how to dress for halloween

venice bal besteigui photographed by robert doisneau, september 3, 1951

marisa berenson dressed as marchesa luisa casati at le bal proust photographed by cecil beaton, 1971

a group of elves with an elf king, 1909

gala & salvador dali’s “night in a surrealist forest” dinner party, 1941

oscar de la renta (left) and baron alexis de rede (right) at de rede's bal oriental, 5 december 1969

marquise mahaut de chabannes in cléopatra costume for  marchesa casati’s “fete of ancient splendour," at her rose palace photographed by george hoyningen-huene,  ca. 1927 

senhora espírito santo and the duke and duchess of cadaval at the surrealiste ball, 1972

suzy beryl wearing an erté costume in coeurs en folie (la revue des folies bergère), 1924

venice bal besteigui photographed by robert doisneau, 3 september 1951

costume party, ca. 1920s

bal des masques organized by baron de redé at the hôtel lambert, (possibly bal des têtes) photographed by andré ostier, 1956 

 jacques fath as "charles IV", madame fath as "elizabeth of austria" and christian bérard as "henry VIII" atthe bal des rois et reines, paris, 1949

marquisa luisa casati wearing "queen of the night" costume designed by léon bakst, 1922 

mrs. robert l. stevens dressed as greta garbo for the masquerade ball given by muriel maxwell in the crystal room at the ritz, photographed by edward steichen, paris,  9 december, 1929

kids in halloween costumes photographed by arthur tress, ca. 1960s

okay, okay, so most of these are not from halloween....but really, aren't these costumes so much more interesting than a slutty nurse or slutty slut?

gone but not forgotten - john gilbert

with 4th wife, actress virginia bruce, 1932.

photographed by edward steichen for vanity fair, october, 1927.

in madness of youth,  1923.

with greta garbo in a woman of affairs, 1928

with marlene dietrich at a hollywood preview, october 9, 1935.

in the merry widow, 1925.

with renée adorée in the big parade, 1925.

the great lover

10 july, 1897 - 9 january, 1936

born john cecil pringle in logan, utah gilbert struggled through a childhood of abuse & neglect before moving to hollywood as a teenager. he became the protégé & leading man of the highly esteemed french director maurice tourneur.  in 1924, he moved to metro-goldwyn-mayer where he would become a full fledged star with such high profile films as his hour directed by king vidor; he who gets slapped & the merry widow directed by erich von stroheim.  in 1925, he starred in the big parade directed by vidor which became the second highest grossing silent film. 

in 1922, gilbert married his second wife, actress leatrice joy. they had a daughter but the rocky marriage only lasted 2 years.  in 1926, gilbert made flesh and the devil, his first film with greta garbo. they began a highly publicized affair that developed with ardor from gilbert's standpoint & characteristic ambivalence from garbo's. after several zealous proposals, garbo was browbeaten into acquiescing to marriage - it was to be a double wedding for 26 september of 1926; gilbert & garbo and king vidor & eleanor boardman. on the morning of the wedding, garbo bolted. gilbert was distraught & frantic. at that point louis b. mayer said to him "what's the matter with you, gilbert? what do you have to marry her for? why don't you just fuck her and forget about it?" gilbert went crazy & started strangling mayer & banging his head against the tiled wall of the bathroom. mayer's "bodyguard", ex-bouncer eddie mannix broke them up but the damage had been done.  eleanor boardman reported mayer hissing through clenched teeth: "you're finished gilbert. i'll destroy you if it costs me a million dollars." 

gilbert had just signed an ironclad contract for 6 pictures at $250,000 each but it is rumored that mayer deliberately gave him bad scripts & ineffective directors in an effort to void the contract. his first romantic role on the talking screen was his glorious night in 1929. according to film reviews of the day, audiences laughed nervously at gilbert's performance & high pitched voice.  

when garbo finally ended their on again-off again relationship in 1929, he immediately married 3rd wife, stage actress ina claire. they divorced in 1931. in 1932 he married his 4th wife, actress & singer virginia bruce & they had a daughter together. they divorced in 1934.

in 1933, at garbo's insistence, gilbert was cast to play opposite her in queen christina.  at the time of the film the reception was lukewarm & did nothing to reinstate gilbert's popularity. in his last picture, the captain hates the sea, he was surrounded by a cast of hard drinkers that did nothing to help with his downward spiral & drinking problems.  

by 1934, alcoholism had severely damaged gilbert's health. he had been having a torrid affair with marlene dietrich & according to dietrich's daughter, she was in bed with gilbert when the end came on the night of january 9, 1936. at the age of 38, gilbert suffered a heart attack & choked to death on his own tongue. frantic at the prospect of a scandal & aware of the morality clause in her contract, dietrich called a doctor & then bundled all her belongings into a pillow case, fleeing to the safety of her beverly hills mansion. after 4 marriages & many love affairs, gilbert died alone. 

