Today is Friday, so it’s time for another Film Fashion Friday article! This will be my second one of the year. The purpose of this series is to familiarize people with the beauty and glamour of the clothes which people wore in Code films. Although few people are thinking about fashion right now, I signed up to write about a Doris Day costume today for a blogathon a few months ago. Thus, I am still going to honor Miss Day’s fashion in honor of her birthday. As a matter of fact, this is a great time to study fashion and order some vintage-style garments from Amazon. You must be ready to make your fashionable reemergence into society!
This weekend, I am participating in The Fourth Annual Doris Day Blogathon, which is being hosted by Michaela of Love Letters to Old Hollywood. For the fourth year in a row, Michaela is inviting other writers to join her celebration of America’s Sweetheart, “The Girl with a Gleam in her Eye and a Dream in her Voice.” She would have been ninety-eight today. This is the first birthday since her death last May, but that is even more reason to keep this wonderful, talented songstress’s legacy alive. Let’s consider one of the costumes Doris Day wore in her second film, My Dream is Yours from 1949.
In this a fun Warner Bros. musical, Doris Day plays Martha Gibson, a pretty young war widow with an adorable little boy who must choose between her lovable manager, Doug Blake (Jack Carson), and a charming singing star, Gary Mitchell (Lee Bowman), as she navigates her way to fame as a singer. Doug wants a sponsor, Felix Hofer (S. Z. Sakall), to hear Martha sing on the radio. She sings “Someone Like You,” a song written by Harry Warren with lyrics by Ralph Blane. The outfit which she wears in this scene is the one which I am going to describe today.
This outfit consists of a white ruffled blouse and a mid-calf length black skirt. It is a really cute and sweet outfit, perfect for spring and summer as the weather is getting warmer. This is the sort of pretty, youthful, and very feminine outfit which was Doris Day’s signature style in her early films. Let’s consider the different components and the similar options which Amazon offers.
The main feature of this outfit is the white blouse. It has short cap sleeves and a little stand collar. The most noteworthy feature of this garment is its rows of horizontal lace ruffles, which are about two inches apart. At the neck, there is a green satin bow.
The above blouse from Amazon is my first suggestion. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any blouse on the website which has rows of lace ruffles like those on Doris Day’s. Thus, I am offering suggestions which are the closest I could find. This first blouse is almost sleeveless but has very small cap sleeves. It has two vertical rows of ruffles, one on either side of the blouse’s front. There is a row of black buttons down its front. There is a thin black ribbon which is tied in a bow at the front. This blouse comes in white, pink, black, khaki, and navy blue. It is 100% polyester. It costs $23.99.
The above blouse from Amazon is another option. It is all one color. It has ruffles at the shoulders which are like cap sleeves. It has a bow at the neck of the same material and color. There are no buttons and no other decorations on the blouse. It comes in white, black and white, and pink in two styles. It is 100% polyester. This garment costs $14.99.
The above blouse for Amazon is my third suggestion for use with this outfit. It has longer cap sleeves which end with flared ruffles. There is a band just above the chest. Like Doris Day’s blouse, this piece has a smaller collar. This particular collar is smaller and rounder, the style which is called a Peter Pan collar. There is a bow of the same material and color at the back of the neck. This blouse only comes in white. It is 100% polyester. It costs $16.99.
The above scarf is the best option I found for the green bow at the neck. It could be put over the small black tie of the first blouse, or it could be added to the third blouse, which doesn’t have a tie of any kind. This scarf is very versatile and can be used in many ways, as we can see from the bandit-like photograph which appeared with the link. (I don’t recommend wearing it over your face with this outfit; that doesn’t fit Doris Day’s style in this scene!) It is 27″ x 27″ in size. If tied in the proper way, it could be very pretty. It has a lovely sheen. This color is green, and it also comes in 35 other colors and patterns. It only costs $9.99.
The other main piece is the black skirt. It ends just about her ankles, as you can see in the above picture. It is somewhat full, but it doesn’t flare too much. It basically a simple black skirt.
The above skirt from Amazon is my only suggestion for a skirt to wear with this outfit. It is about the same length as the one in the film, ending just above the model’s ankles. To be more accurate, it is 38.2-39.8 inches long, depending on which size you order. It is fitted at the waist and flares gently below that. It is decorated with a bow in the back, and it has side pockets. It comes in black, dark gray, and wine red. It is 100% polyester. At $19.99, it seems like an excellent value.
This outfit’s main accent is a gold belt. It is a medium width, and it appears to be gold leather. It is fairly shiny. You can’t see the buckle very clearly, but it looks like a standard belt buckle. This belt not only gives a pop of color to this outfit, but it also gives her figure added definition by coming in at the waist. This was very important in ladies’ fashion of the 1940s, when the hourglass figure was in style.
The above belt from Amazon is the first of my two recommendations. It is quite wide, 2.95 inches to be exact, which gives it a vintage look. It is leather in the front and elastic in the back, which allows it to stretch to fit different sizes. It comes in sizes small through extra large, which is good, since no belt is really “one size fits all.” This belt comes in gold, black, brown, leopard, apricot, and red. It is made of PU leather and elastic and has a metal buckle with three holes for different sizing. It costs $12.99.
