Doris Day's Designers

Today, April 3, is the beautiful and charming Doris Day's birthday. In celebration of her special day Turner Classic Movies is showing a few of her films.

Since I no longer have a 9-5 job, I plan to spend a few hours with the lovely Ms. Day.

Doris Day in Wardrobe Still for 1966's The Glass Bottom Boat

Ray Aghayan Costume Designer

Doris Day and Howard Keel in 1953's Calamity Jane

Howard Shoup Costume Designer

 Sketch for Doris Day in the 1955 Film Love Me or Leave Me
Costume Designer Helen Rose 

Sketch for Doris Day in 1959's Pillow Talk
Costume Designer Jean Louis 

Doris Day in Publicity Still for 1960's Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Morton Haack Costume Designer

I hope you got to watch a few of these fun films.

Costume Designer's Pinboard

1959's Best Costume Design Winners

The 1959 Academy Awards were held April 4, 1960 to honor best film making efforts for the year 1959. The 32nd Academy Awards ceremonies were hosted by Bob Hope at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California.

Some of the top 1950s names and stars presenting awards and performing during the event included Gary Cooper, Doris Day, Sammy Davis, Jr., Hope Lange, Gene Kelly, Rock Hudson, and John Wayne.

The epic film "Ben Hur" broke Oscar history records with an amazing eleven Academy Awards wins out of their twelve nominations.

The 1959 Academy Awards in Costume Design - Black and White
Winners are in bold

Some Like It Hot – Orry-Kelly
Career – Edith Head
The Diary of Anne Frank – Charles LeMaire and Mary Wills
The Gazebo – Helen Rose
The Young Philadelphians – Howard Shoup

Orry-Kelly Costume Sketch for 1959 Some Like It Hot
Best Costume Design in Black and White

The 1959 Academy Awards in Costume Design - Color
Winners are in bold

Ben-Hur – Elizabeth Haffenden
Porgy and Bess – Irene Sharaff
The Best of Everything – Adele Palmer
The Big Fisherman – Renie
The Five Pennies – Edith Head

Elizabeth Haffenden Costume Sketch for 1959 Ben-Hur

A complete list of 1959's Academy Award winners can be seen on our sister page Fifties Hollywood Glamour

1958's Costume Design Oscar Winners

The 1958 Academy Awards were held at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California on April 6, 1959. These awards were presented to honor the best in film efforts for the year 1958.

Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope, and David Niven co-hosted the 31st Annual Academy Awards with Dean Martin, Eddie Fisher, Burt Lancaster, and Kirk Douglas among the performers.

Presenters of the top awards included Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Gary Cooper, and Tony Randall.

1958 Academy Awards in Costume Design
Winner is shown in bold

Gigi – Cecil Beaton
A Certain Smile – Charles LeMaire and Mary Wills
Bell Book and Candle – Jean Louis
Some Came Running – Walter Plunkett
The Buccaneer – Ralph Jester, Edith Head and John Jensen

Cecil Beaton Sketch for 1958 Film Gigi
Best Costume Design 

A complete list of  Oscar winners for 1958 can be seen at our sister page Fifties Hollywood Glamour

1957's Costume Design Oscar Winners

The 1957 Academy Awards ceremonies were broadcast live on March 26th, 1958 from the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California.

Hosts were Bob Hope, Rosalind Russell, David Niven, James Stewart, Jack Lemon, and the voice of Donald Duck.

Presenters for the 30th Academy Awards included Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, and John Wayne. Rock Hudson and Mae West performed the popular "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and Debbie Reynolds performed "Tammy" from "Tammy and the Bachelor."

1957 Academy Awards in Costume Design
Winners are listed in bold

Les Girls – Orry-Kelly
An Affair to Remember – Charles LeMaire
Funny Face – Edith Head and Hubert de Givenchy
Pal Joey – Jean Louis
Raintree County – Walter Plunkett

Orry-Kelly Oscar Winning Costumes From
1957's Les Girls

A complete list of Academy Award Winners for 1957 can be seen at our sister page Fifties Hollywood Glamour

1956's Costume Design Oscar Winners

The 1956 Academy Awards were held on March 27, 1957 and hosted by Jerry Lewis and Celeste Holm in the RKO Theatre in Hollywood, California. The ceremonies were also televised from NBC Century Theatre in New York City.

