2.04.2010

How to dress (and generally just be cool) like Sandra Dee!

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.

Blowing Bubbles Dress by Modcloth (ONLY ONE LEFT!)

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!)



Natalie Colorblock Knit Dress by dELiAs

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 September

Another 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.








Sandy also wore many skirts. Pencil, A-line, and flared were the most often represented!





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.
Hampton Straw Hat by Forever21
{This is the best I could find!}
F7019 Sunglasses



Sandy + any type of accessories = COOLNESS!
Vintage Busker Hat by Modcloth (ONLY ONE TOTAL!)

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?







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

9 comments:

Sarah Mann said...

HOLY CORN that was such an epic post, and I loved every minute of it!

Millie said...

THANK YOUUUUUUUUUU!

Really.

Gosh. I'm tired now...hahaha!

Sally said...

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!

Merriam said...

Amazing! More! More! More! This was so thorough.

Unknown said...

I found your post via a Google alert I receive on Sandra Dee. I really enjoyed it. Take care.

Raquel S. said...

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!

Mel said...

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 :)

Beth said...

Great post! The best I found when doing a search on Sandra Style. :) Thanks!

Tora said...

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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