The above belt from Amazon is my second recommendation. It is a more standard leather belt. It is the same width and material throughout its 34-50 inch length, depending on the size. It is 1.1 inches wide. This belt comes in XS as well as the customary S-XL sizing, which I really appreciate. A tight belt is important for creating a vintage hourglass look, but many belts don’t come in enough sizes. It has a metal buckle and five holes. In addition to multiple sizes, this versatile belt comes in a rainbow of lovely colors, including gold, black, navy, blue camouflage, brown camouflage, dark brown, dark gray, dark green, forest green camouflage, green camouflage, gray camouflage, hot pink, Kelly green, lavender, light blue, light brown, light gray, orange, pink, plum, purple camouflage, red, red camouflage, royal blue, silver, sky blue, Tiffany green, white, wine, and yellow. It is 100% genuine leather. It costs only $12.99.
Shoes are an important part of any outfit, and Doris wears some cute ones with this outfit. They are black pumps with round toes, open sides, and a thin ankle strap. Sometimes the open side style is called D’Orsay pumps. The heels are about three inches tall. The heels look like they might be a little thicker.
The above shoe from Amazon is an excellent option for this outfit. It is a very attractive, vintage-looking design. It has an adjustable ankle strap and a 4 inch heel, which is very thin. The toe is closed and slightly pointed, while the sides are open. This shoe comes in black leather (pictured), black Nubuck (suede), black patent leather, nude leather, nude Nubuck, nude patent leather, gold glitter, red, royal blue, silver glitter, white, yellow, floral, tan, white with black polka dots, fuchsia, and pink. It contains man-made material with a rubber sole. It costs $21.99-$40.99, depending on which size and color you choose.
The above shoe from Amazon is my second recommendation. It is basically the same shoe as the last one but with a thick heel rather than a thin one, since it is made by the same company. It also has an ankle strap with an adjustable buckle and a 4 inch heel. It doesn’t come in black patent leather like the other style, but it does come in black Pu (leather) and black suede, which are both excellent options. It also comes in nude Pu, nude suede, pink, royal blue, white, silver glitter, floral, red, and gold glitter. It is made of man-made material and features a rubber sole. It costs $18.99-$40.99, depending on which size and color you order.
With this outfit, the only jewelry which she wears is gold earrings. They look like they are just on the ear. Any gold earrings which you like would be appropriate, preferably simple ones, like hers. If you don’t have a favorite pair of your own, I recommend the below pair from Amazon. They are 10 mm love knots. They come in yellow gold, white gold, and rose gold. They are 925 sterling silver plated with 14k gold. They cost $11.99.
When we see full-length shots of her in this outfit, we see that she has two key accessories, gloves and a handkerchief. She wears a pair of lacy white gloves. They have a pretty, delicate pattern and a band at the wrist, after which it flares. The handkerchief is lacy and delicate. It is quite small, and she holds it in her left hand while she sings.
The above gloves from Amazon are very similar to the ones Doris wears. They are lacy and almost transparent. The lace has a floral pattern. There is a band at the wrist and a very dainty flare above that. These gloves come in white in six styles, black in six styles, black with dots, pink, red, and skin-colored in two styles. The gloves which are pictured are White 2; White 6 is the only other similar style to the ones in the movie. These gloves are made of nylon and spandex. They only cost $6.99.
The above handkerchief from Amazon is the best option I found. Any simple white handkerchief with lace as a border is a lovely, old-fashioned accent to an outfit like this. Visit my Film Fashion Friday article about ladies’ handkerchiefs to learn more about the options and benefits of using handkerchiefs frequently. This particular handkerchief comes in white and has a dainty lace border. It is 10″ by 10″. It is 100% cotton. It comes in a set of three handkerchiefs, which costs only $5.99, a terrific bargain! It also comes in sets of 6, 12, 18, and 30 for higher prices.
Doris doesn’t wear a hat with this outfit, but that is only because she is inside the recording studio the whole time we see her wearing it. At this time, ladies always wore hats when going out. I think any small black hat, such as some kind of pillbox style, would be very pretty with this outfit. I recommend the below hat from Amazon. It is a lovely pillbox with a bow in the back, which reflects the tie at her neck. It is 100% wool. It comes in black, camel, and wine red. This hat costs $35.99.
That concludes my description of this outfit! It’s a lovely ensemble worn by a lovely lady. I hope that you will let her beautiful style be an inspiration to you to be more glamorous every day you can. In the meantime, we can enjoy observing the classy style of actors and actresses from a bygone era. Happy Birthday, Doris!
If you want to observe Miss Day’s style for yourself, I suggest that you purchase the movie and study his outfit firsthand! Click the above image to buy My Dream is Yours on DVD at Amazon and support PEPS through the Amazon Affiliate program.
Remember, take pictures of yourself in vintage style and send them to me to be featured in a future Film Fashion Fridays article! I will gladly republish your pictures, advice, and experiences in vintage clothing for others to see and read. Let’s make Friday a day for film fashion!
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What a lovely outfit! You did a terrific job reconstructing it.
Thanks again for participating in my blogathon with not one but two great entries!
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Dear Michaela,
I’m so glad that you like the outfit selected. I appreciate your compliment. It was a lot of fun! Doris Day is such a timeless actress.
Yours Hopefully,
Tiffany Brannan
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