1956 was the year of epic films with all of the Best Picture nominees having been blockbusters. The very popular John Ford directed movie The Searchers failed to receive any nominations.

Presenters for the 29th Academy Awards for best film making efforts in 1956 included Ingrid Bergman, Kirk Douglas, Deborah Kerr, and Elizabeth Taylor. Performers were Bing Crosby, Dorothy Dandridge, The Four Aces, Gogi Grant, and Tommy Sands.

1956 Academy Awards in Costume Design
Winners are shown in bold

Best Costume Design in Black and White

The Solid Gold Cadillac – Jean Louis
The Power and the Prize – Helen Rose
The Proud and Profane – Edith Head
Seven Samurai – Kohei Ezaki
Teenage Rebel – Charles LeMaire and Mary Wills

Judy Holliday and Paul Douglas in Scene From Solid Gold Cadillac
Jean Louis Best Costume in Black and White Oscar

Best Costume Design in Color

The King and I – Irene Sharaff
Around the World in Eighty Days – Miles White
Giant – Moss Mabry and Marjorie Best
The Ten Commandments – Edith Head, Ralph Jester,
John Jensen, Dorothy Jeakins and Arnold Friberg
War and Peace – Marie De Matteis

Irene Sharaff Costume Sketch for 1956's The King and I
Sharaff Won Best Costume Design in Color Oscar

A complete list of 1956's Academy Award winners can be seen on our sister page Fifties Hollywood Glamour

1955's Best Costume Design Winners

The 1955 Academy Awards were held at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 21, 1956. Jerry Lewis hosted the Hollywood ceremonies awarding Oscars for the top film making efforts in the year 1955. Claudette Colbert and Joseph Mankiewicz co-hosted the television broadcast in New York City.

Among the A-list celebrities presenting awards were Grace Kelly, Peggy Lee, Audrey Hepburn, and James Cagney. Performers included Harry Belafonte, Jerry Lewis, Eddie Fisher, and Dean Martin.

1955 Academy Awards in Costume Design
Winners are listed in bold

Best Costume Design - Black and White

I'll Cry Tomorrow – Helen Rose
The Pickwick Papers – Beatrice Dawson
Queen Bee – Jean Louis
The Rose Tattoo – Edith Head
Ugetsu – Tadaoto Kainosho

Helen Rose Award Winning Design for 1955's I'll Cry Tomorrow

Best Costume Design - Color

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing – Charles LeMaire
Interrupted Melody – Helen Rose
Guys and Dolls – Irene Sharaff
To Catch a Thief – Edith Head
The Virgin Queen – Charles LeMaire and Mary Wills

Jennifer Jones in 1955 Award Winning Costume for
Love Is a Many Splendored Thing
Designed by Charles LeMaire

A complete list of 1955's Academy Award Winners can be seen on our sister page Fifties Hollywood Glamour

1954's Costume Design Academy Award Winners

1954 Academy Awards were held March 30, 1955 at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California and the NBC Century Theatre in New York City. Bob Hope and Thelma Ritter hosted the ceremonies.

Top stars presenting Oscars for the best film effort during 1954 in the 27th Academy Awards included Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Lauren Bacall, William Holden, and Bing Crosby.

