Susan Feng(Jiayi) Final Presentation History of Fashion Susan Feng(Jiayi) Final Presentation

My Image: Grace Kelly wearing a piece from Christian Dior’s “New Look” collection. The picture is a scene from the movie Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The movie was released in the year of 1954, from this movie we can see the fashion and styles of the 1950s.

Grace Kelly Grace Kelly was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Nov 12th, 1929. she was born in a wealthy family in which her father was a three times Olympic gold medalist. Kelly started her career at the age of 22, then got married to the Prince of Monaco at the age of 30.

Dior’s “New Look” In the year of 1947, Dior released his first collection called the “New Look.” People loved his work and called him a revolutionary designer because her design gave female the feminine look that they were looking for. The tiny waist and the puffy dress showed the desirable figures the women was trying to get. One of the most important reason that his release was a big success is because WWII just ended and people was tired of the uniforms and the limited usage of fabric. Dior’s collection on the other hand made female body more attractive.

Rear Window In the film Rear Window (1954), the first scene that Grace Kelly appeared in was with the black and white Dior dress in the picture. In the film she was Jeff’s girlfriend, Jeff is a journal photographer, he injured his leg during a photo shoot, so Lisa (Grace Kelly) had to go over to help Jeff with his activities after work. In the film while she was talking to Jeff she said the dress costed about $1,100 which was really expensive during the 50s. This showed that she was a high class women. From the movie I see that during the 1950s women’s fashion was mainly around, skinny waists, long puffy dresses, low necklines, curly hair, and bright red lips. Movies are also a great way to see and review history and fashion. It is a record of the history and something that keeps the past alive.