Exotic Dressed Beauty - Gene Tierney.

Gene Tierney, a woman I gazed at awe in whilst watching her old movies as I grew up. Her grace, beauty, those eyes, her hair, those shoes, her makeup, those dresses, hats, jewels - she was grace personified. It wasn't so much her presence on screen as what she wore on screen that captivated me. Oh those clothes......(whistles loudly)....beautiful.

Laura 1944.

Funnily enough the films that I admire Gene Tierney in don't contain Tyrone Power. She has a most magical presence in the film The Ghost and Mrs Muir, 1947 which was the first film I ever saw her in. It is my favourite Gene Tierney film for her acting and the script. Not one for beautiful dresses or elaborate costumes, it is a film to nourish the soul. Tierney plays a young widow who moves into a lonely old house on a cliff, by the sea called Gull Cottage, which is haunted by a handsome young sea captain called Daniel, and with whom she falls in love. This is the house I desire to build, I love it so. I have watched and cried at this film easily over a thousand times. It touches my soul deeper than I can ever possibly explain.

Having watched her in the films where she starred alongside Tyrone Power, her appeal lessened and she seemed thin and insipid along side his charms, but that may of course be an immense personal preference on my part.........er hem...(coughs).
I didn't warm to her as an actress in any other film until I saw her in Laura, 1944. Where she played alongside Cliffton Webb, he of Mr Belvadere fame. It is a murder mystery as Tierney's character is the victim, and we the audience are asked to unravel the plot through her letters, friends and personal diaries, along with the policeman investigating her death - who soon becomes obsessed with the deceased character.

My favourite red Tierney dress.

Born in 1920, American actress Tierney died in 1991 aged 70 of emphysema. She suffered from mental health issues after the birth of her first born child and was treated with electric Shock therapy, something that she later claimed took large portions of her memory away. Married twice, her first husband whom she married in 1941 and divorced in 1952, was the noted fashion designer Oleg Cassini, who for several years designed exclusively for his movie star wife. He was assistant costume designer to the legendary Edith Head in the 1930's and later in the 1960's became the favourite designer for the classic American first lady Jackie Kennedy, JFK's wife.
Oleg and Tierney had two daughters together. During her first pregnancy in 1943 Tierney contracted Rubella (German measles) from a brief autograph signing of a fan meet and greet at a movie studio held event. Her daughter was born with severe disabilities due to the illness and had to be intitutionalized. All her daughter's medical bills and life long care were paid for by Tierney's good friend billionaire Howard Hughes.

I love this red dress that Tierney wears in this late 1940's photo shoot, no doubt designed and created by her loving husband Oleg Cassini. It is beautiful. Especially with the lilac sash. It's one I hope to recreate for myself one day very soon. I have a huge stash of old movie clips and photos and hoardes of dress sketches I wish to sew, but it's that old enemy time. Until then I shall just keep collecting and drooling......looking for similar at the Vintage Fairs.
This look on the right with the black and whole striped gloves and head band/turban/wrap are what I am on the lookout for at the moment. It is on my list - all except for the pink corsage flower as the finishing touch, for me I think it should be scarlet red. I love EVERYTHING about this photo apart from that pale pink flower. Her hair, lips, coat - just that flower lets it all down. It is a small bug bear, but there we have it.
I ask you, what woman couldn't fail to look timeless, elegant and absolutely stunning with a genius like Cassini exclusively designer for her?!


Tierney and her designer husband Oleg Cassini.



After their divorce Oleg went onto become engaged to Grace Kelly. He was obviously a man who had an eye for style and beauty, not just on the clothes rail but off as well. He even went on to design and produce a fashion doll named after Gene and his second daughter, Tina. Something that is quite sort after by collectors I am told, although I never had one as a child - I think the doll looks suspiciously like his ex-wife Gene, but then maybe it is more than likely to be modelled on their daughter. It's a shame she didn't end up rivaling Sindy or Barbie for their titles, along with Mary Quant's Daisy doll.

I love the delicate neckline of this outfit. Cupids and their hearts. It reminds me of the latest butterfly cardigans that you see around now in the Vintage and retro boutiques in Brighton. Something that would go well with high waisted slacks, a full circle skirt, pencil skirt or cropped jeans. It is cute not matter what the style of occasion you wish to dress it for, with almost a bedtime peignoir lure to it.

