Edith Head & Hollywood

I apologise for the absence from this blog, I am hoping to update more regularly this year!
Today I want to talk about the wonderful exhibition being held in Bendigo, Australia, all about Edith Head and her long, successful career as a designer.

The exhibition features hundreds of costumes from films ranging from the 1930s to the 1960s, including, Samson & Delilah, The Ten Commandments, Funny Face, Sunset Boulevard, The Lady Eve and Vertigo. The exhibit provides lots of quotes from Head and the actors and actresses she worked with about her designs, as well as featuring sketches and her Oscar for Roman Holiday. 
It was wonderful to see outfits worn by all three of my favourite actresses, Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood and Joanne Woodward, and I've included some pictures below.
Head worked with almost every actress you can think of and always made sure to design costumes that would suit their shapes and make them feel confident. She also studied the film scripts extensively and made sure her costumes suited the character and their actions, she never wanted an outfit to outshine the actress, their work was always centre stage.
Looking at the beautiful costumes it is easy to see why Head had such a long career in the fickle film industry. Her creations are meticulously made and she had a wonderful eye for detail. Not only that but each outfit perfectly suited the film and actress they adorned.

(Suit worn by Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face, 1957)

(Gown worn by Natalie Wood in Inside Daisy Clover, 1965)

(Dress worn by Natalie Wood in The Great Race, 1965. It's a bit hard to see in the photo because of the background, but I've included a picture of the sketch as well)

(Cocktail dress worn by Joanne Woodward in A New Kind of Love, 1963)

(Ensemble worn by Kim Novak in Vertigo, 1958)

(Peacock gown worn by Hedy Lamaar in Samson and Delilah, 1949)

(Dress & coat worn by Shelley Winters in A Place in the Sun, 1951. This one was unusual as they also had the original shoes Winters wore on display. Apparently owing to the nature of the studio system few shoes survived their frequent reuse)

(Costume worn by Yul Brynner in The Buccaneer, 1958)

(All photographs taken by me)

Marilyn Monroe Exhibition

If there are any Classic Hollywood fans out there in Australia, I cannot recommend the Bendigo Art Gallery's Marilyn Monroe exhibition enough! It is fantastic!

The exhibit is full of fascinating artefacts from Marilyn's life. These include costumes worn in her films,  several clothing items from her personal wardrobe, as well as her film scripts, makeup, photos, books and much more!
It is a beautiful look at both the public and private personas of this enigmatic star.

And don't forget to take a look at the 'Forever Marilyn' statue situated in Bendigo's Rosalind Park, it's 8 metres tall and has come all the way from America where it usually resides in California.

Its a must see!