This week's obsession: Hollywood glamour
"Glamour" originally referred to a magic spell, an illusion said to be cast by witches. Think Glenda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz.
Hollywood glamour will always be a source of inspiration for many of us. Its timeless style is loved and embraced by those of us who want to look flawless and charming. Sophisticated and feminine styles from that period will always be in trend. Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor are just few iconic names who left their footprints in the history of elegance.
During the 1950s, movie stars wanted to wear real jewellery, rather than costume jewellery — especially after Prince Rainier III gave his bride, Grace Kelly, Cartier jewels. Studios then started to develop their own stores of jewellery to use in movies.
Greta Garbo refused to wear a faux diamond and emerald necklace for the movie “Camille” in 1936. The very tight choker had pointed silver leaves that actually cut into her neck. She had to wear a cape over it. We all know beauty requires some degree of sacrifice or pain.
Virginia Postrel says that for glamour to be successful it nearly always requires sprezzatura—an appearance of effortlessness, and to appear distant—transcending the everyday, to be slightly mysterious and somewhat idealised, but not to the extent it is no longer possible to identify with the person.
Hollywood studios presented their female stars in designer gowns and exquisite jewellery, both on screen and in carefully orchestrated occasions for publicity. Joan Crawford is quoted to have said, "I never go outside unless I look like Joan Crawford the movie star."
Create your own magic spell, you can be as glamorous as you want with all of our amazing jewellery. We at Covett take care of everything behind the scenes so you can just shine like a glamorous Hollywood star.
Hollywood Fun Facts
Swedish-born Greta Garbo didn’t know any English when she came to America in 1925. Her sizzling first line was “Gimme a whisky, ginger ale on the side, and don’t be stingy, baby!”
Bela Lugosi, an Austro-Hungarian immigrant who became a household name after the release of 1931’s smash-hit Dracula, used to learn his lines phonetically for his earlier roles.
The screen tests for the role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind were the largest ever recorded. Over 1,400 unknown actresses were interviewed in a nationwide casting call, and dozens of famous stars auditioned for the part, including Katharine Hepburn, Loretta Young, Helen Hayes, Lana Turner, and Lucille Ball.
Early in his acting career, Newman was often mistaken for Marlon Brando, and he claims to have signed around 500 autographs on Brando’s behalf.
Katharine Hepburn’s relationship with Spencer Tracy is one of Hollywood’s most legendary love affairs. They had a relationship for 27 years until Tracy’s death in 1967. Tracy was an unhappily married father of two when they met, but he never pursued a divorce and remained married throughout the whole affair. They made a total of nine films together.
Despite winning four Oscars and being nominated for eight more, Katharine Hepburn never attended an Academy Awards ceremony as a nominee.
Marlene Dietrich’s voice was unique, iconic, and probably her most defining and valuable feature. She was no doubt aware of this; she insured her voice for $1 million. While Fred Astaire insured both of his legs for $75,000, and his arms for $20,000.
One of the silver screen’s most iconic and dazzling pairs, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared in 10 films together between 1933 and 1949. The first was Flying Down To Rio, in which the two had minor roles, and the last was The Barkleys of Broadway, which was both their only film together released outside of RKO, and the only one shot in Technicolor.
Jimmy Stewart wore the same old reliable hat in all of his Westerns from Winchester ‘73 in 1950 to Two Rode Together in 1961. He also rode the same horse, named Pie, for 17 westerns in total.
Gone with the Wind premiered at Loew’s Grand Theater in Atlanta, Georgia on December 15, 1939. Producer David O. Selznick wanted to bring African-American actress Hattie McDaniel (who played Mammy) along to the premiere, but MGM advised him not to on account of Georgia’s segregation laws at the time. Clark Gable, McDaniel’s co-star, was outraged, and threatened to boycott the premiere unless she were permitted to attend. McDaniel convinced him to attend anyway, and the premiere went ahead without her. She went on to become the first African-American Oscar winner for her role in the film, winning Best Supporting Actress.
Sources
Here is a link to read more about What Old Hollywood Glam Teaches Us About Style Today
https://darlingmagazine.org/old-hollywood-glam-teaches-us-style-today/
