Okay, so part of my goal of writing this column was to introduce people to really amazing films through fashion. Here, I deviate. "Sex and the Single Girl" is a dumb romantic comedy from 1964 that emulates but fails to live up to the greatness of the Rock Hudsn-Doris Day 60s sex comedies. However, it does feature gorgeous Natalie Wood and Lauren Bacall wearing great 60s clothes. Yet they manage to be upstaged by an unknown in a supporting role named Fran Jeffries who plays a provocative singer, Gretchen. Gretchen's fun, colorful wardrobe stands out because leading lady Wood's character only wears black-and-white. We first see her in this adorabletwo-piece outfit, which immediately contrasts her with Wood's uptight character:
Gretchen's penchant for belly shirts is probably supposed to read as excessive but instead predates today's crop-top trend. And if you've got a body like she does, flaunt it!
As you can she, she also has a fabulously huge beehive hairdo and loves bright colors. I fell in love with this two-toned dress she wears while performing. Its flowiness shows off the differently colored inside as she dances around. Simply gorgeous:
But my favorite outfit of hers comes in the film's last scene. I love it because of how current it is; she would look appropriate in a current editorial:
What we can learn from Gretchen's wardrobe is how much color, patterns, and variety can spice up an otherwise dull setting. Think of uniforms: adding an accessory or interesting detail can make as much of a difference as Gretchen's colors add to the film's overall look. Despite the film's general black-and-white decor, you come away remembering as colorful solely because of her.
The print in the first picture reminds me of Stella McCartney's citrus prints for the spring 2011 season. And that outfit with the pink shirt and orange pants? Rihanna was just wearing that. A lot of reviewers are saying that next season has a 70s inspiration (kill me now), but maybe there's some late 60s too?
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