L a - b e a u t é - s a u v e r a - l e - m o n d e ~ D o s t o ï e v s k i

L a - b e a u t é - s a u v e r a - l e - m o n d e  ~  D o s t o ï e v s k i



Friday, March 7, 2014

Leslie Caron, portraits for "Gigi" by Cecil Beaton, 1958






6 comments:

  1. My favorite movie of all time that I have seen thousands of times since I was a little boy. She's still a stunning woman. Cecil Beaton will never be matched!

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  2. I love this film too, though I have always felt that the dress which she wears to Maxim's on her first serious date with Gaston, was just a bit too starkly severe. Sure it makes a point about the character, but it implies a level of sophistication she doesn't quite possess yet. And well, Isobel Jeans, j'adore.

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    1. The only issue I have with "the dress", is that I don't think it has enough in the way of petticoats; it hangs a bit too "frankly" about the hips, I think. And oh, yes, Isabel Jeans; my own Gigi can testify, I - am - Aunt Alicia! : )

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  3. Well, since we're going to get into minutiae here, like we do, I will call attention to the birds on her shoulders, which just look kind of sloppy in construction. I'm willing to forgo the fact that that sort of decoration was not considered evening wear appropriate, but the birds look oddly slapdash to me. Considering how much money was ladled over this project, it bugs me. Now the white embroidered lace afternoon dress she wears in the prior scenes is perfection in every detail.

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    1. I've always thought the birds looked odd, too. Beaton was never - at all - particular about historical accuracy - one must overlook SO much in his work - but, as awkward as those birds are, it must have been his intention that they look that way, don't you think? He was known to be fairly tyrannical in his demands, and usually got his way. Even when he was wrong!

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