My love of red dresses all started with Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds. I have talked before about how film has had a subconscious influence on pushing me in the direction of vintage and I would have to say Inglorious Basterds had the most significant influence of all. I was around eighteen when the film came out and I became absolutely obsessed with it. In all honesty I probably saw it around ten times.
I love Tarantino’s work for his witty dialogue and outrageous story lines, however something that makes his work stand out from other directors is the way he writes the female protagonists in his films. Tarantino has created some of the most empowered female characters on screen and my inspiration for this outfit comes from Tarantino’s heroine in Inglorious Basterds, Shosanna.
Inglorious Basterds takes place in occupied France and as you can imagine from such a setting, the costumes the characters wear are very chic. The outfit Shosanna wears before she sets fire to the cinema is my favorite costume from the film and was the inspiration for this outfit featuring the Clarice dress by The Seamstress of Bloomsbury. Clarice is based on a 1946 style and made of Rayon Crepe de Chine for an authentic 1940s feel, with lovely little buttons and puff sleeves.
I wore this fabulous dress on a cool morning in the city where I did a bit of shopping and stopped for coffee. While I was drinking my coffee an older lady came up to inquire where I had got my dress as it reminded her so much of the ones that were worn when she was young! This encounter truly shows the dedication that The Seamstress of Bloomsbury have for create authentic reproductions. It is always a pleasure to see how excited the generation who wore these styles get when they see that the fashions of their youth are back!
Wearing:
Vintage 1940s hat – VanityFlairVintage on Etsy
Clarice dress by The Seamstress of Bloomsbury – courtesy of The Seamstress of Bloomsbury
I Love Billy – heels
Again with the perfect settings and wonderful outfit. Love it!
What a gorgeous dress, love the red!! Also your hat is so beautiful and I love these photos! xo
Great location and what an outfit! You know how I feel about the movie and I think you look great!
Femme fatale! A knockout dress in a suitably historic location. Wonderful photographs x
Lovely photos! The color of the dress and the beautiful period details are utterly perfect. I swear, every time I see a piece from Seamstress of Bloomsbury I like them more. I need to start saving my pennies for one of their dresses.
Great styling as well. The location is so right for this dress, and the hat with the little veil is seriously making me swoon.
Amazing dress! And you wear it so well.
I also really love this amazing location.
Many hugs,
Sandra <3
Where do you find these buildings, seriously?! Such perfect photos, boy you show off this lovely dress so well. And I love the hat too! You could be their brand ambassador, I swear it x
Stunning, Stunning, STUNNING!!! What an incredible outfit! You look as if you have stepped out of a Hercule Poirot episode. A serious femme fatale!
That background is a perfect one for this outfit! The floor is beautiful. I love the hat with the veil too- it coordinates so nicely with the style of the dress.
It’s always fun when older people comment about how you are wearing what they wore “back in the day”. It’s such a nice connection 🙂
The Artyologist
This dress is so gorgeous and coordinates so perfectly with the setting. I haven’t yet tried any of the Seamstress of Bloomsbury dresses but I have a headscarf from them. I’m dying to try them though as like you say, you can really see the dedication to the patterns they’re inspired by – so classic and beautiful 🙂
I live, when out and about, for encounters like those. They’re so incredibly touching and enjoyable, I find, for both parties and help to remind me (us, vintage folks) that there are lots of people out there who do indeed appreciate and greatly enjoy seeing the way we dress, even if it doesn’t always feel like such in a sea of basic black yoga pants.
This dress is a classic delight and looks immensely lovely on you, sweet Harlow.
xoxo ♥ Jessica
I agree with you that movies have a great influence, i feel also inspired by them a lot. My biggest last influence was American Horror Story Hotel and its vintage couture, the costumes were breathtaking and I want to imitate some of them.
Read about the birth of trends in fashion (link) or discover a cool vintage shop for your next trip to Bratislava, Slowakia (link).
I know I have said this before of your wonderful photos, but goodness these look like snapshots from a film I would love to see. Gorgeous framing and lighting, and a beautiful outfit and subject too! That first photo with the tile is particularly stunning, it seems there is a story hiding in that photo.
You find the best backdrops, you really do!