1954 Academy Awards in Costume Design
Winners are shown in bold

Best Costume Design - Black and White

Sabrina – Edith Head
The Earrings of Madame de... – Georges Annenkov and Rosine Delamare
Executive Suite – Helen Rose
It Should Happen to You – Jean Louis
Indiscretion of an American Wife – Christian Dior

Edith Head Award Winning Costume for Audrey Hepburn
1954's Sabrina

Best Costume Design in Color

The Gate of Hell – Sanzo Wada
Brigadoon – Irene Sharaff
Desiree – Charles LeMaire and Rene Hubert
A Star Is Born – Jean Louis, Mary Ann Nyberg and Irene Sharaff
There's No Business Like Show Business – Charles LeMaire, Travilla and Miles White

A complete list of 1954's Academy Award winners can be seen on our sister page Fifties Hollywood Glamour.

1953's Best Costume Oscar Winners

The 1953 Academy Awards ceremony was held March 25, 1954 at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California. This marked the second national television broadcast of the awards show.

Donald O'Connor hosted the 26th Annual Academy Awards ceremonies in Los Angeles with Fredric March hosting from the NBC Century Theatre in New York City.

Stars presenting the Oscars for films premiering in the year 1953 included Elizabeth Taylor, Merle Oberon, Tyrone Power, Kirk Douglas, Irene Dunne, and Walter Brennan.

1953 ACADEMY AWARDS IN COSTUME DESIGN
Winners are shown in bold

BEST COSTUME DESIGN IN BLACK AND WHITE

Roman Holiday – Edith Head
The Actress – Walter Plunkett
Dream Wife – Helen Rose and Herschel McCoy
From Here to Eternity – Jean Louis
The President's Lady Charles LeMaire and Renie Conley

Edith Head Academy Award Winning Costume Design for
Audrey Hepburn in 1953's Roman Holiday

BEST COSTUME DESIGN IN COLOR

The Robe –Charles LeMaire and Emile Santiago
The Band Wagon – Mary Ann Nyberg
Call Me Madam – Irene Sharaff
How to Marry a Millionaire – Charles LeMaire and William Travilla
Young Bess – Walter Plunkett

Mary Ann Nyberg Award Winning Costume Design Sketch for

Cyd Charisse in 1953's The Band Wagon

Bonham's Auctions

A complete list of  Oscar winners from 1953 can be seen on our sister page Fifties Hollywood Glamour

1952's Oscar in Costume Design Winners

The 1952 Academy Awards ceremony was held March 19, 1953 at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California. Oscars were given in recognition of outstanding efforts in films premiering in 1952.

It was simultaneously broadcast from the NBC International Theatre in New York City. The 25th Academy Awards was the first ceremony to be televised.

Bob Hope hosted the ceremony in Hollywood with Fredric March hosting in New York. The star-studded cast of presenters included Olivia de Havilland, Ray Milland, Loretta Young, Ginger Rogers, Jimmy Stewart, and John Wayne.

The nominees for Best Costume Designs for films from 1952 are listed below with the winners shown in bold.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN IN BLACK AND WHITE

The Bad and the Beautiful – Helen Rose
Affair in Trinidad – Jean Louis
Carrie – Edith Head
My Cousin Rachel – Charles LeMaire and Dorothy Jeakins
Sudden Fear – Sheila O'Brien

Helen Rose 1952 Academy Award Winning Costume Design
Gloria Grahame in The Bad and the Beautiful

BEST COSTUME DESIGN IN COLOR

Moulin Rouge – Marcel Vertes
The Greatest Show on Earth – Edith Head, Dorothy Jeakins and Miles White
The Merry Widow – Helen Rose and Gile Steele
With a Song in My Heart – Charles LeMaire

Zsa Zsa Gabor in Elsa Schiaparelli costume in collaboration
with Marcel Vertes for 1952's Moulin Rouge
Vertes is credited as the film's Costume Designer
Schiaparelli designed for Ms Gabor

A complete list of 1952's Academy Award winners can be seen on our sister page Fifties Hollywood Glamour

1951's Oscar in Costume Design Winners

Danny Kaye was the host of the 1951 Academy Awards. Performers for the evening were Kay Brown, Dick Haymes, Howard Keel and Jane Powell, and Jane Wyman. Presenters included 1950's fan favorites Lucille Ball, Cyd Charisse, Leslie Caron, and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

The 24th Academy Awards ceremony was held March 20, 1952 at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California to recognize the greatest film efforts for the year 1951.

