If you have read any novels recently, and are not buried in a hole deep in the bowels of Mongolia, than you have heard of The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. The post title is indeed a line from the book, my favorite line of it all. My book club read it over a year ago. It was phenomenal. I was reticent to see the movie because of the deep love and respect I had for the book and the writing, though I knew I would end up seeing it no matter what. Last night was the night, and it was nothing short of fabulous. More often than not, books that are made into movies fall short. Did this one? Thank goodness, no, it did not. The casting was dead-on. The flow of the movie was excellent. Did I feel the magic of the story all over again? Yes, indeed I did, so much so that fat, splashy tears ran down my cheeks. RUN, do not walk, to see this movie. First, though, make sure you have some besties with you and a healthy supply of tissues. Then go out for chocolate pie afterwards….. 
A bonus point to the movie was the costuming. Lovely, fitted 1960′s housewife dresses; bright blue capris that-I swear- J.Crew is carrying the cousin of right at this very moment-vivid colors, bright prints….It’s Mad Men style but pumped up and girlier. I found this article discussing the costuming by Sharen Davis, whose own grandmother worked as ‘the help’ in Shreveport, LA . How did she design a wardrobe for southern belles dressing for bridge club?
“For costume designer Sharen Davis, that meant hyper-feminine dresses in Easter egg shades, with bold floral prints, modest necklines and full skirts nipped at the waist.“This is probably the most color I’ve ever used in my life,” said Davis, whose credits include “Dreamgirls” and “Ray.” “And it’s the first time I have not used a color palette for a film. Each of the women had her own story, her own home and her own color palette.”Davis built 50 costumes from scratch using vintage fabrics (the rest were sourced from costume rental shops and vintage stores). The job was challenging because the film, which opens Wednesday, was shot in Greenwood, Miss., where resources were nil. “The only store is a Walmart. There wasn’t even a Starbucks or a Target,” she said. “I had to fly a lot of people back to L.A. for fittings on the weekends.”
One of my favorite looks of the film was on Celia. This top? I want. Anthro could SO recreate this. Are you lookin’, textile designers? It’d sell like hotcakes.
And this subtle, pink, large-scale gingham printed dress just reads Corey Lynn Calter to me:
See those sleeves and neckline, Anthro? I want. I would buy. I promise.
Go and see this movie. But read the book first. You’ll fall in love twice. Guaranteed.
I did not wear this outfit below to the movie, but did wear it on Sunday. This skirt has been awesome to me. I can’t believe I can still get it on, albeit wedged up and over the belly, completely unzipped. Nothing a tank and cardi can’t disguise, right? No belly band needed.
Wearing: Skirt-Anthropologie Odille, Top-ATL, Cardi-J.Crew Jackie, Belt-J.Crew Outlet, Shoes-Anthropologie, Cuff-Anthropologie
I’m so proud….I’ve already finished two book mobiles I told you about in my last post. I’ll have an instructional later this week. They are SO EASY, and I mean that. But today, I’m off to Houston for the BHLDN sneaky peaky. I can’t wait! Another reason to be stoked? Two items on my wishlist finally hit sale, which I promptly snagged this morning:
My lovely friend Calliope
and
my other bestie, Baubled Fan
What were you able to snag? This free shipping deal is going to get me in mucho troublero. I can feel it already. I’ll be back with a full report, mostly likely Thursday. Have a lovely day!
xoxo Molly
