southern belle dressing

I wish it was socially acceptable to wear ruffled gowns and hoop skirts every day. It's not like I waste too much time fretting over my outfits being socially acceptable or not, haha, but it'd kind of be pearls before swine, and getting in and out of doorways might pose a challenge. Anyway, I've had Southern Belle style on the brain lately (what else is new?)... specifically through the lens of Hollywood's Golden Era. Original 1860s dixie dames are swell and all, but their severe center parts and make-up free faces (oh, and slave ownership!) are not something I feel compelled to emulate. No, let's hear it for Old Hollywood's totally anachronistic interpretations of Antebellum style, with flaming red lips and piled up pincurls! I've been wearing my fullest-skirted '50s frocks, fluffiest crinolines, daintiest shoes, and lace galore lately to pay homage to these fiery gals.

Bette Davis in Jezebel:
(I omitted any pictures of her infamous red dress; I thought it was hideous!)

Elizabeth Taylor in Raintree County:

Now, I doubt you have heard of this next one, so I'll not bother with the details; it was a pretty low-budget production, I hear, and the actress some unknown!

Now these are interesting... dresses inspired by Vivien's get-ups that are contemporaneous to the film! How I'd love to stumble upon one of these lovelies someday... 

PS: Latest breaking news in Dakotaville... I can now drive a tractor. A rusty red 1940s Massey-Ferguson at that! My neighbor owns it (she's a real farmer, unlike poseur me) and she let me drive it all around one of her pastures, and it was the most fun ever, and I'm welcome to drive it anytime, she said, so one day I'll get pictures. I feel so badass chuggin' down the hill on a giant old tractor, hehe! All I need now is a corncob pipe. Also, it turns out tractors are just like dresses... the older they are, the better quality! This neighbor of mine bought this behemoth '40s beast used back in the '60s, and it's still going strong, and she uses it for [whatever one does with a tractor] to this day. Amazing!