COLLAGE: STYLE: WHITE SHIRT IN FILM & MUSIC FASHION

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Wednesday, 13th June
COLLAGE: STYLE: WHITE SHIRT IN FILM & MUSIC FASHIO...

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In the 1930’s film Morocco, an androgynous Marlene Dietrich saunters around a nightclub, singing her way to an impulsive kiss. She accomplishes this act of seduction in a top hat and tails, accented by a crisp white shirt. Off stage, Dietrich and actress Greta Garbo were both fond of dressing in androgynous clothing. When Garbo was seen strolling down Hollywood Boulevard in trousers, women all over the world began to raid their husband’s wardrobes for Oxfords and pants.

In the 40s and 50s Hollywood stars Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn ignited a trend of white shirts with popped collars and rolled sleeves. In pin-up style, on Ava Gardner and Marilyn Monroe, the white shirt was still made to look feminine- tied in the back to accentuate a tiny waist, with the bust peeking through.

In 1966 YSL dropped Le Smoking, a tuxedo suit of velvet or wool for women. It was black tie menswear reinterpreted for the female body- the epitome of androgynous Parisian sexiness. Across the world, Lauren Hutton sat Indian style with her hair blown out, a sliver of her breast exposed by an unbuttoned shirt tucked into a pair of white pants. In 1975, Robert Mapplethorpe’s black and white portrait of Patti Smith for the cover of Horses made the shirt a must-have for poets and punks. In 1988, Lisa Bonet graced the cover of Rolling Stone in nothing but an oversized shirt and curls. In the 90s, Julia Roberts tucked a white shirt into a denim skirt in Pretty Woman, while Uma Thurman paired the white shirt with cigarette pants and ballerina flats in Pulp Fiction. Fashion’s supermodels- including Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington- are featured on the cover of the 100^th anniversary special of American Vogue, all wearing the same Gap shirt tied at the waist. According to super stylish Sofia Coppola, she’d always “like to have a crisp cotton shirt” for her wardrobe. We couldn’t agree more.

From red carpets to leisurely excursions, one would be challenged to not find a photograph of a contemporary celebrity in a white button down shirt.

~Susan Brickell

2014