Gene Kelly was awarded an honorary Oscar in appreciation of his many talents as an actor, singer, and dancer. He was specifically recognized for his superb skills as a film choreographer and as a director.

Nominees for Best Costume Designs in 1951 were as follows:

Winners are listed in bold.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN IN BLACK AND WHITE

A Place in the Sun – Edith Head
A Streetcar Named Desire – Lucinda Ballard
The Model and the Marriage Broker – Charles LeMaire and Renie
Kind Lady – Walter Plunkett and Gile Steele
The Mudlark – Edward Stevenson and Margaret Furse

Edith Head Designed Costume for Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun
1951 Academy Award Winner for Best Costume Design in Black in White

BEST COSTUME DESIGN IN COLOR

An American in Paris – Orry-Kelly, Walter Plunkett and Irene Sharaff
Tales of Hoffmann – Hein Heckroth
David and Bathsheba – Charles LeMaire and Edward Stevenson
Quo Vadis – Herschel McCoy
The Great Caruso – Helen Rose and Gile Steele

Leslie Caron in Costume from 1951 An American in Paris
Academy Award Best Costume in Color Winner for
Orry-Kelly, Walter Plunkett, and Irene Sharaff
From The Everett Collection

A complete list of Academy Award winners can be seen on our sister page Fifties Hollywood Glamour.

1950's Costume Design Oscar Winners

Competition was stiff for the 1950 Academy Awards with The Best Picture winner “All About Eve” nominated for an Oscar in fourteen categories.

Fred Astaire hosted the March 29, 1951 Academy Awards ceremonies with performers for the evening including Gloria DeHaven and Alan Young, Frankie Laine, Martin and Lewis, and Lucille Norman.

Presenters for the 23rd Academy Awards for the best film efforts in 1950 were fifties' favorites Gene Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Debra Paget, Debbie Reynolds, Jan Sterling, and Mercedes McCambridge.

Best Costume Design - Black and White nominees were:

All About Eve – Edith Head and Charles LeMaire

Born Yesterday – Jean Louis

The Magnificent Yankee – Walter Plunkett

Edith Head Costume Sketch for Bette Davis in 1950's All About Eve
Edith Head and Charles LeMaire Oscar Winners for
Best Costume Design - Black and White

Edith Head and Charles LeMaire were the 1950 Oscar Winners in the Best Costume Design in Black and White category for the film "All About Eve"

BEST COSTUME DESIGN - COLOR nominees were:

Samson and Delilah – Edith Head, Dorothy Jeakins,

Elois Jenssen, Gile Steele, Gwen Wakeling

The Black Rose – Michael Whittaker

That Forsyte Woman – Walter Plunkett and Valles

Hedy Lamarr in 1950's Samson and Delilah "Peacock" Costume
Best Color Costume Design Oscar Winner for 1950
Edith Head, Dorothy Jeakins, Elois Jenson, Gile Steele, Gwen Wakeling

Edith Head, Dorothy Jeakins, Elois Jenson, Gile Steele, and Gwen Wakeling were the 1950 Oscar Winners in the Best Costume Design in Color category for their designs in the film "Samson and Delilah."

A complete list of nominees and Academy Award winners can be seen on our sister page Fifties Hollywood Glamour 

Introducing Jorjett Strumme Costume Art

It is our pleasure to introduce Jorjett Strumme, owner of and costume designer for Jorjett Strumme Costume Art.

Jorjett Strumme and Barbara Stanwyck at
Nolan Miller Party

Not only is Ms. Strumme a former assistant to famed costume designers Helen Rose and Nolan Miller, she has "lived" among and sometimes with some of Hollywood's most glamorous stars.