Yes, I am afraid it is her designer husband and his creations that fascinate me more about Gene Tierney, than Gene Tierney herself. Even though she had by some standards a tragic life and one of some hardship, I myself see her more as a stunning clothes horse for her husband's genius creations. Perhaps I am being too harsh on her, but really it is not so much Tierney I notice or watch in films, as her dresses that glide by my vigilant eyes.
Yes she is beautiful, yes she is a good actress, but her appeal is more for a male audience I think. All those fluttering eyelashes and demure smiles. No, my interest alone is her outstanding wardrobe - one that I envy with a clear passion. Would that Oleg Cassini design for me! x

Gowns galore to have a hissy fit over. One of the types of gowns Cassini is known for today is his Wedding gowns, of which he had a line out when he died in 2006. Beautiful, elegant and understated, almost echoing the ball and evening gowns of his ex wife Gene Tierney. What a muse she must have been for him, along with Grace Kelly and Jackie O.
If Tierney is wearing an outfit between 1941 and 1952 you can bet it will be have been designed by her clever husband. What better way to advertise your creations than on one of the most beautiful women in the world.

Shopping With A Mission.

Your Mission, should you decide to take it is..................shop till you drop.
Target : Vintage clothing, shoes and bags.......you have your list, work from it.
Your Disguise:
Comfy boots, you have miles of hilly terrain to cover.

Easy to slip on and off dress....there will be changing rooms, lots of them.

Thin Cardigan: It may be the end of October but you will be working up a sweat hiking and carry heavy bags.
Spare high heeled shoes: For trying on those must have dresses.
Large Bag : Carries survival kit, chocolate, mobile, purse and bottles of water.
Camera : You never know?
Your destination : Brighton, all the Laines...........cue music........................

Up at 6am, quick get ready as my lift will be here soon. Yup, shopping this early. Well, first is the travel time and the aim is to get there exactly as the shops open. Bang on. We have a lot of ground to cover!
For those of you who have never been clothes shopping with me.......well let's just say it is an experience, and for those of you who have, I apologise again, you really didn't know what you were letting yourselves in for bless you. All those miles and hours I made you walk, I hang my head in shame..........but it is an addiction. Fortunately it has taken me years to find her, but I have found a worthy adversary. Someone who loves clothes shopping every bit as much as I do, and who can shop just as hard and fast. Ding Dong!

Even before the shops opened Brighton was busy, heaving like a swarm of bees. We parked and set off through the large shopping centre and off into the back hills of Brighton. The best place I know for the most vintage, retro and general cute individual shops in this area.
First place we headed for was the wonderful Velvet in Bond Street. One of my favourite shops and I couldn't leave without I buying a cute little delicate scarf before we blasted into Irregular Choice shoes like a whirlwind of squeals!! Their shoes are to die for!!
Then it was off to one of the best vintage shops in Brighton that I know Dirty Harry in Sydney Street. Their prices are so much more than reasonable and the staff are fabulous, not only by wearing the vintage clothing in their own individual styles but also in their pleasant approach to helping customers. It's a thumbs up from us. My girlie friend bought the most divine Audrey Hepburn 1960's black marabou feathered wiggle number. Bellissimo. x
Bustling down Sydney street was a gas and all the shops and market stalls were in a Halloweenie mood, except one seemed to have a mix up of the seasons and had the Easter Bunny ears out instead?! But they're so cute, we can forgive them for making us go "Awwwwww look at the bunny ears!"

Next it was a quick step over to the gorgeous Wolf and Gypsy who always present their shop in such a beautiful way. They have at the moment these most adorable hand knitted cardigans, but that will have to be for another day. We had a list to stick to for situations just like this, when one of us is torn and drawn by a beautiful item of clothing.....the others job is to issue firm orders to "step away from the non listed bargain"!

We weaved our way through Sydney street in and out of the nicely presented vintage shops and one rare shop that smelt of heavily of moths balls and where everything is piled it seems without neither care nor love. Each of us holding the others bags as we rummaged on hands and knees sometimes through the piles of discarded hats, shoes and wraps. Rail upon rail of coats and vintage dresses, asking to move mirrors into the light and giving each other honest appraisal and opinions of potential purchases. We met some of the most jolly, happy and lovable staff along our merry journey and some that were so miserable their faces might have cracked had they actually smiled at us, but that's the heady mix of Brighton that I love.

The energy, the buzz, that eclectic mix of life....and then it happened, I stepped into a small store that I adore on the corner of Sydney street, the rightly and justly named Fashion Temple, and I fell in love with a dress the moment I saw it hanging there on the rail. A 1950's rockabilly retro wild black and red cherries halterneck dress with low hung black netting. That with petticoat frou frous at home would look banging! For such a bargain price I could not leave it there, it had to come home with me, but not before I twirled around the shop in it jive style. Ready for next years Vintage Fair.

