Ferragamo: Shoe Designer

I know my post on this blog are sparse... to say the least, but I am so glad to see you guys are still visiting! I am going to do my best to keep up with it better than I have the last few months. Even if I just post a picture I love... I will make my way over here!

And so here we have a picture I found on Pintrest a few weeks ago...Here we see acclaimed shoe designer Ferragamo kneeling among the shoe forms of some of Old Hollywood's top stars. Rita Hayworth, Audrey Hepburn, and Lauren Bacall are just a few of the names seen in this photo!

Ferragamo started making shoes when he was only 9 and became one of the most sought out shoe designers in Hollywood. He has been credited with creating platform soles and wedge heels! Think about that next time you are are out shoe shopping and try on those platforms! He is most famous for creating the ruby slippers from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Below is a picture of Audrey Hepburn during one of their shoe fittings...

Marilyn Monroe by Nickolas Murray

I came across these beautiful color shots of Marilyn Monroe while browsing my long time favorite forum Everlasting Star and wanted to share. The photos were taken by photographer Nickolas Murray in 1952. I was struck by the clarity and vibrant colors... simply beautiful!

Murray was a Hungarian immigrant who became famous for his celebrity portraits published in Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, and Ladies' Home Journal. In the 1930's he turned his focus from portraits to commercial photography where he established many of the conventions of color advertising. He was known as the master of the three-color carbro process.

The Music of Funny Face (1957)

It was another boring Monday at the camera shop, and my mind was going a million miles a minute. Then all of a sudden there I found myself singing, out loud I might add, 's wonderful... s marvelous!'. As usual my co workers looked at me like I was nuts. It was at that moment I realized I never purchased the soundtrack to one of my favorite films... the 1957 fashion inspired musical Funny Face.

How had I not added this to my collection? With the wonderful songwriting of Ira Gershwin, Roger Edens and Leonard Gershe sung by the amazing voices of Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn and Kay Thompson... it seemed silly that I hadn't been enjoying this is my music collection all this time. Well as soon as I got home I purchased it from iTunes and haven't stopped listening since!

It is so hard to pick favorites on this album because it is  s wonderful (too much?) from beginning to end, but if I had to they would be... 'Think Pink', 'Bonjour Paris', 'How To Be Lovely', and 'S Wonderful'. But! Above all the others, 'Clap Yo Hands', is by far my favorite. The beat, the lyrics, it is just too much! And don't even get me started when Kay Thompson starts belting at the end... I immediately throw up my hands and start flailing around the room like a possessed drag queen joining the jubilee!

Well as if you can't tell from what I have already said, if you haven't seen this movie... you are missing out! You need to see it, hear it, experience it! Take my word on it!

You can find it on iTunes here.