Classic Film and Fashion.

Film has always given us girls fashion ideas. Costumes not only help create a character, but it can start fashion trends. Here is a list of fashion trendsetting movies.


Brooks sleek hairdo and half-naked beaded flapper gowns were perfect for her character in PANDORA'S BOX. The look also worked for for Cyd Charisse and Melanie Griffith, who copied it for their performances in "Singin' in the Rain" and "Something Wild,".


Designer Adrian helped dress MGM queens: Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo and Jean Harlow, but it was his work in LETTY LYNTON (1932), that showed Hollywood just how much influence it had on the way women dressed. His designs showed off each star's best physical features. For Crawford he created a white organdy dress with shoulder ruffles, more than a million women added the white organdy dress to their own closets. And the broad-shouldered power suits he designed for Crawford became a very popular style with woman. Edith Head once called LETTY LYNTON the greatest influence on fashion in film history.


PAT AND MIKE (1952). This film was a perfect example of Katharine Hepburn liberating image. From her first performance, Hepburn defied convention by dressing like a man, saying her high-waisted trousers, men's shirts and loafers were more comfortable. The look seem to fit perfectly with her characters, which helped changed fashion for women. In 1986 the Council of Fashion Designers of America honored her with a special award. She never took herself too seriously, she accepted saying, "We're in a pretty serious spot when the original bag lady wins a prize for the way she looks."



Grace Kelly and designer Edith Head produced fashion magic in the movie, Rear Window(1954). Alfred Hitchcock wanted Grace Kelly to look, understated and elegant. With Kelly perfectly cast as a fashionable socialite, Head was able to create beautiful designs. From a pale green skirt suit to the floral print dress showed woman of the 50s how to be chic, and a new fashion icon was born.


When Brigitte Bardot sunbathed in her bikini in the film AND GOD CREATED WOMAN, her career began as the "sex kitten. The ballet flats and plunging necklines were soon the rage. And her tousled up-swept hair, is still to this day the height of casual elegance.


The combination of colors and exposed undergarments of Rosalind Russell costumes in the film, AUNTIE MAME (1958). Designer Orry-Kelly, found the glamour in Mame's bohemian lifestyle and her style continues to be popular today.



BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (1961). When Audrey Hepburn ate breakfast while looking in Tiffany’s windows, the little black dress she wore became the staple in many woman's wardrobe. Created by designer, Givenchy. That wasn't the only fashion influence in this classic 1961 comedy, the triple strand pearl necklaces, sleeveless dresses and oversized sunglasses, are still considered the height of elegance even today.



BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967). When Faye Dunaway, looked at Theodora van Runkle's printed scarves, pencil skirts, knitted sweaters, the one time model completely changed her style. "… until I met Theodora, clothes...had just been part of the job," Dunaway once said. "She taught me how much fun it can be." Soon all us girls wanted to look "retro chic". Even the beret, once only worn by Frenchmen and struggling poets, became a hot fashion item. Because of the film, BONNIE AND CLYDE, the '30s look became popular in the 1970s.