A sharp left turn up the road and we were at another shop I adore Kate and Aud . Small compact, but beautiful and filled with the most delicious items on the cusp of Trafalgar Street. Kate does the dresses, Aud the jewelry. I found a beautiful 1930's tea dress upstairs, but sadly it was designed for a flat chested girl. I know, I was heart broken. My head had already planned it to go with my heeled tan brogues, brown knitted bolero.....but it was not to be ma cherie. Having traipsed through every vintage store on the North Laines it was time to head over to the conventional stores for a quick mooch before heading off to the South Laines, Ship Street, where my girlie friend fell in love with a vintage fur coat in Penelope's Portmanteau, a classy little joint with smoking hot jewelry and handbags. We rounded the day off with a visit to Monsoon a shop I adore at any time of the year or any place.

Winding the day down we snuck into Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shop  for a few treats to take home. The shop is a legend of vintage sweets for memory taste buds. Our nearest one is in Chichester and my girls love it! It is the main shopping event for them every time we go in.

We also quickly popped over to Hardy's Orginal Sweet Shop There is so much to test and taste that it's like Harry Potter's Honey Duke's store. There is always something new to squeal at. Shelves filled to the brim with row upon row of delectable sweets, all brightly packaged and coloured begging to be tried and devoured. This time I got them a Gumball machine each to savour. The staff were all dressed in full macabre Halloween costume, which I adore. It really gets everyone into the ghoulish spirit of things and is immense fun!!!! 

Last but no way in the least is a visit to the famous  Choocywoocydoodah's in Duke Street where the window chocolate sculpture displays have hoards of people always crowded around it. They never disappoint and have displayed a gorgeous Halloween theme. As this is the career path my youngest daughter wants to take, I just had to take some photos to show my girls when I got home, They displayed a Vampire pre-bite on a woman's neck and several life like chocolate skulls.

It's a must do visit I'm afraid! The sculptures are so  awesome and then you realise that they are completely made out of chocolate....the fascination and admiration grows ten fold in a heart beat.

Heading home with arms full of bags, recent loved purchases, treats for those loved ones at home and sides aching from laughing together girlie friend and I staggered gracefully back to the carpark.

Tonight my legs and buttocks ache from walking and climbing quaint little boutique staircases. That was some hardcore shopping, but it was worth it..every step, even if we did only buy two vintage items off our lists......there is always another shopping day to plan.

A Chinosiere Day With BIG Red Lips!

I managed to power walk my way through Brighton to the Royal Pavilion, without stopping at a single shoe or clothes shop along the way! How's that for will power!!

The Royal Pavilion is a former royal residence of the Prince Regent, later to become King George 1V when he was aged 49.  It was built in three campaigns, beginning in 1787, as a seaside retreat for the Prince. It is built in the Indo-Saracenic ( a British Gothic - Indian style built in India by British architect's), prevalent in India for most of the 19th century, with the most extravagant style, (and I have always loved this word! ) chinoiserie interiors ever executed in the British Isles. Chinosierie is a French term signifying 'Chinese - esque' in style. Considering that none of the designers, artists, craftsman, architect or indeed the Prince Regent himself had ever been to China. All was done from objects brought back from exotic trips to the far east.

I love the Royal Pavilion or Brighton Pavilion as I commonly know it. I love it's eye line on the horizon, I love the sheer extravagance of it and the total originality as it stands out bold as brass like a sore thumb in it's surroundings.

It was the Prince Regent who made Brighton fashionable during the Georgian period. He was a great patron of the arts and donated many collections to this country after his father's death and his death that we are most grateful for, including the British Library. King George 1V was born 12 August 1762 and died the 26th June 1830, just ten years after he was crowned King. He served as Prince Regent during his father King George 111 relapses into mental illness (maddness). People at the time called him a fat, idle and lazy King who squandered all England's money. He was characterized in all the papers as being nothing but a big fat whale. And although he was an utterly useless Monarch who led an extremely extravagant lifestyle at the expense of the country, but I can't help but  rather admire him as a man of impeccable taste. He certainly knew his stuff when it came to design be that in art, architecture or fashion. Of course he took a lot of pointers off the stylish Beau Brummell, until they fell out with Brummell uttering the  famous phrase -"Alvanley, Whose your fat friend?!" at a masquerade ball in 1813, when George 1V snubbed him.
  I even find it amusing that he hated his wife, Caroline of Brunswick - (whom his Father forced him to marry by blackmailing him and paying off his gambling debts), so much he banned her from his own coronation and claimed that "she smelt because she never washed her knickers!!" Consequently they only had one daughter, Princess Charlotte, and he continued to live with his beloved mistress, the widowed and Catholic Mrs Fitzherbert, whom he stayed with for the rest of his life.
George IV's heavy drinking and indulgent lifestyle took its toll on his health and by the late 1820s he was mostly bed bound. His taste for huge banquets and copious amounts of alcohol caused him to become obese, making him the target of ridicule on the rare occasions that he did appear in public. He suffered from gout,arteriosclerosis, dropsy and possibly it is thought porphyria (like his father - which is thought to have caused his maddness). He would spend whole days in bed and suffered spasms of breathlessness that would leave him half-asphyxiated. He died at about half-past three in the morning of 26 June 1830 at Windsor Castle; he called out "Good God, what is this?" clasped his page's hand and said "my boy, this is death."

