I swear, that title was not a ploy to get you to click. They do have something in common.
For the month of June, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is spotlighting Asian images in film. Last week, I watched a film called Piccadilly starring the beautiful Anna May Wong. I am not familiar with her work, but I was fascinated by her breakthrough roles in early cinema.
Piccadilly is a silent film from 1929 set in London. Shosho, Wong's character, is a poor dishwasher from the wrong side of the tracks who works in an extravagant club called "The Piccadilly". After catching the attention of her boss, who runs a very tight ship, while dancing on top of a table in the kitchen, she becomes the center attention as the new exotic act. Her exotic beauty and sensuous dancing mesmerize the audience, including her boss.
Of course, being a fashion historian and vintage lover, I was totally captivated by the costumes. But not so much by the dancers' costumes as you would expect. I was even more intrigued by the costumes of the simple folks - we're so used to seeing this fantasy of what people wore at the time. In cinema, even the down trodden seem to dress better than what was worn in real life. But this film really captured the essence of what I imagine was worn by the working class.
In one scene, Ana May Wong is wearing a simple skirt and a knit sweater with an adorable keyhole neckline punctuated with little rhinestones. She wore a small beret pulled over her severe bangs. And although her stockings had runs, her shoes were simply adorable. Her mary jane shoes buckled at the top of the foot rather than the side.
This pair of Farylrobin Gia shoes look exactly like Shosho's shoes, except these come with a modern open toe. These shoes are perfect with a little dropped waist dress - a much more unique alternative to gladiators for the summer.
By the end of the film, Anna May has ditched her shabby rags and grows accustomed to the life of an exotic dancer - in those days, her type of dancing was a bit risqué. Anna May clutches fur-trimmed coats and the finest cloches graze her brow - right before the jilted dancer she replaces seeks her revenge. I won't tell you the rest. Go out and watch it.
