Ive decided to look at iconic women of the 1920s and 1930s to help decipher the type of look I would like my Frauleine Kost to have. To help narrow down my selection, I've searched for iconic blonde bombshells as Frauleine Kost is described by Isherwood as ' a blonde florid girl'. I suppose this is the only literal interpretation there is to take when it comes to Frauleine Kost's appearance. I think deciding on the right shade of blonde for Frl Kost is really important and pending on the scene, will decide on the hairstyle. I think there is an unspoken flirtation and charm that comes with sporting a bouncy blonde look, an element of fun.
It isn't just the shade of blonde that I need to take into consideration. I need to be careful with the shades of makeup and skin tone. I know that in Berlin at that time, anything went! The women were bold and the make up was tragic, but I think considering Frauleine Kost wasn't a crazy showgirl and wasn't particularly eccentric, that her makeup style should be reflective more of her personality and less of the state of society at that time.
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s.
After being signed by director Howard Hughs, Harlow's first major appearance was in Hell's Angels (1930), followed by a series of critically unsuccessful films, before signing with Metro-Mayer in 1932. Harlow became a leading lady for MGM, starring in a string of hit films including Red Dust (1932), Dinner At Eight (1933), Reckless (1935) and Suzy (1936). Among her frequent co-stars were William Powell, Spencer Tracey and, in six films, Clark Gabel
Harlow's popularity rivaled and soon surpassed that of her MGM colleagues Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer. She had become one of the biggest movie stars in the world by the late 1930s, often nicknamed the "Blond Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde", and popular for her "Laughing Vamp" movie persona.
She died during the filming of Saratoga in 1937 at the age of 26. The film was completed using doubles and released a little over a month after Harlow's death. The American Film Institute ranked her as the 22nd in the AFI 100 years... 100 stars.
I really love Jean Harlow's makeup because of the simplicity. In the black and white images she looks flawless and polished I have started to notice the beauty spot becoming a trend and want to play with the idea of Frl Kost having one?
I really like the colour of Jeans hair, its like cotton candy floss. The whitest of platinum
Marion Davies (January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American film actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist.
Davies was already building a solid reputation as a film comedienne when newspaper tycoon William Hearst, with whom she had begun a romantic relationship, took over management of her career. Hearst financed Davies' pictures, promoted her heavily through his newspapers and Hearst Newsreels, and pressured studios to cast her in historical dramas for which she was ill-suited. For this reason, Davies is better remembered today as Hearst's mistress and the hostess of many lavish events for the Hollywood elite. In particular, her name is linked with the 1924 scandal aboard Hearst's yacht where one of his guests, film producer Thomas Ince, died.
In the film Citizen (1941), the title character's wife—an untalented singer whom he tries to promote—was widely assumed to be based on Davies. But many commentators, including Citizen Kane writer/director Orson himself, have defended Davies' record as a gifted actress, to whom Hearst's patronage did more harm than good. She retired from the screen in 1937, choosing to devote herself to Hearst and charitable work.
In Hearst's declining years, Davies provided financial as well as emotional support until his death in 1951. She married for the first time eleven weeks after his death, a marriage which lasted until Davies died of stomach cancer in 1961 at the age of 64.
Clara Gordon Bow July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom in silent film during the 1920s. It was her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname 'The It Girls'. Bow came to personify the Roaring Twenties and is described as its leading sex symbol.
She appeared in 46 silent films and 11 talkies, including hits such as Mantrap (1926), It (1927) and Wings (1927). She was named first box-office draw in 1928 and 1929 and second box-office draw in 1927 and 1930.Her presence in a motion picture was said to have ensured investors, by odds of almost 2-to-1, a "safe return". At the apex of her stardom, she received more than 45,000 fan letters in a single month (January 1929).
After marrying an actor in 1931, Bow retired from acting and became a rancher in Nevada. Her final film, Hoop La was released in 1933. In September 1965, Bow died of a heart attack at the age of 60.
I realise that Clara Bow isn't a blonde! I have chosen to look at her because of the way her hair is so messy and unkept, I think the way it is styled is very 'cool' in comparison to the rest of the women at that time. I like the fringe and I like the eccentric hair pieces, but I think for my character they're not the right style.
She was born Alva White of French and Italian parents. Her mother, a former chorus girl died when Alice was only three years old. She attended Roanoke College in Virginia and then took a secretarial course at Hollywood High school also attended by future actors Joel Carera. After leaving school she became a secretary and "script girl" for director. After clashing with Von Sternberg, White left his employment to work for Charlie Chaplin, who decided before long to place her in front of the camera.Her bubbly and vivacious persona led to comparisons with Clara Bow, but White's career was slow to progress. After playing a succession of flappers and gold diggers, she attracted the attention of the director and producer who saw potential in her. Her first sound films included Show Girl (1928) made in the Vitaphone sound on sync system, and Show Girl In Hollywood (1930) in the Western Electric process, both released by Warner Brothers and both based on novels by J.P. McVoy. In these two films, White appeared as "Dixie Dugan". In October 1929, McAvoy started with the character Dixie having a "helmet" hairstyle and appearance similar to actress Louise Barks. White also used the services of Hollywood 'beauty sculptor' Sylvia Of Hollywood to stay in shape.
I like the use of sequins and glitter in the headpiece, and want to look into whether or not an every day prostitute could get away with it being historically accurate?
Looking at these beautifully eccentric headpieces are making me wish I'd chosen Sally Bowles as my historic character, boo!
“With silken legs and scarlet lips
We’re young and hungry, wild and free,
Our waists are round about the hips
Our skirts are well above the knee
We’ve boyish busts and Eton crops,
We quiver to the saxophone
Come, dance before the music stops
for who can bear to be alone?”
James Laver – The Women of 1926
We’re young and hungry, wild and free,
Our waists are round about the hips
Our skirts are well above the knee
We’ve boyish busts and Eton crops,
We quiver to the saxophone
Come, dance before the music stops
for who can bear to be alone?”
James Laver – The Women of 1926
Frl Kost Bedroom
Here is a mood board inspired but what I imagine my characters bedroom to look like, where she performs for her sailors and makes her pretty hats.
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