But enough of the history behind the Palace, what about the Palace itself! Well, we decided to make use of our wonderful ARTFUND pass, so we gained entrance for FREE with free audio tour guides! One fo my favourite words when finding places of education and history. As intended the moment you walking into the Palace you get the immediate WOW factor! The whole Pavilion is sumptuous in design and feel. Everything is over the top with added bling - yet all extremely tastefully done. One thing Georgie Porgie (Yes, he of nursery rhyme fame) had was class and an eye for stylish detail. He brought everything together with his keen eye for quality and taste. 
My eldest daughter was blown away by the Banqueting Room, I think we all were. The dragons that adorned the walls, ceilings, fireplace and furniture were equisite. The Silver Dragon holding the Chandelier was the Queen of Dragons, resplendant in her shinning scales.

Sadly photograpghy wasn't allowed inside and I couldn't flaunt their rules long enough to get a good enough picture of the dragon ceiling.

Each room was just as splendid, and full of mannequins with regency costumes along the way for the exhibition 'Dress for Excess' fashion in Regency England. It is an exhibition to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Regency Act (the Parliamentary act that allowed George to act as Prince Regent and gave birth to the Regency period). The clothes were divine. Elegant, simplistic and to die for gorgeous. It was like walking into Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet's dressing rooms. I wanted to try every single one on, but had to make do just looking at them from behind a fancy gold braided rope. I will admit that I was leaning over so far at one point, there was a chance I could fall.
The music room was one of the most divinely hand painted murial walls I have ever, ever seen!! The sign before we entered said : 'Please remove stillettos before walking on the carpet' - the shag carpet was that deep!!
The bedrooms weren't as OTT as the downstairs, but the metal bamboo staircase up to them was very novel. I was fascinated by the secret passageways for the servants to disappear down and when you walked down them, they had a delicious energy all of their own.
Our youngest girl loved the kitchens and the massive range. Did you know that at his banquets the Prince Regent would have 32 courses served!! The jelly and blamange moulds ranged from tiny weeny scallop shells and castles to huge monstrous copper things that you could wear as a helmet. Another fact I learnt today was that the Prince Regent was the first to have and serve ice-cream in this country, and the first steam table with piped steam to keep dishes warm before serving. A sort of hot plate of today. He even had his bath plumbed to the sea so he could bath in sea water at the Pavilion to save him the bother of going down to the seafront. He certainly was a trend setter and fashionable mover shaker with his ideas and quirky 'must have's'.

Cherry red lips Mwahhhh!!

After a brief walk around the protected gardens we wandered into the Brighton Museum and Gallery. Home to artist Salvador Dali's famous Mae West's Lips sofa, which I couldn't wait to show the girls, as I haven't been here since I was a student many moons ago. They now even have a mini sofa to have photos taken on! As you can tell from the photo below the girls couldn't understand my bubbling excitement at the Big Red Lips sofa. I have always loved and desired this sofa and stood for a good minute in front of it demanding to have my photo taken whilst passing German visitors frowed at the mad little lady unable to contain herself took to hopping on the spot in the black and white spotty dress!

Tribal spirit costume.

We got to see one of my favourite designer's chairs - Rennie Mackintosh, trace the history of Brighton and see authentic Punch and Judy dolls and stands, travel through the world in the World Art exhibitions and see a tribal spirit costume - which absolutely fascinated me!

The upstairs fashion show through time was torturous as there were so many costumes that I would love to wear, including a Regency and Chinese inspired white dress by Zandra Rhodes, an Ozzie Clark little yellow number and a very delicate 1940's ballerina embroidered chemise - topped off with lots of period shoes, especially red ones! My embarrassed youngest did have to pull me off the glass at one - no, I will be honest here, several times today - as I plastered myself in front of certain items of clothing and the words "Must have dress" puffed out from my lips.