The Blue Gardenia learns to sow her blossoms

That Touch of Fashion: Day's the boss, but her clothes deny it

Yes. It's true. Another post about Doris Day. I continue to work my way through her film catalog. (Sheesh! The pointless tasks I set for myself!)

Today, I'll See You in My Dreams, a 1951 pic directed by Michael Curtiz. Ms. Day plays Grace LeBoy Kahn, meddling (or some might say domineering) wife of lyricist Gus Kahn, who wrote – you guessed it, gold stars all around – the lyrics for I'll See You in My Dreams, It Had to Be You, Mammy, and so on. Marjorie Best and Leah Rhodes costumed this film. The clothes tend to the bland. Ever so. Even the evening gowns are dull. My personal favorite is the housewifey waitress dress, or maybe it should be the waitressy housewife dress, shown above.

Now. If this is your look, might I suggest Anne Adams Instructor 4811? Yes. I might. It's my blog. After all. One caveat:  Avoid pink. You'll look like you should be slopping hash or toting a basket of chocolate eggs and bunnies.

That Touch of Fashion: Doris works the skirt and blouse

I am in the mood for skirts and blouses. This frame of mind could be inspired by Doris Day's wardrobe in the 1950 movieYoung Man with a Horn. Could be. But then, she also wears form-fitting ­yet ladylike suits and frilly evening gowns as big band singer Jo Jordan. They leave me cold. They leave me frigid. Indeed. Do I still have a pulse? Mmmmm . . . it's fading.

Of course. Doris is a good girl. (That goes without saying. I suppose.) In fact, she's such a trusting, devoted, clueless gal pal that she introduces her alleged buddy Amy North, played in slinky psycho fashion by Lauren Bacall, to the man she quietly, silently loves. Girlfriend, bad move. Very. Be a good girl. If you must. But a sap? No. Amy isn't worth it. Her soul is fuzzy green with mold.

So. If I had been a good girl — and you know I haven't been. Alas ­ — then I would stitch up McCall 5082, copyright 1959, and Woman's Day 5001, View C, copyright 1951. This is the Jo Jordan look that gets my whistle blowing. It's sexy. Classic. Hard-working. Ever so.

Have Rick Martin (played by Kirk Douglas, muscles abulge, skin aglow, complete with jazz-dot dimple) check my pulse. Please. Right now. This minute. There is no time to waste.

 

That Touch of Fashion: The on-screen clothes of Doris Day

Just finished reading Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door by David Kaufman. (Don't bother unless you're a true fan.)

Naturally, I thought of Ms. Day's clothes. Naturally, I knew I had to blog about the garments I like.

So. Shall I start with Romance on the High Seas from 1948? Yes, I shall. What a fabulous idea. I so often have them. I do. Really.

Milo Anderson did the wardrobe for this movie (one of film critic Rex Reed's favorites, Mr. Kaufman writes), and some of the dresses are completely over the top, like the baby blue number (at least it's baby blue on my 17-year-old Sony) that Georgia Garrett (yep, our gal Doris) wears on her first evening at sea. Some ensembles (like the suit she wears in the travel agency) are plain boring. They make a suit from Talbot's seem worthy of a Vogue photo shoot.

But this ensemble, worn in Brazil, is perfect. Absolutely. I want this in my wardrobe. And it is possible. Completely. It can be easily duplicated with Vogue 5111, circa 1946, and McCall 6794, copyright 1947.

Now. All I need is a round-trip plane  ticket to Brazil. And, of course, one for His Bertness. First class, please.

Oh. Oscar Levant co-stars in Romance on the High Seas. Levant, you may recall, quipped: "I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin."

By the way, I suggest that you avoid Ms. Day's second film, My Dream Is Yours. Ms. Day sings a bouncy bubble of a tune that is second only to Johnny Horton's The Battle of New Orleans in the unrelenting earworm category. You have been warned.