In the golden era of Hollywood, certain stars shone brighter than others, and among them was Fay Wray, a name synonymous with beauty, talent, and an unforgettable scream. Let’s delve into the life and career of the woman who became the ultimate “Scream Queen” of classic cinema. Early Life and Career Beginnings: Fay Wray was born on September 15, 1907, in Alberta, Canada, and raised in Los Angeles. Her early foray into acting began at the tender age of 16, and she quickly gained attention for her natural talent and striking beauty. Breakthrough Role in “King Kong” (1933): While Fay Wray appea ..read more

Cary Grant with Irene Dunne and Skippy in the film The Awful Truth Archibald Leach: Cary Grant was born Archibald Alexander Leach on January 18, 1904, in Horfield, Bristol, England. His transformation into the suave and sophisticated Cary Grant was a conscious effort to escape a difficult childhood marked by poverty and family issues. Acrobatic Skills: Before becoming an actor, Grant was a skilled acrobat. He honed his physical prowess as a performer with the Bob Pender Troupe, a British vaudeville group. This background in acrobatics later contributed to his ease with physical comedy in film ..read more

The 1940s was a time when no one gave much thought to sunscreen and you could happily chain-smoke cigarettes and drink cocktails while you tanned, without so much as a thought to the health consequences.  In 1948 the Senator Hotel in Atlantic City installed sunlamps in the ceilings so its patrons could tan, even when there was snow on the ground outside. You have to wonder how the bar staff managed to work a full shift under tanning UV light without getting burnt to a crisp!     Image source: http://images.google.com/hosted/life/4f88258811c81651.html ..read more

Before the structure and corsetry of the 1950s was the softer silhouette of the 1940s. These photos are from a fashion feature on summer underwear from 1949, aren’t they beautiful?   ..read more

Louise Brooks with her sharply bobbed hair is one of the most iconic figures of 1920s cinema and epitomized the rebellious modern woman of the time. She started off her career as a chorus girl and dancer in 1922, and by 1925 was a dancer for Ziegfeld’s Follies. It was as a Follies girl that she was spotted by Paramount Pictures. At this time she was also spotted by Charlie Chaplin and the two of them embarked upon a love affair. She was instantly recognizable for her trademark bobbed haircut which sparked a trend copied by bright young things everywhere. Brooks didn’t just make movies in Amer ..read more

I don’t know very much about these fashions, except that they were captioned ‘Hermes Dresses, 1952’.  I love the idea of all the detail being drawn on, although I’m not sure they would look quite this fabulous in real life rather than on super-glamorous 50s models! Does anyone know anything about the back-story to these pictures? Photo source and copyright: Time LIFE archives ..read more

When Princess Anne married Mark Phillips in November 1973 at Westminster Abbey, she wore a Tudor-inspired dress with a real 1970s flavour. Who would have guessed those two styles would be a good combination..?  With it’s high neckline and long draped medieval sleeves, it was elegant and simple in comparison to other highly-embellished royal wedding gowns. The dress was designed by Maureen Baker (who designed for the Susan Small brand, a favourite of Princess Anne). What do you think of this dress?  Compare it to other royal wedding dresses in my Pinterest gallery below and let me kn ..read more

Photos taken at the McConnell Air Hostess School which trained air hostesses for TWA in the 1940s.  The training included learning the correct way to serve drinks, dealing with inebriated passengers and even learning how to change nappies (did Air Hostesses used to do that?). Even more surprisingly they are also pictured having chewing gum to ‘reduce that double chin’, having their posture checked, doing the conga and having a bubble bath. You can’t say they wouldn’t have been prepared for anything! Image source and copyright: Time LIFE archives ..read more

Curious photos from a Beautiful Legs Contest from 1949.   The pictures raise lots of questions in my mind – aside from why you’d want to enter a ‘beautiful legs contest’ in the first place. Why is one of the women wearing a different swimsuit to the others? Did they have to make the swimsuits themselves? All of the swimsuits seem to be slightly different cuts and styles even though they’re made from the same fabric. Was it part of the competition that you had to show off your sewing skills by wearing a home-made swimsuit (a bit like that episode of Dukes of Hazard when Daisy Duke en ..read more

You must have heard people say that the 1950s was a time of simpler pleasures, and these pictures of Disneyland in the 50s show that perfectly.  This was a much more low-tech world of stagecoaches and steam paddle boats and serious people riding on carousel horses wearing suits (if these pictures are anything to go by). My how things have changed! Disneyland in the 1950s Click To Tweet ..read more