Showing posts with label articles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label articles. Show all posts

Retro Icons: That Girl

Saturday, October 29, 2022


Before The Mary Tyler Moore Show, before Sex in the City - there was That Girl! The 1966 tv series revolved around actress Ann Marie (Marlo Thomas), struggling to "make it" in New York City. The hit show thrust star Marlo Thomas into the spotlight, and Ann Marie's Mod fashions and 1960s bubble flip hairstyle became just as iconic as her madcap misadventures.

Keep reading as we spotlight Ann Marie's signature fashion looks, favorite beauty products, and more!

Old Hollywood's Beauty Tips: the 40s

Sunday, December 5, 2021


Welcome to the 1940s installment of my Old Hollywood Beauty Tips series! Find out which famous perfume both Rita Hayworth and Merle Oberon loved, how Lena Horne was the original glamour girl to start a cosmetics line, and more!

Old Hollywood's Beauty Tips: the 50s

Friday, November 20, 2020


Glossy red lips, Max Factor "Pan-Cake" foundation, powder puffs, glistening gold compacts and jeweled lipstick bullets... Old Hollywood practically glittered with glamour. And the starlets that lit up the silver screen became beauty experts in their own right, learning first-hand from film industry professionals - from makeup and hair artists to lighting technicians.

I want to share beauty tips, tricks, and stories from some of the most iconic Old Hollywood leading ladies in the technicolor and sun-soaked 1950s!

Fashion in Film: Literary Heroines

Monday, July 20, 2020

In this edition of my series diving into cinematic costumes, I wanted to spotlight literary heroines that have come to life in film. I picked three characters who made a huge impression on me growing up: Anne Shirley, Elizabeth Bennet, and Jo March. Anne of Green Gables (1985) and Pride & Prejudice (2005) specifically were my introduction to a whole new genre of costumes and film as a child: the period piece.

Almost as inspiring as the headstrong characters wearing them, were their costumes: ribbons, straw hats, delicate ginghams and plaids, high necks and ruffles, muddy skirts, puffed sleeves and pinafores - let's get into it!

Beauty Icons: Retro Star Trek

Tuesday, April 14, 2020


Where no man has gone before...
Every week from 1967 to 1969, Star Trek: The Original Series had a carousel of actresses modeling the newest, most dazzlingly futuristic looks of 1960s sci-fi dreams. The frosty lipsticks, ornate hair styles, and geometric eyeshadow underscored the daring costumes, rendered in eye catching fabrics with strategically placed cutouts (showing belly button was still forbidden).

The space age clothing and beauty trend, ushered in by fashion icon Pierre Cardin and the Space Race, combined with advances in makeup and wardrobe to create never-before-seen, hyper-pigmented beauty products as well as vinyl and metallic fabrics. All the while, Star Trek was at the forefront of the trends with it’s frosty-lipped, metallic-clad glam icons. Here are some of my favorite beauty looks on Star Trek: TOS, and tips on how to get their trademark looks. Scotty, beam... *ahem* us up! (I'm sorry, I had to...)

Fashion in Film: Emma. (2020)

Thursday, March 26, 2020


I have always been transfixed by clothing in films, and over the years I’ve read everything I can about costume design. I was inspired to start a Twitter thread, but wanted to explore the topic without a word count. And this series, Fashion in Film, was born! Here we will take a deeper dive into notable costume design in film.

Seeking a distraction during this difficult time, I finally was able to see Emma. (2020), a movie people started recommending me immediately after the first trailer dropped! Watching director Autumn de Wilde's first foray into feature films was like a soothing balm, with a carousel of visual optimism arriving in quick succession: floral wallpaper! Ornate costumes! Lingering close-ups on hands! Tear-stricken confessions! A shock of blood! All anchored by strong performances from Anya Taylor-Joy, Miranda Hart, and Bill Nighy. There was so much I loved about this spirited take on the Jane Austen classic.

Read on for a deeper dive on my favorite costumes in Emma. (2020).

Fashion in Film: Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

I have always been transfixed by clothing in films, and over the years I’ve read everything I can about costume design. I was inspired to start a Twitter thread, but wanted to explore the topic without a word count. And this series, Fashion in Film, was born! Here we will take a deeper dive into notable costume design in film.

Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996) has frequently been touted as Shakespeare for the MTV Generation for its wholly unique way of telling the classic tale of star-cross'd lovers. Today we will be throwing the spotlight on R+J's costumes, which serve as eye candy with Hawaiian shirts, angel wings, and reoccurring motifs of flaming hearts, crosses, and other religious iconography (bringing the religion focused Elizabethan era into the 21st century).

Fashion in Film: 5 Favorite Period Pieces

Monday, August 26, 2019

Some of the most memorable scenes in film feature breath-taking clothing that speak to different time periods, class system, life experiences, and more. As well as introducing me to worlds outside of my limited scope, movies also taught me about fashion - how to identify fabrics, sewing techniques - not to mention reading a character based on their wardrobe. Things like scuff marks, specific kinds of fabric, color stories, and garment structure all give us clues to the characters on screen.

I started a Twitter thread on some of my favorite films based on their costume design, but wanted to explore the topic without a word count, and I felt like a series here on Mermaidens would be the perfect way to explore costume design in film! I would love to hear your favorites as well, so please leave them in the comments!
Let's discuss one of my very favorite genres of film: The Period Piece.
Mermaidens - Musings of a Modern Mermaid ©2011-2014 All rights reserved
Portrait in Header Illustration by Sibylline Meynet designed by Designs Blue Moon