Brigitte Bardot News

The Cinema File–Veronica Lake Plays Peek-a-boo in 1940s Style

Published on July 11, 2011

A good post:

Sunday, July 10, 2011 Whereas Brigitte Bardot embodies the style of the 1960s, Veronica Lake is a sophisticated stunner from the stylish 1940s. Veronica became popular in the early part of the decade with a trio of back-to-back hits– Sullivan’s Travels (1941), This Gun for Hire (1942), and The Glass Key (1942). The last two were ones in which she established herself as a film noir heroine and she was paired with her strongest co-star, Alan Ladd. The two would go on to do the film noir classic The Blue Dahlia (1946) together as well.

Interestingly, the style from these pictures actually had less to do with Veronica herself and more with the genius of Paramount’s head costume designer and one of my personal heroes, Edith Head . Edith’s biggest challenge was her star’s petite frame–some sources say Veronica was only around 4’11”. Edith made the actress seem much taller by almost always dressing her in floor-length garments and keeping details to a minimum. Sleek and simple. Those long gowns disguised yet another trick, which was putting Veronica in enormous platform heels to increase her height next to her leading men.

Even Alan Ladd at only 5’6″ was much taller than Veronica, and Joel McCrea was a giant next to her in Sullivan’s Travels at 6’3″. As a finishing touch to make Veronica seem more voluptuous and statuesque, Edith employed ruching along the bustline…a trick that she used with Grace Kelly’s nightgown in as well. But as wonderful as those wardrobes and movies were, it was really Veronica’s hair that became the hugest hit. In fact, the studios experienced resistance from the public if they varied her hair too much. Over the years, I have heard several stories surrounding the origins of her iconic style. One is that her hair simply had a natural wave and tendency to fall over one eye.

Another story is that the wave came as the result of clipping her hair to the side during one particularly bad hair day. And yet another story is that she played peek-a-boo with the camera when a stray lock of hair fell over her eye during a photo shoot…hence how the style became known as “the peek-a-boo.” It actually seems quite reasonable that all of the above are true. Though she didn’t necessarily have the longest or most distinguished acting career, Veronica’s legacy is that her look did indeed become iconic.

Her “peek-a-boo” hairstyle continues to be popular even to this day. The look is particularly strong right now for summer and can be seen in all the magazines. It’s enjoying such a moment in fashion that we’ll likely see the trend stretch into next season to accompany all those wonderful wardrobes for fall as well. Perfect!

Trying to buy Sullivan some ham and eggs for breakfast at the diner after her evening out Finding out that her handsome hobo is really a Hollywood producer researching the real world Lounging poolside before hitting the road again as undercover hobos Looking lovely while learning lessons in love Veronica surrounded by frequent co-star Alan Ladd (left) and Robert Preston Sizing up the situation Stunning gowns for the songbird Great shots of the iconic hairstyle that is copied time and time again Veronica was dressed in a lot more black for this movie

Her famous hair is even tucked under some serious hats Posted by Kimberly Fashions fade, but style is eternal. Yves Saint-Laurent A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous. Coco Chanel Welcome Shop in person at theat the California Market Center BY APPOINTMENT Tuesday to Thursday11 AM – 4 PMSaturday12 PM – 4 PM Check out the GlamAmorfor additional shopping opportunitiesaround Los Angeles Shop online at the Quick Links Receive GlamAmor by Email Enter your email address: Frequent Features Loading… Style Subjects Archive Places to Go… People to See Places to Go People to See Required Reading and Beauty Basics Required Reading Beauty Basics Clothes from the Store…

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