‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’ just reminded us how groovy ’60s movie fashion truly is

Did you see The Man From U.N.C.L.E? No?! Well you are missing out on some

high

class

1960s

fashion:

Plus, a fun action-heavy, comedy ridden plot filled with good looking people. But, oh, the clothes. The clothes! No, wonder, since costume designer Joanna Johnston was Academy Award nominated for her other historical drama, Lincoln, in 2012. You can read about her inspiration in an interview here (highly recommend it after the movie). Since I couldn’t go back and watch the movie again 10 more times, I started flipping through movies set in the 1960s for more fashion inspiration. Are you ready for a 1960s fashion movie marathon?? Good, because I’ve already done it (and bought new sunglasses to match, haha). (This was because my family advised me against the Vespa.)

How to Steal a Million is set in Paris and features Audrey Hepburn in cahoots with Peter O’Toole to steal a statue…that her family owns. It’s incredibly delightful and every single outfit Hepburn wears is better than her last. My favorites are her all-white outfit and this all-black and lace outfit, which she wears when she tries to meet O’Toole’s character “undercover.”

Bonus: Check out the 1950’s set Funny Face, another Audrey Hepburn movie set in Paris, this time when she’s discovered by a photographer in a bookstore and becomes a fashion model.

Rear Window is one of Alfred Hitchcock’s many triumphs as an auteur. I, for one, can’t get over the fact that Grace of Monaco played Jimmy Stewart’s girlfriend, especially considering he keeps peeping on all his neighbors. You can do better, Grace of Monaco. But at least we get to enjoy your outfits, even as Stewart’s character is looking elsewhere.

Bonus: The Birds, and every other Hitchcock film, evokes a similar fashionable milieu. This is just probably the least horror inducing? Then again, I have yet to see Rebecca….

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of many of the 1960s European movies that are just too fashionable for us present day Americans. Can you imagine having that much color in your life??? Your computer would be covered in flowers! Your home covered in paisley prints! Yourself, covered in chic color stories for the ages! 

Bonus: Check out Populaire, a recent French romantic drama set around a French village girl competing in the 1959 World Typing Competition. Her fit and flare dresses are to die for.

How to Marry a Millionaire is one of my favorite genre of story — a group of women who live/work/laugh together and whose stories follow interesting parallels. In this case it’s three models who want to marry millionaires. There’s even a sequence where they showcase the whole fall catalog of one store, which includes an adorable dress that turns into a playsuit.

Oh to raid the wardrobes of all the ’60s movies!

(Images via 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros)