Lost Horizon (1937, Frank Capra)
Photo by Shooting Down Pictures.
We recently watched the UCLA Film & Television Archive restored version of Frank Capra’s Lost Horizon, based on the utopian paradise “Shangri-La” described in James Hilton’s novel of the same name.
Having also seen the wonderful Midnight in Paris earlier that day, I couldn’t help drawing a parallel between the theme of the “Golden Age Syndrome” (briefly defined here and applied to Gen-X’s counterculture fascination with all things retro here) in Midnight and Paris and the theme of a happy utopia isolated from the reality of the outside world in Lost Horizon. Both themes offer attractive alternatives to a mundane or potentially threatening present.
And there are beautiful clothes, beautiful men and women.
Midnight in Paris (2011, Woody Allen)
Image by Sony Classics.
In this YouTube clip from Lost Horizon, you can see Ron Reagan’s first wife Jane Wyatt looking particularly fetching in an oriental-style jump suit with leopard trim at the cuffs and along the peplum hem. Why leave uptopia when you can run around in that outfit and kiss Ronald Colman?
Personal style may express our nostalgia for the past, or our imagination of the future. Think of Star Trek costumes, or even better, a bonafide Devo costume like this one my friend Judy wore to a party in 1983.
devo girl
This idea, of expressing our desire for other realities through personal style is similar to the idea of clothing as costume. Some styles, like this one at Prêt à Porter P, combine elements of both.
What about my own style? I have exactly three retro style goals: 1) shiny red shoes that remind me of Dorothy’s in The Wizard of Oz, 2) leopard print that reminds of glamorous movie stars, and 3) capes that evoke mystery and drama. If I still smoked I would add a long cigarette holder like Diana Vreeland’s.
Vanelie Genie -- "shockingly comfortable" according to a Barking Dog Shoes commenter
At Lisa’s suggestion, I checked out Barking Dogs and fell in love with these shoes. I wear an 8 1/2 wide — D width — hence rarely find shoes with style in my size. I’m a one-pair-of-very-dressy shoes kind of gal, and these will be it until they wear out.
They were a teeny bit snug at first. To give them some time to stretch, I decided to set up the new camera tripod and model my hand made leopard scarf with an Eileen Fisher tee recommended by Pseu and the Eileen Fisher pencil skirt. Now I understand why I don’t care for photos of me unless it’s me looking through the lens at my own mirrored image. The person in these shots is not familiar to me. Of course it doesn’t help that both the tee and skirt are too large. I bought Large but am currently between Medium and Large.
Do I know you?
is this really me?
ok, that's my expression
In contrast, the person in the following photos is the same person I see when I look in a mirror, the first shot being my best effort to date of modeling the WendyB pose.
Needless to say, the tripod is back in its case, high on a closet shelf.
Brain wiring may help explain challenges in developing a personal style. As a Myers-Briggs ISTJ, I live an interior life. Style, as an expression of social contract, seems to be the natural habitat of extroverts. As Marti Olsen Laney writes in The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World:
“It is important for introverts to know their brain dominance to understand themselves better. I think left-brained introverts may be more comfortable living life as in introvert. They may have fewer social needs, so they may not be as conflicted over spending time alone. Often they are more verbal and logical than right-brained introverts, so they are able to succeed better at school, work, and in meetings.”
I am definitely left-brained. This could explain why, when I first stopped working and wanted to learn some social skills, I didn’t immediately understand why my girlfriends thought it was weird when I said “Oh, if you’re going to shop, I’ll just duck into this cafe for awhile and read.”
This is what I wanted to read.
My friend and neighbor Bob, one of the funniest people I know (I told him he should blog!) predicted several months ago that in true Susan form I would analyze this style angle to death, then ultimately settle on what I was doing in the first place as being perfectly fine.
That’s essentially true, with some caveats. I do make an effort now and I’m having fun with it. I didn’t expect that at all!
Will style will ever be my Shangri-La, my escape from the mundane?