I found her interview about Helen Rose with Emmy Award winning screenwriter and author Robert J. Avrech very interesting. You can read it HERE

Sketch of Helen Rose Designed Wedding Gown for
Grace Kelly's 1956 Wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco

Helen Rose Sketch of Gown Designed for Elizabeth Taylor
in The Last Time I Saw Paris 1954

While working as assistant and in-house model for Emmy Award winning designer Nolan Miller, Ms. Strumme was honored to meet and work with some of  Hollywood's finest actresses. Most notably of which were Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis, Lana Turner, and Ginger Rogers.

Perhaps her favorite assignment though was as the personal assistant and stylist for the lovely Elizabeth Taylor. She became good friends with Ms. Taylor in the ten years she was privileged to accompany her around the world.

Today her pursuits include designing exquisite tiaras, bridal headpieces, and masks for photographers and fashion shows.

Doesn't this headpiece just scream fifties' wedding?

Jorjett Strumme Bridal Headpiece

Feel free to browse through the website for Jorjett Strumme Costume Art HERE. There is also a button on the left column where you can link to her site. I know you will enjoy it.

Happy Birihday Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor was born in London to American parents on February 27, 1932. She was a pretty child who signed her first movie contract in 1941 and made her screen debut at age 9.

Always graceful, Elizabeth Taylor grew from a sensitive child star to a glamorous film actress. In a career that spanned 70 years and over 50 films, she won two Academy Awards for Best Actress. Her first was as a call girl in "BUtterfield 8" and then as the vitriolic Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf."

Often named the most beautiful woman in the world, Taylor's unforgettable violet eyes, creamy white skin, and raven hair contributed to her allure.

When describing Elizabeth Taylor, director George Stevens is quoted as saying, "Marilyn Monroe was a sex goddess, Grace Kelly the ice queen, Audrey Hepburn the eternal gamine, Ms Taylor was beauty incarnate."

Elizabeth Taylor Studio Publicity Photo circa 1955

In Search of Costumer Mary Ann Nyberg

Nanette Fabray, America's musical theater sweetheart and vivacious actress, singer, and dancer of film and television, died at her home in Palos Verdes Estates on Thurday, February 22, 2018. She was 97 years old.

You can read more about Miss Fabray on our sister page Fifties Hollywood Glamour.

In 1953, Fabray starred with Fred Astaire, Jack Buchanan, and Cyd Charisse in the hit musical comedy "The Band Wagon." 

"The Band Wagon" is considered one of Metro Goldwyn Mayer's finest musicals. The song "That's Entertainment" was written specifically for the film and has become an industry standard. 

Nominated for multiple Academy Awards, it has been selected for preservation in The United States Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Cyd Charisse as Gabrielle Gerard backstage with Nanette Fabray

as Lily Marton in formals designed by Mary Ann Nyberg 

1953 "The Band Wagon"

Turner Classic Movies Archives

Among the nominees for an Academy Award was Mary Ann Nyberg for Best Costume Design in Color.

Mary Ann Nyberg Costume Sketch for
Fred Astaire in The Band Wagon 1953
Bonham's Auctions

Mary Ann Nyberg was born February 7, 1923 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She first married movie critic and film historian Arthur Knight. She was married to Don J. Koch when she died on September 19, 1979.

While her film credits only spanned two years, Nyberg was nominated twice for an Oscar for Best Costume in Color. The first time was for 1953's "The Band Wagon" and again for 1954's "A Star is  Born."

Mary Ann Nyberg Costume Design Sketch for
Cyd Charisse in 1953's The Band Wagon
Bonham's Auctions

Costume design difficulties arose between the naive twenty-one year old Nyberg and the talented yet demanding Judy Garland for the film "A Star is Born." Garland requested veteran costumer Jean Louis design her outfits. Irene Sharaff also shared credits for the film.

Nyberg would go on to design costumes for "Lili", "Carmen Jones", and "The Man With the Golden Arm."

Mary Ann Nyberg Costume Design Sketch for
Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones
Bonham Auctions

While very little information on Nyberg can be found prior to or after her Hollywood costuming days, her legacy remains in those designs. 

