I was so excited to read in Vanity Fair that London’s Victoria & Albert Museum was featuring an exhibition of Grace Kelly‘s clothes. What a treat! I thought. Imagine all those beautiful 1950s dresses designed for actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) together in one place. Of course I couldn’t get to London, I knew; I was recovering from spine surgery and we were building an addition to our house.
But what did that matter? I had my computer. With a few keystrokes and mouse clicks, I could cyber fashion stroll. I just assumed the V & A Museum would put the collection online as they had done with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert‘s jewelry collection. (See “Victoria & Albert: Art & Love & Teeth”)
I jumped to the museum website and found the exhibition: “Grace Kelly: Style Icon.” I got even happier after I read the promising blurb:
“Featuring dresses from her films including ‘High Society’ and ‘Rear Window,’ as well as the gown she wore to accept her Oscar in 1955, the display will examine Grace Kelly’s glamorous Hollywood image and enduring appeal.
It will also explore the evolution of her style as Princess Grace of Monaco, from the outfit she wore to her first meeting with Prince Rainier in 1955 to her haute couture gowns of the 1960s and ’70s by her favourite couturiers Dior, Balenciaga, Givenchy and Yves St Laurent.”
But much to my chagrin, I discovered that the exhibit is not posted online at the V & A. I was, at first, incredibly disappointed. In a mad haste, I scoured the Internet for images of the fashion display on newssites and blogs. I found a lot of articles but precious few images of the actual exhibit. But what I did find told a lot. To illustrate a point, here are two of those V & A showcase windows:
Yawn. Pretty dry stuff, huh? Dresses on mannequins have no sparkle. What they needed was Grace Kelly.
So instead of trying to catalog for you all the dresses in the V & A, I have picked my personal favorite and shown it as worn by the eternally beautiful Grace Kelly. It is the Paris dress she wore as sophisticate Lisa Carol Fremont in the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock classic, “Rear Window.”
The dress with a fitted black bodice and deep V-cut bustline was designed for Kelly by Paramount Picture’s chief costume designer Edith Head. The full skirt falls to mid-calf, gathered and layered in white chiffon and tulle. From the nipped-in waist, a spray branch pattern falls playfully over the hip. Grace accessorized her high-fashion gown with white silk gloves, pearls, and a chiffon shoulder wrap.
To read the “Rear Window” script excerpt wherein “Lisa-Carol- Fremont” enters Jimmy Stewart‘s apartment wearing this outfit, click here.
For more on Grace Kelly, click here.
[…] want Carole Lombard in a negligee slipdresses. We are as refined and feminine as Grace Kelly in a circle skirt, as desirable as Veronica Lake peeking out behind her alluring […]
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Yum Yum a real class doll….Looks like the girl I married..
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BEAUTIFUL!!! looks like a girl i would want to marry. just stunning!!
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[…] https://lisawallerrogers.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/grace-kelly-floating-on-chiffon/ 17 April 2012 11:07am – Images « Grace Kelly 162 Grace Kelly162 4706491 Free Image Hosting at Grace Kelly pics » […]
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Grace Kelly absolutely the most beautiful woman on this earth.
No one else can come close to her.
the Royal Swan that will be always remembered for her style, elegance, class and timeless beauty.
No one of the great divas of the past can come close to Stunning Grace Kelly. recently elected The most beautiful american woman ever!
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Wonderful Pictures. I have a doubt for which I have not found an answer on the Net. Did Queen Elizabeth II ever meet Grace Kelly or Prince Rainier?
I have googled for images showing them both but coudnt find any.. 🙂
So I want to know if they ever met??
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