Black Friday and the Little Black Dress Worn in Hollywood

On the days leading up to Black Friday, we are inundated with emails, notifications, and junk mail encouraging us to buy products. Most retail stores offer deep discounts and slash prices on items just before, during, or after the US Thanksgiving, which is always the last Thursday in November. It has been considered the largest sales day for retailers in the US, and now it is a global phenomenon.

I found this photo on Google images and this was the scene back in the 1950's, when everyone was lining up for the BIG sale at a department store. Seventy years later, we are still participating in this.

Admittedly, we are an online retail store, focusing on vintage items, and of course we would love to fulfill your shopping needs. Peppermint-twist-vintage.com is offering discounts including 10-50% off select jewelry.

However, I thought to myself, what should I write about that is not about your typical BLACK FRIDAY sale? I could write about the history of BLACK FRIDAY. However, this website, history.com unveils the history of  this day and it is quite interesting. I suggest you read it - it is a fascinating story.

Instead, I wanted to tell you a story and write something to inspire you.  So what does Black Friday mean to me? When growing up in Canada, I always viewed Black Friday as the American equivalent to our public holiday, Boxing Day, which is on December 26th, the day after Christmas. Since we are a commonwealth country, we celebrate this British tradition. This is still considered Canada's largest shopping day of the year. People rush to the stores to look for discounts, similar to Black Friday.

(Source : Google images)

Most of the time, December 26th (aka Boxing Day) is always cold, snowy and I wanted to avoid the crowds. So how did I typically spend my Boxing Day?  I would relax, avoid the malls, and watch old, black and white, Hollywood movies from the 1930's - 1950's. 

A few of the bigger, more expensive productions were filmed in Technicolor including Gone with the Wind, Laurence of Olivier, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and The Adventures of Robin Hood. However, the majority of the great Hollywood films were filmed in black and white, with a limited budget, and a production schedule that lasted weeks, not several months or years.

There was a common fashion trend in so many old movies, especially the Film Noir films, or Hitchcock's great mysteries. Ihttp://peppermint-twist-vintage.com/

(Alfred Hitchcock poster for the film, the Birds. Source: Warner Brothers, photo taken from IMDB.com)

Many of the glamorous Hollywood stars wore BLACK. Stars like Audrey Hepburn, Veronica Lake, Lauren Bacall, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Bettie Davis, Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, and Spencer Tracey dressed in black and they wore it well. It was true glamour and many designers like Chanel, Givenchy, etc., created their version of the little black dress or amazing dark suit.

(Audrey Hepburn, Veronica Lake and Lauren Bacall, Source: IMBD.com) 

To this day, when BLACK FRIDAY comes to mind, if I lived in the USA, I would most likely follow my Boxing Day tradition since Americans don't recognize December 26th as a holiday. Of course, they have BLACK FRIDAY instead. I'm certain that I would watch old, black and white films and still be in awe of the Hollywood stars, clad in their stunning BLACK wardrobe, accented with glamorous jewelry!

Today, black clothing is commonplace and it never seems to go out of style. It's versatile, said to make you look slimmer, and compliments EVERY colour. Take a black dress, put on a cardigan, and you have office attire. Take the cardigan off; add some jewelry, and you have evening attire.

You may already have a lot of things in your collection so I'm here to at least inspire you! It's actually very simple to add to some nice jewelry to the 'basic black' look. You can look glamorous, like a movie star in minutes, even on a tight budget. First, look at Bettie Davis's wardrobe in All About Eve...Her hair is stunning and the dress is fabulous.

(Source : IMDB.com)

We carry lovely bracelets that would go great with a stunning dress like this, including this wonderful CORO hallmarked, amber aurora borealis and gold bracelet.

Alternatively, this stunning, rhinestone bracelet compliments black very well.

Secondly, Marlene Dietrich was the ultimate woman in black! She often wore sparkly jewelry or just simple gold or white earrings.

(Source: IMDB.com)

I love how Marlene Dietrich pinned a brooch around her cleavage. This vintage, Coro hallmarked, set containing a pair of rhinestone earrings and brooch is a stunning accessory. You can imitate Marlene in almost seconds... 

If rhinestones aren't your style, and you want to add a dynamite shade, I love this vintage turquoise brooch. It is so stunning and a definite show-stopper!

In addition, this unique, smoky green brooch would look fabulous accenting a black dress, blouse, coat or jacket. It is definitely a conversation piece!

Italian goddess Sophia Lauren, stunning blue-eyed Elizabeth Taylor, and glamorous Ava Gardener always accented their black dresses with rhinestones, white earrings or gold accented jewelry.

Our collection always includes earrings, and jewelry sets just like the glamorous stars used to wear to accent their black dresses, or even pant suits. I highly recommend the following items. First, these incredible large, faux pearl white and gold earrings look great with black.

 

Also, these stunning, 1.5 inch clip-on rhinestone and gold earrings add some glamour but they aren't too over the top.

 
Last but not least, this amber Aurora Borealis, Coro set is fabulous. It looks like something Ava would definitely wear!

Since we mentioned Bettie Davis, we can't forget Bettie Davis's rival, the stunning Joan Crawford. Mildred Pierce is one of my all time favourite films. Here is a photo of young Joan, wearing gold and brown bracelets, plus pearls in a stunning, dangling shoulder dress. Mix and matching is a great idea and it looks great!

(Source:  guddipoland.deviantart.com)

The possibilities are endless. Don't be afraid to try to grab attention and don't be shy to accentuate your eye colour and make a bold statement with lovely jewelry! Here's a few of my favourite pieces that will make you look stunning in a black dress, jacket or sweater.

This Givenchy necklace is incredible..

And this art deco brooch is simply stunning and nearly 90 years old (not a reproduction)

 And I love white and black, combined together. This stunning mix and match collection is wonderful. It would make a great gift also.

I can write about Hollywood stars, clad in black outfits for hours. I failed to mention my two favorite ladies, Lucille Ball and Barbara Stanwyk, The list goes on and on. And we can't forget Clark Gable, Spencer Tracey and Cary Grant and countless other men, who always looked handsome in black. I can only imagine the cuff links collection they owned! We carry a wide array of cuff links also.

Whatever BLACK FRIDAY means to you, don't forget that BLACK is versatile and always stays in fashion. Take out your jewelry and don't be afraid to showcase accessories when you are wearing your basic black!

Can I recommend you sit back, take a bit of time for yourself, relax and watch one of the great Hollywood classics to give you some inspiration? They can be found on TCM, youtube, or other streaming services or TV stations.  The Christmas holiday is less than four weeks away and remember, peppermint-twist-vintage.com is always here to assist!  One good thing is 95% of our products are vintage - you are buying things that were saved from the landfill sites. We do have a sale on so check it out. 

Who is your favourite Hollywood star? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! Don't forget to follow our PINTEREST account for great inspirational ideas and trends.