Saturday, November 12, 2011

Damsel in Distress

Remember these books ?







My Mom, who always had my back when it came to good literature, bought me these gems when I was younger and of all the children's story books I possessed (such as If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, Where the Wild Things Are & my fav The Stinky Cheeseman and other Fairly Stupid Tales...



..Scary Stories were my treasure. They catered to the dark side of my soul (have I mentioned I am a huge Horror fanatic?), tickled my fascination with its creepy/clever stories, and blew my socks off with its unusual imagery. The accompanying images for each story, were drawn by American illustrator Stephen Gammell. Here a few Im sure you remember and which bring back good memories of gasps and giggles.
















Stephen Gammell

So for todays outfit, I was inspired to channel 1940's chic a la damsel in distress.

Since I can remember I was always fascinated with the old film noir classic beauties, the flawless hair and makeup, glamorous outfits and calculating, manipulative demeanor the women portrayed. They possessed an array of emotional layers, from vulnerable to deceptive, fragile to unpredictably fierce. A few semesters ago I took a film class which introduced us to post 1940 movies such as Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, through the 60's with Psycho, the French New Wave and even the 80's cult classics such as Alien and Blade Runner, also a great decade for film and music. A few of my favorite film noir heroines are showcased here..


Joan Crawford


Ann Blythe


Veronica Lake


Bette Davis




























coat&dress, vintage; tights, H&M; shoes, boutique 9

12 comments:

  1. I was of course a huge fan of the scary stories to tell in the dark books as well as the stinky cheese man.

    I love your necklace! This is a nice take on the classic look. Beautiful!

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  2. Firstly I would like to say that I absolutely love your blog, and your lookbook as a new admirer of yours.
    As well as seeing this post with Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark in it, as if I wasn't such a shit blogger, I was actually going to post that on Halloween, and it's sweet knowing I'm not the only one who hasn't totally forgotten about these books. Although the stories never really got to me, it was always the amazing artwork, that even at such a young age motivated me to work harder at my art. I absolutely loved the deranged and morbid creatures!
    I look forward to reading more of your posts,
    Becca.

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  3. Alright so first off, your style is super unique, and I love your blog. Especially the header (so cool). Second, your flickr is basically too good to look at. Your photography and photoshop skills are mind blowing! Third, you have a new follower/fan. I saw madeline from jean greige shout u out on her twitter and was immediately interested. You are super talented!!

    -Jana
    wolfandwillow.com

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  4. I used to read these books all the time when I was little!!! The illustrations used to fascinate me. Then I used to recite the stories to my family and pretend I made them up myself. LoL Plagiarism 101. I think they knew, but they would humor me, of course.

    This outfit is so pretty. I love how you were inspired by old glamour & still made it look boho. Plus, gorgeous jewels in this outfit, too.

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  5. Those books, they pretty much define my entire childhood. I thought that all the pictures just added to the creepiness, but never really scared me, which I was completely okay with. I love love those shoes! Perfect hair tooo

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  6. you're so ridiculously gorgeous. still can't get over it. and those illustrations are so inspiring. one of my favorite posts from you



    xo!

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  7. Your shoes are to die for! I love them!!
    I never really liked scary stories, because I get freaked out too easily. tehe. ^-^

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  8. The colours of your outfit remind me of the nineties. Great stuff.

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  9. I hated scary anything as a kid. I probably would have had nightmares for weeks after looking at one of those illustrations. I loved Where The Wild Things Are, though! You look gorgeous. I like your hair and lipstick. Do you have a massive coat collection, or do you have a massive coat collection. I'm super jealous. I love the sandals and rings. You're always amazing and I look forward to seeing your outfits daily. <3

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  10. i am TRIPPING out seeing those books - i had every single one of those. i love your fur.

    xxx theSIRENofMod

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  11. Lovely coat.

    http://factorygoods.blogspot.com

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  12. you are so inspiring! i am clad i found your blog :)

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Thank you for sharing your thoughts, your comments are most appreciated. xo