That Touch of Fashion: The on-screen clothes of Doris Day March 3, 2009 15:18
Just finished reading Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door by David Kaufman. (Don't bother unless you're a true fan.)
Naturally,
I thought of Ms. Day's clothes. Naturally, I knew I had to blog about the
garments I like.
So. Shall I start with Romance on the High Seas from 1948? Yes, I shall. What a fabulous idea. I so often have them. I do. Really.
Milo Anderson did the wardrobe for this movie (one of film critic Rex Reed's favorites, Mr. Kaufman writes), and some of the dresses are completely over the top, like the baby blue number (at least it's baby blue on my 17-year-old Sony) that Georgia Garrett (yep, our gal Doris) wears on her first evening at sea. Some ensembles (like the suit she wears in the travel agency) are plain boring. They make a suit from Talbot's seem worthy of a Vogue photo shoot.
But this ensemble, worn in Brazil, is perfect. Absolutely. I want this in my wardrobe. And it is possible. Completely. It can be easily duplicated with Vogue 5111, circa 1946, and McCall 6794, copyright 1947.
Now. All I need is a round-trip plane ticket to Brazil. And, of course, one for His Bertness. First class, please.
Oh. Oscar Levant co-stars in Romance on the High Seas. Levant, you may recall, quipped: "I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin."
By the way, I suggest that you avoid Ms. Day's second film, My Dream Is Yours. Ms. Day sings a bouncy bubble of a tune that is second only to Johnny Horton's The Battle of New Orleans in the unrelenting earworm category. You have been warned.