Because I haven’t done an old film post in forever and because New Year’s celebrations are always more fun in movies than real life I figured I’d make a little list of my favorite films that have New Year’s scenes. There are probably a ton of movies that I’m missing. I was trying to think of good ’30s glamour movies with New Year’s parties but couldn’t think of any. Silents either. If you have any New Year’s favorites that aren’t on this list I’d love to hear about them! But here are my favorites. Some of them are cynical and some are sentimental, but they all make me wish I could go back in time, if only for a good old-fashioned New Year’s Eve party.
1. Sunset Boulevard. Here’s the cynical one. I’ve written about this movie lots of times already so I won’t say too much except that if you haven’t seen it you should watch it. It’s a black comedy about Hollywood in the ’50s and an old fading silent film star who’s good at throwing creepy parties, including an extra good one on New Year’s Eve. There’s another New Year’s party in the film too, except its young people in the ’50s corny, and I would have ditched it in favor of Norma Desmond’s ’20s era tango party in a second.
2. I’ll Be Seeing You. It’s funny that two of my top four New Year’s movies have law-breaking heroines and 1940s wholesomeness. I wrote about this movie a few years ago on my blog but I think it’s so good that it’s worth another mention. This one stars Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotten, two favorites of mine, and it’s not an especially lively or festive movie, but it’s good and quiet and poignant. Especially during the New Year’s Eve dance at the YMCA. Everything is low-key but somehow Ginger manages to pull out this gorgeous dress that you could really only see in a Hollywood movie.
3. The Apartment. I’m finally catching up on watching the first seasons of Mad Men, and we just watched the episode where Joan starts talking about this film and how sad and realistic it is, which is true. But it’s also a lot of fun–like Sunset Boulevard it’s a Billy Wilder black comedy, only instead of silent film style tangos it has Christmas office parties gone wrong and confetti-filled New Year’s get-togethers in Chinese restaurants. And its New Year’s Eve ending is maybe my favorite ending in any Billy Wilder movie. Some Like it Hot included!
4. Remember the Night. This one is more of a holiday movie than anything, but I love it so much that it has to go on this list. For one thing it stars Barbara Stanwyck as a wise-cracking thief and Fred MacMurray as the district attorney trying to send her off to jail. The movie completely changes pace when they both go off to Indiana to spend the holidays with his family, only it’s so good and wholesome that you don’t really mind that Barbara loses a little bit of her toughness. My favorite part is when she dresses up in Fred’s aunt’s ancient corset and ball gown for a country New Year’s Eve dance, and the whole scene is so touching, but maybe that’s just because I’m from the Midwest and start missing Illinois sometimes.
I was trying to do all holiday-themed posts this week, but then I got sent Rachel Antonoff’s spring 2011 lookbook, and it’s just too cute not to post right away. So like usual I’ll try to rationalize posting another spring collection in the dead of winter and say that the little white dress and sailor dresses would look winter-y and good with cardigans thrown over and tights worn underneath, or that the navy blue pleated dress would make a pretty great dress for New Year’s. It’s true! But mostly this lookbook makes me think of spring, of being a kid in the ’80s and a teenager in the ’90s, wearing cotton dresses and going to book fairs, playing with kittens (we had one named Honey. It used to run from across the room and dig its claws into my legs, and I haven’t been a cat person since), piano lessons, and summer days without any plans in the world. In the ’80s I think I wore little gingham blouses and white dresses, but I don’t know if they were half as cute as these ones.
Photos by Drew
Cropped sweater: Rainy Days Beaded Sweater, c/o Lulus
Skirt: thrift store
Sheer tights: Target
Ankle boots: Madewell
This Christmas the south got a freak snow storm, and all day long we kept looking out the windows to see if the snow flurries were adding up to anything. Atlanta got its first white Christmas since the 1880s, but where we were on the North Carolina coast it didn’t really snow until the next day when we were driving home. I don’t like snow, but even I had to admit it was beautiful. It was funny to see ice covered palm trees and all the sombreros at South of the Border glistening under snow.
