When people think of memorable style icons of vintage times, Sandra Dee doesn't usually come immediately to mind. She was neither as groundbreaking nor sheerly iconic as her fellow actresses, Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly (among others). But nonetheless, Sandra Dee was a major fashion icon of her day, and the style she embodied continues to be extremely present in today's fashions.I personally find Sandra, along with Audrey and Grace, to be a major style influence for me. And the very special thing about Sandra is that her style is in many ways the most accessible and "easy" of all vintage looks.
This post is not only a guide to how to dress like Sandy, but also a celebration of her lovely (and very spiffy) style.
A major "Sandraness" thing were her casual chic dresses. So, in order to properly emulate Sandra Dee, you're gonna need A LOT of dresses...in a lot of colors. The colorfulness is especially important.
Sally Jane Dress by Modcloth (ONLY ONE LEFT!)
Sandy with her husband, Bobby Darin in That Funny Feeling
Dress Side Story by Modcloth (ONLY TWO LEFT!)
Kellie Eyelet Dress by dELiAs
Telephone Switchboard Dress by Modcloth
{I am so beyond in love with this right now!}
With Bobby on the set of Come SeptemberAnother definite part of Sandra's style, was her ability to wear the most casual and "comfortable" outfits and turn them into style moments. She especially loved simple (often tunic) blouses and toreador capris.
Embroidered Crepe Woven Top by Forever21
Vintage Toreadore Capri Pants (1950's) on Etsy by LipStickWhiskey
Sandy also wore many skirts. Pencil, A-line, and flared were the most often represented!
Ivanka Skirt by Modcloth
Fashion Mogul Skirt by Modcloth
Bicycle Built for Style Skirt by Modcloth (ONLY ONE LEFT!)
The Sassie Lassie Skirt by Modcloth
The Style Solution Skirt by Modcloth
As any true and proper 50's/60's style icon should, Sandy wore quite a lot of beyond cool and amazing coats (including the one pictured at the top of this post)!
No Sandra Dee style guide could be complete without some swimsuits, I mean she IS Gidget, after all!
In A Summer Place (I'm certain she's trying to hide from His Blandness Troy Donahue...;-D), Sandy wear THE coolest hat ever. Half sunhat/half sunglasses. If I could ever find a hat like this, my life would be complete. I sadly can't.
Fab Metallic Wallet by Forever21
Gold Trim Carry All by Forever21
Soothing Song Heels by Modcloth
Footbridge Heels by Modcloth
Well-Heeled Black Heels by Modcloth
Vinyl Bow Wallet by Forever21
An ever-important aspect of Sandy's style was the need for "fancy" gowns. For in what else could she attend her many movie premieres, or Bobby's nightclub shows?
Beachland Ballroom Dress by Modcloth
Grecian Green Dress by Modcloth
1960's Sandra Dee Bouffant Vintage Electric Blue on Etsy by goldenaftrnoon
As you can now tell (if you are indeed still reading this super-long post...haha) Sandra Dee was QUITE a stylish lady, one who deserves a status of style icon! And plus, besides wearing SPIFFY clothes she was also a great actress (comedic as well as drama), was married to Bobby Darin, and generally just went through life being super-cool.
For great style moments, watch:
That Funny Feeling
If A Man Answers
Come September
Take Her, She's Mine
and OF COURSE Gidget!
{Every Sandy film is amazing, but the above few are just some of my favorites, style-wise!}
-Millie
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9 comments:
HOLY CORN that was such an epic post, and I loved every minute of it!
THANK YOUUUUUUUUUU!
Really.
Gosh. I'm tired now...hahaha!
I agree! Fantastic post! I love Sandra Dee and I love her style (I also really love her makeup. It may be a strange thing to notice but I really want to learn to do eye makeup like that!). I'm also very thankful for the movie recommendations at the end. I've never seen "Take Her, She's Mine" or "Gidget." Definitely adding them to my queue!
Amazing! More! More! More! This was so thorough.
I found your post via a Google alert I receive on Sandra Dee. I really enjoyed it. Take care.
Millie, I am so impressed by this post. It's clear that you put a lot of effort into this and that you have Sandra Dee's classic style committed to memory because all the things you selected are quiet perfect.
I really want that Telephone operator dress!
I'm inspired now to dress more like Sandra Dee. I might start picking up Sandra Dee-like clothes this spring and summer.
Thanks!
I love Sandra Dee, but I never really thought of her as a style icon until now! Great post, makes me want to get out my Gidget tape and watch it again! I really loved her red sailor swimsuit in Gidget, made me want to find one just like it (so far no luck). I think I want to dress like her now :)
Great post! The best I found when doing a search on Sandra Style. :) Thanks!
LOVE her! What I like about so many 50's styles (like with Grace and Sandra mostly) was that they were so very MODEST and understated; no flashy, LOOKATMELOOKATME, skimpy costumes like Rihanna or the Disney Channel girls would wear... or those awful form-fitting, barely-there dresses a la Liz Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. *shudders are the immodesty!* I knew she had been molested as a child and unhappy most of her life, but I just read her whole story, and like with many classic actors, it's so sad. This might be even sadder because she never seemed to really recover, and she was so young when it started. She barely had a chance.
I did my own Sandra post here, and I'm working on a Lolita-vs-Gidget one now! Please Follow! atouchofgaminesque.blogspot.com/
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