Rita Hayworth Week

Week 17: Rita Hayworth is a Babe. My Femme Fatale Look.

Inspired by Rita Hayworth's style (see here) and bold 40s makeup, I have created this modern look with a very glamorous Old Hollywood feel. I am wearing a Walter Baker beaded dress with an extremely sexy open back, and put on my ALL TIME FAVOURITE Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid matte lipstick in Sad Girl. This lipstick stays on the whole day and the colour is just pure burgundy perfection.

P.S. If you don't own a pair of Slithur heels by Steve Madden, get it now! It is the most comfortable pair of heels I ever had. I walked 6(!) hours on them that day. I give up on my Pigalles after just 30 minutes :)

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Week 17: Rita Hayworth is a Babe. Her Life and Seductive Style.

Rita Hayworth is one of Old Hollywood's most seductive actresses. Her iconic performance of “Put the Blame on Mame" in Gilda (1946) and improvised quick single-glove striptease is 10 times more erotic than any 50 Shades of Grey scene. Rita wears a long, strapless, black satin gown, with a side-slit and big flirty bow at the hip. And of course, the gown is paired with classic long black gloves. The Independent lists this scene in their Ten Best Fashion Moments in Film.

From film You Were Never Lovelier Columbia Picture (1942) Director: William A. Seiter Screenplay: Michael Fessier, Ernest Songs: by Jerome Kern and Johnny You Were Never Lovelier was Rita's third and last film released in 1942 and her second time as Fred Astaire's dancing partner.

Margarita Cansino before and Rita Hayworth after. What a transformation!

Rita started her life as Margarita Carmen Cansino. Her family had a strong background in professional dance, and so her Spanish father pushed young Margarita to dance and she was featured in several films as a dancer. Her first roles were small ones as pretty exotic dancers with no lines. After playing the same kinds of roles as Argentinian, Egyptian and Russian dancers, Margarita decided to change her fate and took on her mother's Irish-English maiden name Hayworth in order to appeal to Americans. That was followed with shortening her name to Rita, changing her Mediterranean hairline with a painful electrolysis procedure, and dying her black hair to, the now iconic, ginger red colour. After that, Rita's career was on the rise.

Rita acted opposite such stars as Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Cary Grant. For three years, beginning in 1944, Rita was named one of the top movie box-office attractions in the world. Hayworth was adept in ballet, tap dance, ballroom, and Spanish routines.

Unfortunately, despite her successful acting career, her love life was a mess. She married and divorced 5 times. Rita's most famous marriages were to Orson Welles and to Prince Aly Khan, which actually made Rita, and not Grace Kelly, the first movie star to become a princess. 

“Rita once revealed with some bitterness that “Men go to bed with Gilda, but wake up with me.””

 

She might have been a femme fatale on the screen, but in real life Rita was a shy and gentle person and suffered from an inferiority complex. However, her image as a sultry fiery beauty inspired creation of hundreds of characters, including Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and beauty looks and styles of millions of women across the globe.

Want to steal Rita's Seductive Style?

I picked three timeless trends and selected the best items online for you. Put that glam on and "Gilda" yourself up!

1. SLIP Dress Trend 

2. long FITTED gown

3. Bedazzling sequins

Week 17: Rita Hayworth Is a Babe. 40s Style Goddess.

When I received this polka dot top from Shein I tried it on with jeans and denim shorts first, and it looked really fun and cute. But I just knew I had to create a vintage inspired look when I saw how beautiful the top looked paired with my favourite ball gown skirt (similar here).

This outfit combo reminds me of Christian Dior's New Look from the 1940s and of stunning Old Hollywood actresses, especially Rita Hayworth who, in my opinion, deserves more recognition. Therefore, I am dedicating this Theme Week to 40s babe, Rita Hayworth! 

I first saw Rita in Gilda and she stole my heart. I will talk more about her and her style in one of my posts later this week, but today I am sharing my “40s Style Goddess” outfit inspired by a few of Rita's signature looks. Today’s look was shot in Soho by the amazing photographer DCP New York.

Top - Shein, Skirt - old, but found similar on Shein, shoes - Christian Louboutin, Bag - Kenzo (similar).

Hello, World!