According to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary glamour is ‘an allusive, mysteriously exciting and often illusory attractiveness that stirs the imagination and appeals to a taste for the unconventional, the unexpected or the exotic’ and further expands upon this interpretation with a second meaning: ‘a strangely alluring magnetic charm… personal charm and poise combined with usual physical and sexual attractiveness’. It is decidedly different from beauty, which one can simply inherit. Whilst the concept of ‘elegance’ is generally decided upon as meaning understated style and fashions, glamour revels in the dramatic. Whilst the standards of sexiness, especially for women, seem to be decided upon by men and the media created more specifically
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Hollywood is, of course, seen by most be the absolute pinnacle of glamour, and Grand Hotel is widely considered one of the most glamorous films of its era, an era even referred to as “the golden age of Hollywood glamour”. Cotemporary film critic Blake Goble of The Michigan Daily referred to the film as ‘the original Ocean's Eleven for its star power’ and called it the epitome of ‘grand, old Hollywood’. The assessment is accurate not only due to the star power of the cast, which includes two of American cinema most significant actresses, Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford, but also due to the depiction of the hotel itself. Firstly the film capitalises of the glamour and exoticness of international travel, particularly the sophistication and style of Berlin (the glamour of faraway countries featured in many Hollywood films of that era, notably The Shop Around the Corner, which was set in Budapest seemingly only for the glamour and mystery audiences associated with travel). The Hotel itself is a character in the film, its luxurious set dressing and atmosphere a clear influence of the recent Wes Anderson fil, The Grand Budapest …show more content…
Her costumes feature predominantly simple clean tailoring, smart, simple colour blocking and only minor embellishment. This is exemplified in her character, Flaemmchen’s entrance scene in which she wears a very contemporary and ostensibly sensible black double breasted tailored dress. While Garbo’s costumes revel in their exoticism and luxury, Crawford’s costuming evokes a much more relatable, day to day American style. An article in a 1929 edition of Photoplay reads ‘ [costume designers ] have banded together to set aside the old school notion of motion picture dressing; to make women as smartly gowned on the screen as they would be in a civilised drawing room ’ thus rejecting the extravagance of silent film era costuming. Crawford’s distinctive yet seemingly attainable style was especially sought after by female cinema goers as demonstrated in Motion Picture Magazine’s article ‘The Most Copied Girl in the World’ in which she was credited with popularising a variety of fashion trends: ‘You will know what we mean if you have battled your way through huge puffed sleeves… brightly daubed lips, Zulu sun tan, slacks, gardenias, wide-lapeled polo coats’. Whilst Garbo’s style and glamour is otherworldly and exotic, Crawford’s central appeal and sense of glamour arises from the sense female audiences had that they could somehow recreate her style and themselves attain her level of
Hollywood is, of course, seen by most be the absolute pinnacle of glamour, and Grand Hotel is widely considered one of the most glamorous films of its era, an era even referred to as “the golden age of Hollywood glamour”. Cotemporary film critic Blake Goble of The Michigan Daily referred to the film as ‘the original Ocean's Eleven for its star power’ and called it the epitome of ‘grand, old Hollywood’. The assessment is accurate not only due to the star power of the cast, which includes two of American cinema most significant actresses, Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford, but also due to the depiction of the hotel itself. Firstly the film capitalises of the glamour and exoticness of international travel, particularly the sophistication and style of Berlin (the glamour of faraway countries featured in many Hollywood films of that era, notably The Shop Around the Corner, which was set in Budapest seemingly only for the glamour and mystery audiences associated with travel). The Hotel itself is a character in the film, its luxurious set dressing and atmosphere a clear influence of the recent Wes Anderson fil, The Grand Budapest …show more content…
Her costumes feature predominantly simple clean tailoring, smart, simple colour blocking and only minor embellishment. This is exemplified in her character, Flaemmchen’s entrance scene in which she wears a very contemporary and ostensibly sensible black double breasted tailored dress. While Garbo’s costumes revel in their exoticism and luxury, Crawford’s costuming evokes a much more relatable, day to day American style. An article in a 1929 edition of Photoplay reads ‘ [costume designers ] have banded together to set aside the old school notion of motion picture dressing; to make women as smartly gowned on the screen as they would be in a civilised drawing room ’ thus rejecting the extravagance of silent film era costuming. Crawford’s distinctive yet seemingly attainable style was especially sought after by female cinema goers as demonstrated in Motion Picture Magazine’s article ‘The Most Copied Girl in the World’ in which she was credited with popularising a variety of fashion trends: ‘You will know what we mean if you have battled your way through huge puffed sleeves… brightly daubed lips, Zulu sun tan, slacks, gardenias, wide-lapeled polo coats’. Whilst Garbo’s style and glamour is otherworldly and exotic, Crawford’s central appeal and sense of glamour arises from the sense female audiences had that they could somehow recreate her style and themselves attain her level of