In 1962, George Barris took a series of photos of Marilyn Monroe on Santa Monica beach. So, technically, this isn’t from the silver screen. This shoot takes chunky cardigans into a wardrobe staple, if not a pin up status. This is very similar to the one in Starsky & Hutch too.
If you love barbeques on the beach, even in the summer you need something warm to wrap up in as the sun sets.
I’ve wanted to have one of these for a while, but nobody seems to knit it to look like the photo. The stitches seem more textured than plain knit, perhaps because it’s chunky. I couldn’t get the right look, so I experimented with some different stitches to find the right look.
JpegJpegJpeg
Compared to that, drawing out the Cowichan design was easy! Figuring out the colours we fun too. It was my brother who pointed out that there is a fourth colour. Look carefully at the diamonds in some of the photos, and you can pick out a dark grey.
The original – Marilyn Monroe’s Mexican cardiganMy Marilyn chunky knit cardigan
I used a similar cardigan pattern from the Seventies, although I think I ended up altering most of it to get the right look. Click the button below to take a closer look.
Miss Lemon green hatMiss Lemon light camel hatMiss Lemon navy hat
In Part 2 I’ll show some of my inspiration for styling Thirties and Forties hats.
ITV’s Poirot is a delight to watch, not just for the story, but the attention to detail for the era. It’s difficult to find photos of the characters that only show up in one episode, which means you have to watch it to see their headgear! Miss Lemon is a resident character at Poirot’s flat, working as his secretary, so I found photos of her hats! I think she is a good example of a well-dressed lady, without being from the upperclasses, so a good role model everyday or office wear dressing in the Thirties.
Thirties style dress and hatCream hat with feather
One way to wear a hat for a Thirties style outfit is to wear the hat on top of your head, which sounds silly, because isn’t that where it’s meant to be anyway! Look at the photos to see what I mean. Hair is shorter or done up close to the head.
Black and cream hat with feather worn Thirties style – backBlack and cream hat with feather worn Thirties styleBlack and cream hat worn Thirties style – sideThirties style summer skirt and frill sleeve blouse worn with black and cream hat
I don’t often wear hats with my Forties outfits as I tend to go for high updo’s, then it’s a shame to cover it up. Look at Death by Deco for a masterclass in hat wearing, especially the Forties styles – and brilliant turban tying lessons!
The series Agent Carter is one of my favourite Forties set TV shows. The red hat! Interestingly, the more masculine, power dressing style and tailoring for the Forties was partly born from wartime ‘make do and mend’ ingenuity. The women at home were encouraged to keep up appearances for the troops morale, and that meant one was allowed to raid the husband’s wardrobe for altering to womenswear! This was not just jackets, but hats too. That’s why some of the hats have a trilby look.
Brown Forties hat – backBrown Forties hat with asymetric hairstyle – sideBrown Forties hat with vintage thistle hatpinBrown Forties hat with front curlsForties style utility dress – by Jasmine GuinnessForties style dress platform shoes and brown hat – side
I’ve styled the same hat from the Thirties look for the Forties, by wearing at the back of my head, so the brim frames my hairstyle and face like a halo. If you don’t have a high updo at the front, you can wear perch (or tilt) hats like in the original photos above.
Forties style summer outfit platform shoes and hatForties style hat, earrings and flower corsageBlack and cream hat with feather – sideBlack and cream hat with feather – frontBlack and cream hat with feather – Forties half up hairstyle- side 2Black and cream hat with feather – back
For historical accuracy, Forties films, (I like film noir), will give you some amazing creations to look out for. This turban/ knitted headband from Hitchcock’s Suspicion, worn by Joan Fontaine had me rewinding the final scene. I think this is going on my wish list of knits.
NB. Since writing this post, I sell a recreation of this knotted headband. Contact meor click the button to the sale post to find out more.