I’m not so sure. For example, every time I try to focus on sewing projects my mind tends to get distracted. But I don’t want to give up.
More on that next post.
See you soon!
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
You look absolutely beautiful, Susan. Of course that’s you!
Angie Muresan recently posted..umm… mr. beckham?
Thank you Angie. It’s really weird though, seeing myself through the eyes of others. When I was young & skinny I didn’t mind it so much!
Did you really choose reading over shopping? :-) Love the shoes and the scarf (and the combo). DEVO girl rules! She’s so on the page of my Spring ’12 collection!
xo
stacy recently posted..Lookin’ On The Bright Side
I am embarrassed to say it, but yes!
As popyeye says, I Yam What I Yam.
I couldn’t help making the connection though between your hazmat theme and the DEVO costumes!! It rocks!
“…that in true Susan form I would analyze this style angle to death, then ultimately settle on what I was doing in the first place as being perfectly fine.”
That’s exactly what I was hoping and expecting with this whole thing (although I didn’t realize it until I saw it in print). Like Dorothy Gale, who had the power to go home all along, in her shoes. You were fine, but you didn’t know it, and you needed a fun adventure to show you.
And those shoes are AMAZING. If I were a shoe person at all, I would totally buy them.
I figured you would like Bob’s point of view. And I totally forgot that Dorothy had the power to go home the whole time!
The shoes are really, really comfortable.
Hmmm, as a right brained introvert (INFP) I am interested in style, but mostly about how I feel in the style, as opposed to how I actually look. This is why I don’t really like photographs. They seem beside the point.
Oh and I probably would have opted for the book too, which looks fascinating. I have limited tolerance for group shopping, in fact for serious shopping of any sort.
Mardel recently posted..The View from the Kitchen Sink
There must be a fair amount of overlap in these personality profiles. I just read about INFP and relate to the path refining and search for meaning.
That’s interesting that you focus on how you feel in the style. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that.
I am glad to know you’d rather read than shop :-).
You DO look great. LOVE the black with the leopard and red shoes….kind of casually glamorous, if that makes sense.
I like weirdo prints, puffy sleeves, and belted things….most of my clothes have the same silhouette (I belt a lot, so that’s why, possibly). I like 3/4 sleeves and cap sleeves best…..something playful about this.
I recently bought a crazy-looking dress at the store my sister works in because it’d been marked down to nothing—it’s bright pink with a big orange ruffle. I like envisioning where/how I might wear it (it says “poetry reading” to me!).
Just read this about introverts (I think I’m an extravert with some introvert tendencies, like writing poems as meditation–I do tend to feel buzzed from talking with lots of people!): http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/03/caring-for-your-introvert/2696/
Yes, casually glamorous, that’s what I want to be when I dress up.
I can picture you in the pink dress and orange ruffle, about to read some poetry. Perfect.
I read the link — thank you for that. Laney’s book is based on research whereas Rauch’s article seems to be more about his personal experience as an introvert, but it’s good to get both perspectives.
Son of a gun. When I visit my family in Virginia, I too often bring a book to read in the mall while they hit the stores.
Lost Horizon is a favorite of mine. Corn-ball as all get-out it’s still fun. Jane Wyatt always struck me as someone who seemed quite bright. Never knew she was married to Regan till you mentioned it.
Have already had my red shoe love moment. Had red ballet slippers in corduroy when I was in grammar school and still think of them with happy fondness. Pat
savvysavingbytes recently posted..Summer in NYC – Cool and Hot
Hi Pat, well, that’s three of us so far who’d rather read than shop. Maybe there are more of us out there.
Lost Horizon is definitely corn ball, but the set designs and photography are fantastic.
It sounds like you need some new red shoes :-).
Believe it or not, I’d rather read than shop too. But when I do shop, I want to find the really, really, really right stuff. Comfortable, beautiful, and expressive of the persona I want to inhabit. I think those red shoes are perfect.
