got to really see. Enjoy!
-L


(Video Credit-Youtube Member:77marked)

Tales of the Vintage Expo in Santa Monica,CA

I love love LOVE living in southern california if only because I have all the vintage I can take at my fingertips (within driving distance I should say). :)

Today, I took a trip to Santa Monica for the Vintage Expo (vintageexpo.com) Despite certain family members trying to ruin it, It was in heaven! I took my sketch book,knowledge of different styles, and my dreams lol.There was so much silk and lace and boning and sexiness and structure and history..*le sigh!* OH OH OH!! AND!! I saw the gorgeous burlesque star Miss Dita Von Teese up close and made a COMPLETE you-know-what of myself because I was walking around and saw two people talking and recognized her voice before I saw her. I didn't realize it was even her until I was standing right in front of her (she is BEAUTIFUL and such a lady.)



Did I politely go up to her and ask for an autograph or pic? No. What Did I do? Well,since I didn't notice her until we were almost face to face, I freaked, made an audible gasp and scurried around to find my family LMAO. I'm sure I'll meet her at the next expo show in October so it's ok. :) She had Ava Gardner type hair, black top, an a blue skirt down to ankles; she was just pure beauty and seeing her just shopping alone for clothing made her so much more awesome to me. <3

*For those of you unfamiliar with the beauty that is vintage clothing, here are a few tips:

1.)Sizes back then were different than they are now. For example, I saw a dress there that was labeled Size 14 but it equaled to a modern-day Size 8. So it all depends on the designer/style.

2.)Searching for vintage clothing is like a scavenger hunt, finding the right thing can take some time, so just be patient,take your time and know a bit of what your looking for before hand.

3.)You will NOT find everything in mint condition. Most vintage clothing looks a bit aged and just needs some TLC and proper storage care to bring it back to it's former glory.

4.)Vintage clothing is not cheap. I myself didn't get any clothing BUT was able to buy patterns from the 40's&50's, so I can still MAKE the style clothing..even though one day I'd like to own alot of real vintage clothing :)

5.)Not all of it is really Peta friendly. Be prepared to see alot of real silk,leather and fur. Just warning you. ;p

I didn't take any pics (since someone was yelling at me..grr.) BUT here is a video from vintageexpo.com last years event. YaY for GOOD fashion! ;)
-L



(Video Credit-YouTube Member:jkatproductions)

The Rat Pack with Johnny Carson 'Birth of the Blues'

The Rat Pack: Frank,Sammy and Dean. They were the opitomy of cool and what (I think) vegas SHOULD be. There was a level of uncompromising class that went along with their performances. This particular performance was June 20,1965 at the Kiel Opera House in St.Louis and called "The Frank Sinatra Spectacular" for a charity event.
Johnny Carson came as a special guest,which made the night even more entertaining. "The Boys" had a way of making an audience feel as though they were getting in on something by being completely natural and kidding around onstage. Enjoy this piece of entertainment gold!!
-L
(Yes, once you watch it you will notice the bands are seperated by race; a silent reminder of the time period. The band was conducted by the great Quincy Jones.)






(Video Credit:Youtube User-Nd179)

Part2-3:Marlon Brando 1965 Interview

GARRR!! Since I can't part 2 of the interview on here (which is my FAVORITE!), Here is Part three mystery reader(s)! You can still see how was amused, attracted to, or even bored by each interviewer. I find him fascinating! :) If you are interested in part 2, look for it on youtube ;)Enjoy!
-L

Part1: Marlon Brando Interview 1965

I love Marlon Brando. He never thought he was even a good actor and considered acting "the ultimate hustle". Even if others gushed about his talent, he would deny it and say some very insightful things, alot of this can be seen here in this rare interview(s) with several interviewers in a new york hotel circa 1965. He never liked giving interviews so this was a rare look inside. There will be two more parts to the interviews. **PLEASE NOTICE HOW HE TREATS ALL THE FEMALE INTERVIEWERS!** It's amazing. ;)
-L

Hello Stranger

Hello blogiverse. Although promising myself long ago that I would never ever get sucked into blogging and/or twitter (which didn't work since I'm now a tweetaholic hooked on tweetohol..taking it one day at a time.) Here I am,blogging, and sending my little thoughts,hopes and dreams into the overcrowded online world. I'm risking being judged and ridiculed by strangers by opening up my heart,mind and thoughts but (as I'm learning) That is just Life.

Why am I doing this? I figured since I'm online anyway and I have a bunch of thoughts no one here wants to hear, I decided to give this a shot and see if my own meandering experiences in my short life could help someone..anyone..out there. I don't even know if anyone will even be interested in the wide array of strange and non-traditional interests I have. And Sin of Sins, I am still searching for my life's purpose.

I'll write things that will make you laugh, maybe make you cry, maybe make you judge and look down on me but perhaps through this small jumbles of words across a screen will help me look within myself and figure out what the hell my problem is. lol

-L