I planned on taking photos of my Christmas outfit when we got back to Atlanta so I could get some snow and a halfway Christmas-y backdrop, but by the time we pulled in to town most of the snow was gone. Which was fine with me. It meant I could go running the next day and go on errands and to thrift stores without dealing with ice on the roads. It also meant I wouldn’t have very festive Christmas outfit photos, but that’s ok; I think last year’s outfit post with my sisters is hard to beat anyway.
Did you all have a good holiday weekend? Mine was really relaxing and fun. We slept in Christmas morning, which is the best way to spend Christmas morning. Then we ate pancakes, opened presents, and visited Drew’s grandma who is from New Zealand and has the best accent and NZ sayings. Then we had a great big, wonderful Christmas dinner and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. I think I spent hours on Forgotten NY, reading about old stoplights and what happened to the old mailboxes of New York and Coney Island bungalows and random colonial graveyards. That site’s the best for procrastinating on. Sometimes when I can’t sleep I get up and start going through F.N. pages and then all of a sudden it’s 5 a.m. and I don’t know what happened.
1. Wren Leith Lace Dress . . . . . . . . . . 2. Topshop Sheer Tights . . . . . . . . . . 3. Digby & Iona necklace . . . . . . . . . . 4. Topshop Block Heel Shoes.
For the past few months I’ve been into more casual outfits than usual. I’ve been living in simple sweater/skirt outfits, dresses with straight shapes, and heels that are not-too-high. But something about the holidays is throwing all that out the window, and once again I’m getting drawn towards impractically tall shoes and dresses with flashy details like sequins. At the Atlanta Madewell store there’s a little silver dress made entirely of sequins, and even though I usually make fun of all the sequin-splashed shirts and things in J. Crew I couldn’t help but love this dress. (I like it better than the lots more expensive Phillip Lim dress here but couldn’t find it online to show) I know I can thank New Year’s for that. Once the holidays are over I’ll probably go back to simple, but for now here are the sort of things I’d be wearing on Friday if I didn’t already have an outfit planned. And if I were rich . . . .
1. Built by Wendy Velveteen Party Dress . . . . . . . . . . 2. Opening Ceremony par Robert Clergerie Heels . . . . . . . . 3. Topshop Moon Tights . . . . . . . . . . 4. Steven Alan Fall Doctor Satchel.
1. Kate Moss for Topshop Velvet Playsuit . . . . . . . . 2. Gap black tights . . . . . . . . . 3. Madewell Potion Charm Necklace . . . . . . 4. Rachel Comey Dekalb Clogs.
1. 3.1 Phillip Lim Sequin Shift Dress. . . . . . . . . . . 2. Topshop Rib Tights . . . . . . . . 3. Rachel Comey Bernard Clog Boots.
(thanks for the collages, Drew!)
Photos by Drew
Dress: Lula’s Fairy Tale Dress, from Nadinoo
Tights: DKNY (thrifted new)
Shoes: Bookshelf Browsing Heel, c/o Modcloth
. . . or Christmas Eve Eve to be exact. We took these photos yesterday when the sun came out and it got (almost) warm enough to trip around one of the tallest hills in Atlanta in unsensible shoes. But I’m planning on wearing this dress again this weekend for the holidays. It’s one of my favorites, sent to me by the extra nice and talented Nadia of the gorgeous British label Nadinoo. After loving and being inspired by her creations and lookbooks for a few years now it was extra exciting to have one of her dresses come in the mail and to see her handiwork in person. There are so many perfect little details . . . an embroidered scalloped collar, pockets, and the prettiest Liberty of London fabric that’s all flowers and trees and scampering woodland animals.
Nadia was also nice enough to do a little feature/interview with me on her blog, so be sure to check it out! Are you all having a lovely holiday so far? Right now I’m in North Carolina with Drew’s family. First we went to Charlotte, and now we’re by the coast; we just ate chili and now we’re all watching old Christmas cartoons and it’s been a lot of fun. Hope you all have a great Christmas! I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to post tomorrow, but I’ll definitely try to put up some Christmas photos this weekend. Merry Christmas!