Lisa recently posted..Jewelry To Wear When You Are Almost There
Hi Lisa, it’s good to know you’d rather read too!
Thank you for the barking dogs tip, it’s really a wonderful site.
These are gorgeous pictures of you — and those red shoes are the perfect complement, along with the scarf, to the otherwise reserved, if chic, black pieces.
While I enjoy shopping on my own, I’d probably rather sit in a cafe with a book than shop with others — although I’d be happy if they’d sit down in the cafe with me. Shopping with others just gets me muddled!
I have to admit that I’ve enjoyed time at home this summer without thinking as much about style — not sure if that’s a sign of my introversion or not, but it feels like a bit of a reprieve, although I suspect I’ll enjoy dressing up again once classes start.
materfamilias recently posted..MOTB Dress, Shoes & All, Final Wedding Photos . . .
Hi Mater, there seems to be a consensus that group shopping is not that much fun!
It’s funny you mention enjoying dressing for work. I think if I were working this would be easier because dressing for work feels more purposeful than dressing for myself. it’s still important, I know, but it’s so easy to let it go.
Susan, how did I miss this post?? You look *terrific* in those pictures, really lovely. I’m so glad you like the tee, it does look wonderful on you. Those shoes are DEE-vine. Fun and comfortable is a winner.
An old BF of mine had one of those Devo suits, way back when they first hit big. He wore it out on Halloween and had a whole crowd of people following him around!
I loved that whole “golden age” theme of MIP. Sometimes we can get nostalgic for times that never were, but as that old Carly Simon song says, “These are the Good Old Days.” Our expectations can cloud our vision of what’s right in front of our faces.
(It’s funny, I’ve always thought of myself as an extrovert but the couple of times I’ve taken the Myers-Briggs, come up as firmly in Introvert territory. I was always the bookworm as a kid. But now I like to shop too, though mostly prefer to go on my own.)
deja pseu recently posted..Power Dressing
Thank you Susan, I do really like the tee. It’s too bad it was only available in black, but I’m still losing weight so it makes sense to hold off on buying more things.
That’s a funny story about your boyfriend’s Devo suit. They were all the rage at the time.
I’m amazed at how many style bloggers are self-identifying as introverts! I really didn’t think this would be so. In an off-line email conservation with Mardel we talked about how we feel about how we look and it occurred to me that I’ve never really felt much about I wear, just about my face, hair and weight. The clothes have always seemed irrelevant. Maybe it’s the introversion, or maybe it’s delayed development.
Thank you for featuring me again. Movies/costumes/fashion was a big influence in shaping my aesthetic. The first time I ever saw Star Wars it left an indelible impact, and not because it was so different from anything I’ve ever seen before. But because it was so much like what I’d seen before–albeit much more stylized. I grew up with people not really knowing what to make of me, so it was inspiring to see the likes McQueen or Star Wars putting what was normal to me in the forefront.
Anyway, you may enjoy this video of Roisin Murphy where she talks about this whole subject concisely than I can.
You’re very welcome. I really enjoyed the interview. It’s interesting that she thinks of a minimal style, e.g., jeans and tee shirt, as being exclusive, but a more flamboyant style as inclusive — communicating.
I’m running out of excuses for why I don’t get style :-). I thought I could blame it on introversion but then several style bloggers have identified as introverts. I know, I was dropped on my head when I was a baby!
Seriously though, reading blogs like yours and seeing interviews like that are helping me focus in the missing piece. I’ve not been communicating, or more accurately, I’ve been visually communicating lack of interest in communicating, even though I’m really interested in communicating and respond to the visual style of others.
I probably didn’t play with communicating via style when I was younger, or I tried to and got traumatized. That’s why I’m playing now, even though sometimes I feel like a 53-year old messing around in a four-year-old’s sand box!
Susan T – if it’s any consolation, most of the time I feel as though I’m still “playing,” still figuring it all out! I think a lot of us feel that way.
deja pseu recently posted..Power Dressing
That’s good to know! I like thinking of you as playing. It is a kind of play, dressing up.
