Movies You Ought To See: The Thin Man Films

William Powell and Myrna Loy drink like fish, solve mysteries, and banter with the sort of affectionate gender animosity that passed for a happy marriage in the 1930s.  The movies are charming, funny, and (sexism, racism, and alcoholism aside) have a surprisingly modern sensibility.  The series spans my favorite period of history (first film 1934, last film 1947), and the clothes are straight-up gorgeous.  This is what Nick and Nora wear to get a midnight snack of scrambled eggs and toast:

Let's see that again from another angle:

I'm Obsessed With:

...these British Pathé short films.

Just search for "fashion" and set the decade for the 1940s, and it's a wonderful historical resource and source of inspiration.  For instance, check out this May 1945 video (I wish I could embed it, but the technology won't bend to my will).

The narrator implies that rationing will soon be over, but in fact it would be in force for another four years.  Sorry, girls--those frills and fripperies will have to wait.

(Thanks to CargoCultCraft for the link; I never would have found this amazing resource on my own!)

Eras and Styles

If you follow this blog at all you have probably noticed that my go-to era is the early forties.  I have a slightly more complicated relationship to the period than some other sewing bloggers because I draft my own patterns--but then again, none of us can manage complete period accuracy in any case, not when we're using modern fabrics, modern techniques, and our modern sense of what looks "right."  When I'm drafting a new pattern, I usually flip through the vintage patterns wiki and search around on Pinterest for inspiration, but I never stick with any one pattern; I take the neckline on one, the waist detailing on another, and draft up a version that works for my body and tastes.

That said, I've noticed that I take different things from different periods.  In the forties, I'm drawn to a very practical, war-work sensibility--slacks, overalls, square shoulders and straight skirts:

Movies You Ought To See: His Girl Friday (& some thoughts on history)

His Girl Friday (1940).  Rosalind Russell attempts to escape the newspaper business by marrying a sweet but simple insurance salesman, played by Ralph Bellamy, but her ex-husband (and ex-boss) Cary Grant isn't about to let that happen.

The really wonderful thing about His Girl Friday is that, appearances to the contrary, it is not a love story about Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant: it's a love story about Rosalind Russell and the newspaper business.  For the middle hour of the movie, Grant is offscreen trying to get Bellamy thrown in jail.  That's a whole hour where all we see is the fast-talking and talented Ms. Russell quipping with hardened newspapermen, interviewing murderers, comforting maligned and helpless women, and tackling police wardens for a story (literally tackling, it's brilliant).  No wonder that at the end of the movie she finds she can't give it up, even for the love of a good man.