Featuring Barbara Karinska on World Ballet Day

Film, stage, and ballet designer Barbara Karinska was the principal costume designer and director of the costume shop for The New York City Ballet from its beginning until her retirement in 1977.

Known professionally only as Karinska, she was born Varvara Zhmoudsky on October 3, 1886 in Kharkov, Russia. She ran an embroidery and coffee shop in her native Russia before emigrating to Brussels and then finally settling in Paris, France.

During Karinska's brief career in Paris, she collaborated with a long list of painters and designers. She costumed Les Ballets 1933 and six ballets for George Balanchine before moving to America in 1938.

Barbara Karinska Costumes for New York City Ballet's "Jewels"
Museum at FIT

While working primarily in ballets, Karinska did design for Hollywood  films. She won an Oscar in 1948 for her costuming of Ingrid Bergman in Joan of Arc.

Jean Dessés, The King of Chiffon

If Madame Grés is the undisputed master of draped silk, jersey, and chiffon, we will name Jean Dessés the 'King of Chiffon'.

Born August 6, 1904 in Egypt to Greek parents, Jean Dessés left his law studies in 1925 to work with a couture house in Paris. He opened his own fashion salon in 1937. Despite having to compete with the better known designers Chanel and Balenciaga, his first collection was a success.

Jean Dessés Fashion Illustration 1950

Drawing from his extensive travels after World War II and bowing to his Grecian heritage, Dessés built a reputation on his twisted sash and bodice marvels made of draped and pleated chiffon and mousseline.

The Crown Jewel of Costumes

One of the most prolific costumers in film history, William Travilla is best known for designing Marilyn Monroe's "subway dress" in The Seven Year Itch.

Called the "flying skirt" scene, Miss Monroe is standing atop a subway grate with the upward breeze sending the skirt of her now iconic dress billowing about her legs.

Marilyn Monroe in William Travilla Costume
Seven Year Itch 1955
WikiCommons

While considered quite provocative in 1955, what I see in the pose that is said to have prompted the Monroe and DiMaggio divorce, is a beautiful young woman trying to keep her perfectly pleated dress from flying above her head. I see a glimpse of modest panties (she wore two pairs of panties) fitted snugly to well-toned thighs. I see her wearing stylish slingback heels and wonder how often those pretty heels got caught in the subway grate.

William Travilla "Subway Dress" Costume from Seven Year Itch
Worn by Marilyn Monroe
©Liveauctioneers

A seasoned costume designer credited in over thirty films, William Travilla had no reason to expect his designs from The Seven Year Itch would bring him special notoriety. Yet this dress would propel him, as well as Marilyn Monroe, into movie image history.

Where Was It Worn?

This silk with rhinestone evening gown was donated to the Metropolitan Museum by the lovely Diahann Carroll.

I always wonder where it was worn. Was it an awards ceremony? A charity gala? A movie premier?

I have looked at every Google Image and Pinterest photo there is of Diahann Carroll and although she is photographed in a lot of beautiful evening gowns, I can't find her in this one.

Oh well, it must have been a quiet evening without paparazzi. 

Norman Norell Evening Gown 1950-1965
©Met Museum
Gift from Diahann Carrol

Norman Norell

Wednesday Wisdom from Edith Head

"There's no such thing as a standard size movie star,

or woman for that matter." Edith Head

Edith Head Sketch for Bette Davis
1951 All About Eve
Credit: Liveauctioneers

You can read more about Edith Head HERE

Just Call Him Adrian

Whether sewn into an exquisite evening gown or into a classic suit, a label reading "Gowns by Adrian" indicates an industry mark of excellence.

Gilbert Adrian 1950-1955
©Metropolitan Museum
Gift in Memory of Reeva Zenker Lowe

Gilbert Adrian began his illustrious costuming career in 1925 for Paramount Studio's silent film "Cobra" starring Rudolph Valentino. Before his retirement from costume designing his "Costumes by Adrian" trademark was seen in over 250 films.