Pixie Crop |

My style crush for today is Mia Farrow – and specifically Mia Farrow from the 60s. She was definitely one person who had a classic 60s crop (alongside Jean Seberg) and she looks cool smoking a black cigarette!

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Mia Farrow first came to prominence as an actress in the American soap Peyton Place. She then became really famous by marrying Frank Sinatra (though the marriage only lasted a couple of years. They married in 1966 and she wore a really cute suit! Her hair is a little too short for my taste, though! Also creepy fact: she was 21, he was 51!

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I included this photo mostly for the cute dog, though the coat is nice too. Even though I’ve no idea what colour it is.

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Speaking of cute coats…..I think I might have to make a coat in this style. Does anyone know of any patterns for double-breasted 60s coats? Maybe I need to look through my vintage pattern collection? I think I’m rediscovering my love of 60s collars. I think this photo looks really modern too, with the boots.

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Following her fame from her marriage to Frank Sinatra, Farrow then starred in Rosemary’s Baby which was her first leading role and garnered critical success. IT was while she was filming Rosemary’s Baby that Sinatra filed for divorce because the filing had overrun and so she didn’t turn up to film a role in one of Sinatra’s films.

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I like the flowery shift dress above. And the white tights – white tights definitely seem to be a 60s staple, I think I need to get some. And the turtleneck, below, is also quite 60s. Maybe I need to get the Papercut Rise and Fall turtleneck pattern? Unless you know of any other patterns?

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I slightly love this crazy furred dress! Not sure I could pull it off….though I like the matching tights/shoes combo.

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I love these 2 coats! Stripes and amazing roll collars, 3/4 length sleeves and big buttons! Amazing! I think I prefer the pink one, but that might be because it’s a better photo.

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Farrow may be best known these days for her relationship with Woody Allen, starring in 13 of his 14 movies between 1979 and 1992. And then, of course, the controversy of Allen leaving her for her adopted daughter (who she adopted with her previous husband, Andre Previn).

But back to fashion…..it seems a little weird to be looking at pretty dresses while also talking about someone’s personal life. But, to be flippant, I do love this blue sequined dress. I love all the colours on it, and the pink coat really sets it off. Those pastel blues and pinks seem to be popular colours of the 60s.

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I put this photo in mostly because sequined garters matching a sequined top!

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This is another photo which is making me want to sew everything with a contrasting collar. I love the yoke detail and the buttons down the front of this dress….

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And also this playsuit. I thought these were the same garment for a while, but the playsuit has turnups which don’t seem to be there above, and the collar looks a bit more pointy in the dress above.

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I really like Mia Farrow in the Woody Allen films I’ve seen and I love her 60s pixie crop – which she cut herself! There was a photoshoot stunt set up for Vidal Sassoon to cut her hair, but she had already cut it short herself! But it was surprisingly difficult to find many photos – particularly in colour – of her outfits from the 60s (my favourite era!). I guess fame was different then and there probably weren’t as many red carpets and parties and awards shows – and the photos there were may not have made it online yet. I don’t know, but I do love her style.

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I’ve written a couple of Style Inspiration posts so far (on Orla Kiely and Dear Creatures) and I decided this time to write about a person whose style I like: Michelle Williams. I was first drawn to her because of her amazing short hair, which was one of the inspirations for my short hair when I had it cut off a couple of years ago.

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I like it slightly on the longer side too:

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I’m kind of tempted to cut my hair off again, but it took about 18 months to grow it out so I’m not sure I can be bothered to grow it out again if I change my mind again. Mine was really quite short, though – maybe if I had it like above, it wouldn’t take so long.

But I digress – I’m here to talk about fashion and not hair! I like how Michelle Williams can mix up her style and wear a pretty, girly dress one day, skinny jeans and a leather jacket the next day, and something more edgy and fashion forward the next.

On the red carpet she can wear a great gown with the best of them:

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I like both of these gowns – they seem quite similar to me, except for the bow. I think they might have been from the same awards season, so maybe this is what was in that year? I like a gown with sleeves – I think you can look really elegant without showing much skin. Both of them seem to fit her perfectly, too, without looking too tight, which always looks naff. I’d love to get my fitting skills advanced enough for something to look this good!

She also sometimes doesn’t go for the obvious at red carpet events:

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I love this look of tuxedo jacket with shorts – it’s chic but not predictable. Not convinced about the hair in the first picture, but the outfit it great. I particularly like the white shirt in the second picture too – classic.

She does do a good line in pretty dresses. This one was part of my inspiration for my Elisalex Dresses I made a couple of Summers ago. I should have noticed then, though, that this one is gathered and not pleated – more on this in a later post. I do love the pockets. All dresses should have pockets! (image source)

I love this dress – the little sleeves are really sweet and I like the different fabrics on the top and skirt. It might be separates I suppose.

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I love this beaded 60s-style shift. Definitely my style!

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I love this slightly more casual look. It’s chic but also totally wearable and comfortable looking. (Sorry the picture’s small, I couldn’t find a bigger version). I so need to get into making some Ginger Jeans!

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I love this casual outfit – I’m not sure I would have worn a loose sweatshirt over the top of what presumably is a dress or skirt, but it looks great. I love her sandals too!

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If you’ve read my blog before, you’ll know how I love a peter pan collar. This outfit is so cute!

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This is a more recent picture – this is her with longer hair, the pixie cut is no more. I actually like this hair on her too – maybe she will still be my hair inspiration! I also love this dress, and teaming it with ankle boots is a bit more interesting than with court shoes or something.

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Do you have a style icon? I think I probably have a million – I’ll share more of them in the future if you’re enjoying these posts. I tend to be drawn to actresses, because that’s my dream job. I could watch films and TV pretty much all the time (and I do, much to my shame!) because I love watching people acting.

By the way, I haven’t included any photos taken of her on the street by paparazzi. I find the paparazzi culture really quite distasteful, especially when it includes taking pictures of someone’s children – which a lot of them are with Michelle Williams. I know there’s a movement, led by Kristen Bell and supported by a lot of actresses in Hollywood to make it so papers and magazines can’t publish photos of people’s children without their permission. If you’re interested in the issue of privacy – which affects non-famous people too, from revenge porn to cyber bullies and trolls – then this is a really good interview with some leading actresses (they talk about privacy and their children’s privacy from about 35 minutes in, but the whole interview is good if you’re interested in actors):