Film Noir and Fashion at the Skirball

The period of 1933 to 1950 saw the dramatic effects of wartime in film, fashion and everyday life. I recently went to check out an exhibit at The Skirball Cultural Center, “Light & Noir,” which examines how Jews, banned from the German film industry in the early 1930s, began emigrating to the United States, bringing an influence of German Expressionist cinema into film noir. Also running is the “Noir Effect” exhibit, which shows how American crime dramas of the 1940s and’50s brought a moody sense of style that is still popular with those of us who love vintage culture and fashion.

While the exhibits themselves are a lot of information to take in (and are worthy of a couple of visits to absorb it all, plus a few downloads on Netflix to catch all the film references), the Skirball also brought in experts on the period for special events, including the one I attended with my fashion-loving gal pals, a lecture by Glamamor’s Kimberly Truhler on the history of fashion in film noir.

I love how Kimberly presents her talks, she is a wealth of knowledge on fashion history and can tell you where every hemline, neckline and silhouette comes from. She credits the designers, reveals the practical reason behind many of their designs (to make tiny actresses appear taller and body troublespots disappear) and then shows how the cuts and detailing of costume designers for film made their way into high fashion and everyday trends so you see the full circle impact.

In this lecture she covered the looks featured in “Gun for Hire,” “Casablanca,” “To Have and Have Not” “Mildred Pierce,” “Gilda,” “The Killers,” “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Sunset Blvd.”

I especially loved learning about how Veronica Lake stood at 4’11” and therefore wore a lot of dresses cut with long waists and sleeves, deep v-necks and gown-lengths to hide her platform shoes, courtesy of Oscar-winning designer Edith Head.

There was also the outrageous amount of structure that went on behind Rita Hayworth’s “Gilda” gown to make sure it stayed on during her famous dance scene and hid her belly (though I don’t think she has one!)

You can read more about the fashion of this period on Kimberly’s Glamamor website and be sure to look for her upcoming events.

Following the fashion lecture was a lecture on makeup of the period by Besame Cosmetics‘ Gabriela Hernandez who not only created a successful line of vintage-inspired products but wrote the book, “Classic Beauty: The History of Makeup.”

One lucky audience member received a makeover to achieve a look of the period while Gabriela informed us all how makeup was evolved during that time from pan-stick to pancake and how they had to go to extremes to get the makeup right under the early lighting equipment for film.

Then I made my way through the exhibit and the gift shop where I found the fashions of Clever Vintage Clothing for sale and some irresistible novelties, including the “Here’s Looking at You” flask I picked up!

It was the perfect day out with the girls – who of course, dressed to kill for the event!

The Skirball Cultural Center “Light & Noir” and “The Noir Effect” exhibits run through March 1, 2015. 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049

Play it again Sam,
Kastle

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