Screen Style: Fashion and Femininity in 1930s Hollywood

by Sarah Berry

Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich-all were icons of beauty and glamour in 1930s Hollywood. Screen Style reveals the impact of celebrities like these on women filmgoers, looking beyond the surface of the films and fashions of the era-often described as forms of escapism from the difficult realities of the Depression-to show how Hollywood presented women with models for self-determination during a time of rapid social change. Revealing the public and cinematic fascination with the strong-willed women featured in so many movies-ambitious gold diggers, career-minded working girls, social climbers, dangerous androgynous females, and other exotics-Sarah Berry presents a lively look at films, fan magazines, and advertising of that time. Sarah Berry writes on film, media, and cultural studies and designs interactive multimedia projects. She teaches film studies at Portland State University.

Genres: Fashion, Film, Nonfiction, History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 4, 2000

Reviews

[Creolecat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the way women shaped their lives in society and Hollywood. The book explores advertising, social status, ethnicity, fashion, and of course, film