Is it true that introverts recharge their batteries by being alone and extroverts by being with people? I could be an introvert then..
Love the old movie clips and that peplumwiththeleopard tunic is just to die for. Jane Wyman looks so young I hardly recognized her.
I like the photos of you done with the tripod! Did you not feel comfortable? It took me a while, but I like it so much better now.
Love the shoes!
Paula recently posted..The Sweater Story
Paula, yes, that’s true — introverts recharge by being alone, extroverts by being with people. It’s really the most defining characteristic of each personality.
I really didn’t expect so many style bloggers to self identify as introverts!
I don’t care for the tripod. Now I can’t blame Martin for taking bad pictures because the tripod takes worse pictures :-). To answer your question, no I didn’t feel comfortable.
Susan–I love the tripod photos! I had to work with it for a month or so before I grew truly comfortable with it and I still get strange facial expressions…as I cannot bring myself to smile properly at a camera. In some ways I’m like you (INTJ)–actually my blog has created a social area of my life, when I used to read 80 books a year and then shyly share with a handful of people. Admiring the ruby slippers. Click your heels and come for a visit in Kansas. (Oz)
Terri recently posted..I’m Baaack!
I’m glad one of us likes the tripod photos :-).
That’s interesting that blogging has opened up a social life for you. I think that’s true for me too, in a way. I do have friends I spend time with, but they’re not always interested in my latest personal quest because they don’t generally take up quests themselves. It’s so much easier finding fellow questers in the blogosphere. It reminds of when people wrote letters to one another, sharing intimate details, hopes and dreams.
Remember Doris Lessing’s Martha Quest character?
I would love to click my heels and come to Kansas!
What adorable shoes! They go terrifically with the outfit.
K-Line recently posted..By the Numbers
Thank you Kristin, and welcome home!
Oops, forgot to tell you how much I like the shoes.
Mardel recently posted..Cabinets and Flooring and Tiles, Oh My!
Thank you Mardel. They’re really fun to wear.
It’s hard for me to find shoes, too. And now, down here, I have the language barrier to deal with. But I love your red flats! For narrow shoes, you can take them to a shoe repair show where they’ll stretch them for you for about six bucks. Totally worth it!
Cheryl Cruz recently posted..Living in the city (but which one?)
Cheryl, I’m looking forward to your travel log!
From one over-analyzer to another — it’s OK!
You are the way you are, so of course after much thought you should decide you’re OK. Then again, you’ve lost a little weight, trimmed your hair, spiced up your scarf wardrobe and purchased some cool shoes that are comfortable so you’ll probably actually wear them.
So all that over-analysis opened a few spots for you to try some new things.
Hi RoseAG, It’s good to know I’m not the only over-analyzer!
I do think it’s worthwhile to push ourselves into unfamiliar territory once in awhile. And I like having the freedom and context to try some new things.
Red shoes with hand made leopard print scarf on black – stunning! I can relate to your retro style goals.
Thank you! I may have more retro style goals in the future. One red-shoe step at a time :-).
Hello Susan, I love this quote from your post: Personal style may express our nostalgia for the past, or our imagination of the future.
I agree with this sentiment- I dress for a some idealized future/past self or persona crafted out of myself and full of fancy. I too want a pair of Dorothy shoes to wear for everyday.
Thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog the other day- I do hope you enjoy your style regardless of wanting invisibility.
Bella Q recently posted..The Empowerment of a Self-Portrait
Hi Bella, thank you for stopping by!
Not only do I love Dorothy’s shoes but I love the metaphor of her shoes as giving her the power to go home.
As for invisibility, I’m still investigating the underlying reasons for that desire and then I’ll be in a position to figure out whether it’s ok or not. Too soon to tell.
OH wow! Look at you working those shoes ;-)
Kirsten@BarkingDogShoes recently posted..Dansko ProXP Video Review
Hi Kristen! Thank you for stopping by. I LOVE the shoes.