In this weeks Memorable Movie Fashion, I will be talking about the incredible Eartha Kitt in the 1958 film St. Louis Blues
The brief summary on IMDb says,
Will Handy (Nat 'King' Cole) grows up in Memphis with his preacher father (Juano Hernandez) and his Aunt Hagar (Pearl Bailey). His father intends for him to use his musical gifts only in church, but he can't stay away from the music of the streets and workers. After he writes a theme song for a local politician, Gogo (Eartha Kitt), a speakeasy singer, convinces Will to be her accompanist.
I wasn't able to find the film online, but here is a video showing Eartha Kitt and Nat King Cole in the last scene of the film!
I personally feel that Eartha Kitt is highly underrated, both as a singer and an actress. She was also, of course, incredibly beautiful. Here in this film we get to see a wonderful mix of her talent and the fashions that help emphasize how breathtaking she really was. I was unable to get a hold of the film, sadly, but I did find some great images that show costumes throughout the movie. Here you will see designs done by the always wonderful Edith Head.
Of course, the film is black and white so we can't necessarily tell what colors all the clothing is, but we can see here a relatively simplistic outfit for Ms. Kitt. Still, although it seems more "plain" compared to other outfits I will be showing, it is still a fantastic ensemble. The overall silhouette is beautiful as it shows Eartha Kitt's curves. Also, you can see how her character Gogo, contrasts with the other woman of the film. Her black ensemble stand out as showing a mysterious nature whereas the other woman here is wearing almost all white (typically represented as more pure and innocent).
I also really love the V-neck and bow on Gogo's dress as it adds a simple but interesting detail. I have started noticing similar designs like this coming back into style and I think it's great. I love the overall shapes used in this particular design
She also sports a short, curly hairstyle and very natural, makeup throughout the whole movie.
I really love the way this dress is styled. It appears to be made of a silky material and (I'm assuming as this is black and white) a beautiful white. This is of course a contrast to her other, more mysterious outfit. The light color also stands out against her gorgeous dark skin tone as well
This is definitely my favorite outfit by far. I love the overall silhouette of the dress and how Eartha rocks it. The side slit and loose flowiness helped bring in the fun, sassy nature of Gogo's career as a speakeasy singer. This outfit certainly gives off a more 1920's flapper-esque style into the mix.
Gogo wears a few different interesting ensembles throughout the film, while none of them look a whole lot like they are from the 1920's like the film is set in. Despite this, I still really enjoyed the costume design. Edith Head always comes up with great, memorable designs and therefore it was great looking at these beautiful designs.
Tune in next time where I will be flashing forward to the 90s with one of my favorite TV show characters. Here's a hint: smelly cat, smelly cat...