happy birthday - marlene dietrich

at the annual ball for the foreign press in berlin, alfred eisenstaedt, 1928

eugene robert richee, 1931

cecil beaton, 1935

eugene robert richee, 1931

blonde venus, 1932

nikolas muray, 1935

the original swan!

with clifton webb & elizabeth allen (dressed as dietrich) at basil rathbone's costume party, 1935.

milton h. greene for life magazine, ca. 1950s

edward steichen, 1932

morocco, 1930

i mean, really, there are no words for how magnificent she was.

27 december, 1901 - 6, may 1992

icon - lee miller

à l'heure de l'observatoire les amoureux, 1934 (lips from lee miller) by salvador dali

photograph by george hoyningen-huene, 1932

photograph by man ray, 1932

photograph by arnold genthe, 1927

in sweden taken by her father, 1930

photograph by man ray, 1929

in a black satin gown by jeanne lanvin & boucheron jewels for vogue, photograph by edward steichen, may 1931

with husband roland penrose, ca. 1940s

 in hitler's tub, photograph by david schermer, 1945

with pablo picasso, liberation of paris, 1944

women firewatchers london, photograph by lee miller, 1940

lee miller was born in poughkeepsie, new york in 1907. in 1927 she was discovered by condé nast) when he pulled the 20 year old miller from the path of an oncoming car. she would have a short but successful career as a vogue cover girl over the next 2 years, being photographed by edward steichen, arnold genthe & nikolas muray among others. her career was ended when a photograph taken by steichen was used for a kotex ad causing quite a sensation.
in 1929 she traveled to paris with a letter of introduction from steichen to meet man ray. she became his protege, collaborator & lover for the next 3 years. together with man ray, she discovered the photographic technique of solarisation when a mouse ran over her foot & she accidentally exposed the dark room to light.
she was an active participant in the surrealist movement, counting among her circle of friends pablo picasso, paul éluard, max ernst, joan miró &  jean cocteau. she appeared as a statue in cocteau's the blood of a poet in 1930 & was painted several times by picasso - she was even rumored to have been a lover of charles chaplin.  photojournalist john phillips called her "an american free spirit wrapped in the body of a greek goddess."
she set up her own photographic studio & during world war II she documented the london blitz for vogue & worked as a correspondent for the u.s. army, shooting the siege of saint-malo & the liberations of buchenwald, dachau & paris.
a year or so after the end of the war, miller returned to london. she was depressed, exhausted & drinking heavily. her life had been consumed with war for the past seven years, & like many war veterans, she seemed unable to make the transition to peace. during this time she divorced her first husband, egyptian millionaire & art patron aziz eloui bey (they had married in 1934). she reunited with her lover, artist & art historian roland penrose & became pregnant with their son antony.
she stopped taking photographs in the early 1950s & refused to allow any of her photographs to be shown & rejected all attempts to interview her.  she devoted the rest of her life to collecting cooking recipes & remained withdrawn, depressed & drinking heavily until her death in 1977.

gone but not forgotten - ronald colman

photographed by mark rykoff

photographed by anton bruehl, ca. 1935

in front of his home, 1924

with vilma banky in the dark angel, 1925

photographed by edward steichen, ca. 1932

in the prisoner of zenda, 1937

in devil to pay, ca. 1930

photographed by george hoyningen-huene, ca. 1929

with john howard & alexander lovette in lost horizon, ca. 1937

wearing a tuxedo from the 1935 film the man who broke the bank at monte carlo, ca. 1935

lost horizon

ronald colman (9 february 1891 - 19 may 1958)

i first saw ronald colman on t.v. when i was around 8 or 9....the sunday movies played lost horizon. after a plane crash they end up in shangri-la.  if you have never seen him in a film you have no idea how beautiful his voice was. (i just found a clip....posted above!)  i still think he is one of the most handsome and debonair men ever.  just recently i saw the last few minutes of lost horizon on cable and i was still mesmerized and instantly taken back to that first time i saw him. i think my love of him cemented my love of classic films - i spent most of my early years lost in 1930s & 40s films & it definitely shaped my personality and style. 

colman was quite successful in silent films - first appearing around 1917 in england. among his silent films were the dark angel in 1925, stella dallas in 1926 & beau geste in 1927. once the talkies came along he was able to use his "bewitching, finely-modulated & cultured voice." in 1930 he was nominated for 2 academy awards for condemned & bulldog drummond & he won the best actor oscar in 1948 for a double life.