Rosemary's Baby
Pixie cuts, ruthlessness, the Dakota, and the Devil: Rosemary's Baby.
She may be freaking out, but she looks GREAT
Did Rosemary Woodhouse imagine it all? Was her husband so desperate to further his acting career that he let the devil possess him and rape his wife? Did the elderly neighbors secretly poison Mrs. Woodhouse? Or was life in the big city, filled with different types of people, cultures, and religions, too much to handle for a small town, Catholic girl? Whatever the case, Rosemary's Baby is a hell of a film that is part horror flick, psychological drama, and social commentary.
After seeing this film in my late teens, I couldn't shake the thought of the ominous apartment building Rosemary resided in. Now, nearly two decades later, I have become accustomed to seeing the Dakota during my weekly trek to Trader Joe's.
The exteriors of the Dakota were used in the film
The Dakota doesn't look quite as ominous in person; even so, it does have a great deal of presence. Located on Central Park West, its renaissance architecture, elegant gas lanterns, and wrought-iron gates are distinctive in an area where stunning buildings are commonplace. In addition to its exterior being used in Rosemary's Baby, the Dakota is etched in the global memory as the place where John Lennon met his tragic fate at the hands of a deranged former fan.
Today, however, the Dakota is a quintessential symbol of New York wealth. Apartments in the building routinely sell for over $10 million (Yoko Ono owns nearly a dozen). Longtime residents of the housing cooperative include Maury "You Are Not the Father" Povich and his wife, American Journalist, Connie Chung, as well as legendary recording artist, Roberta Flack.
But what of Rosemary Woodhouse? Regardless of what really happened to Rosemary and her baby, Mrs. Woodhouse's fashion was on point. The mod outfits and pixie hair cut are the stuff of legend. Which begs the question: how can a woman walk around dazed, scared, and confused, yet have the awareness to rock such gorgeous outfits? Mind boggling.
Directed by Roman Polanski, Rosemary's Baby stars Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, and Ruth Gordan.
Lady of the Afternoon in YSL: Belle De Jour
A beautiful young housewife moonlights as a prostitute during weekday afternoons, and she only wears YSL. Catherine Deneuve is expertly dressed and icy cool as Belle De Jour.
Director Luis Buñuel set movie screens afire with the 1967 release, Belle De Jour. The classic French film stars Catherine Deneuve as a sexually-repressed, bourgeois wife who spends weekday afternoons moonlighting as a prostitute while her oblivious husband is at work. Challenging and erotic, this surrealist film explores bourgeois life, marriage, bondage, sadism, and the Madonna-whore complex.
Belle De Jour also features some of the most beautiful couture fashion ever shown on the silver screen. The stunning costumes worn by Deneuve were designed by Yves Saint Laurent, so each scene in the film looks like a high-fashion magazine advertisement. From stunning coats and exquisite handbags, to gorgeous hats, dresses and shoes, YSL outdid himself with each expertly designed piece. Deneuve also wore "Pilgrim Pumps" in the film. The famous buckled shoes were designed by the legendary French designer and creator of the Stiletto heel, Roger Vivier.
