Casablanca: 75th anniversary and timeless fashion inspiration

Today, the three-quarter century anniversary of the film Casablanca is a cinematic celebration around the world, commemorating its world premiere that took place back in November 26, 1942. Becoming one of the most beloved Hollywood classics, this romantic melodrama has transcended generations with its incredible settings, complex characters and fascinating storyline. Personally, this film ranks in my all-time top 5 favorites in no other than place number one.

Casablanca wasn't actually released until January 23rd of the following year. The film was nominated for eight awards at the 1943 Academy Awards, out of which it won three: "Best picture", "Best director" (Michael Curtiz), and "Best adapted screenplay" (Howard Koch & the Epstein brothers). Moreover, in 1998 the American Film Institute selected Casablanca as one of the movies in their "100 years, 100 films" list, featuring 100 of the greatest films of all time, and setting Casablanca in the second spot.

This film's plot perfectly combines action, drama, history and romance, taking us on an exotic voyage to the bewildering city of Casablanca. The characters have amazing personalities that entwine throughout the story, and you have pretty much everything you could expect from a movie: Beautiful scenery and costume design, good guys and bad guys, thrills and excitement, love scenes, scapegoats, a great soundtrack... You name it! The melody of "As time goes by" has been playing in my head all month long just thinking about those 75 years of the world being blessed with this movie.

While Rick Blaine is mysterious and captivating, it's easy to develop a love-hate relationship with his counterpart Ilsa Lund, essentially because of a frustrating feeling for what she did to Rick, and for how she approaches him throughout the film. However, she's still quite a charming woman, with an impeccable taste for fashion. Ingrid Bergman, the Swedish actress who portrays this character, did a wonderful job bringing Ilsa to life, but she was also able to deliver her a sense of elegance and poise. Not only are her outfits delicately chosen; (I'm surprised the film wasn't nominated for "Best costume design"); they are exquisitely flaunted by Bergman's enchanting figure. Below you can find a selection of Ilsa's beautiful wardrobe from several scenes pictured in Casablanca.

Taking her outfits as inspiration, and honoring one of my all-time favorite films, I put together a couple of ensembles to recreate Ilsa's divine and adorable looks. I am wearing a vintage white button-up blouse paired with a dark gray skirt and a black belt. I also added a head scarf, a gray-ish hat and a black trench coat (by Exotik) to complete the look and encompass a broader glance at her style. Also, following the black and white pure aesthetic of Casablanca, the photos were taken with B&W selective color. I've wanted to do a Casablanca homage since a long time ago, so what better moment to do it than today?

If you want to join the celebration of Casablanca's 75th anniversary, remember to tune TCM during November for TV screenings of this timeless film. If you haven't watched Casablanca yet, today's the day! I promise you won't regret it.

Come back later for more posts about fashion, crafts, and other curiosities! 

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice costume

This Halloween was not my typical Halloween. I couldn't decorate my house from top to bottom. I didn't throw or attend a party with my friends. I didn't even really prepare anything special for the occasion. It was quite depressing and discouraging not being able to celebrate my favorite season in a grand fashion, so I decided to at least dress up as a character I'd always wanted to portray: Beetlejuice!

I'm not gonna lie. I'd already started to put together the outfit since August, knowing that most of my clothes and stuff would be out of reach due to us moving away. I'd packed a black and white striped dress for the costume, but when I took it out and put it on last Tuesday (October 31st), I realized it didn't look quite right. The stripes were horizontal which, despite having that B&W striped look, didn't feel so Beetlejuice-y. I remembered packing my self-made B&W striped strapless dress (with vertical stripes), so I quickly searched for it on the package list and took it out of the correct box.

Doing my makeup was so much fun! This was the first time I ever did a full-face makeup, cheers on me! I used white base makeup paint to look paler, different tones of green and brown eyeshadows to depict Beetlejuice's decaying appearance, purple eyeshadows for his notable eye bags, and dark shadows every here and there. Recreating Beetlejuice's looks in a glam style turned out to be a killer idea, paired with a girly dress, a black leather jacket (from Stradivarius) and knee-high boots (from Splash Shoes). Of course, I couldn't leave out wearing a cool green wig to complement the look. I believe this costume was the best idea for a Halloween-saver. What do you guys think?

As a side note, I went for a walk on Halloween evening sporting my eccentric outfit. I think Beetlejuice is a very identifiable character because of his distinctive color scheme and rotting appearance. After all, didn't we all point at Robin Thicke in the VMA's for his "Beetlejuice suit"? But I don't think anyone recognized the character I was channeling! We need to turn on the juice and see what shakes loose and give Beetlejuice some more love!

Rumors have been going on since last year about an upcoming sequel for Beetlejuice, though nothing has been confirmed. Apparently, this past October Mike Vukadinovich was hired to rewrite the script for the film. Both Michael Keaton and Tim Burton have stated a couple of times that they would love to take part on a new Beetlejuice movie. Apart from the animated Beetlejuice series and the now defunct Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue at Universal Studios Orlando, both of which I love, this cult character has remained untouched. I would personally love to see this happen, especially if that means living new adventures with the old, endearing characters. 

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