Sophia Loren Movie style icon
January 20, 2015Italy is renowned for its culture, art, fashion and style. Italians are beautiful people, who dress well and love good food and wine. It’s a country steeped in history, a country that not only shaped its own history, but that of the world.It’s taken for granted, expected even, that Italian people will be good-looking, cultured, intelligent and stylish.And judging by one of Italy’s most famous exports, Sophia Loren, we can take this as fact.
Sophia Loren’s early start
Sophia Loren is one such example, who started her path to fame at the age of 14 after entering a beauty pageant. Following acting lessons and some small parts she won a 5 picture contract with Paramount, and the rest as they say, is history.
Sophia Loren was always modest about her beauty, once famously quoted as saying that she owed all her curves to spaghetti. It was probably more down to good genes, good grooming and great taste.
Sophia Loren – Fifties style
Sophia Loren became well known at the height of the fifties and couldn’t have timed her debut onto the screen better, as her curvaceous figure was perfect for fifties fashions. The figure hugging bodice tops and nipped in waists, made the most of Loren’s curves and olive skin. Her hair was cropped into a fifties fashionable cut which showed off her bone structure perfectly.
Sophia Loren would beautifully demonstrate the lingerie dress look and reveal just enough cleavage to stay on the side of respectful, without entering the arena of vulgarity. Tight shirts with narrow ¾ length sleeves with a tiny waist and knee length A line skirts were worn with pumps, A line coats were worn with accessories consisting of ¾ length gloves, shoes and bag that matched and accurately applied make-up.
Sophia Loren was a passionate Italian with dark skin, perfect cheekbones and dark colouring, but she was intelligent as well as beautiful and her classic looks and well defined bone structure made her a popular favourite with both men and women.
Move with the times
As the years went by, Sophia Loren was always with the times, adapting her make up for the decadent sixties, matched with A line shift dresses, and backcombing her now long hair into a style that was current and fresh. No matter how relaxed Loren was dressed, she was always well groomed.
The 70s saw the introduction of glasses that framedSophia Loren’s face beautifully. The 80s saw large oversized blazers, complete with padded shoulders and block colours, and the 90s and noughties saw Loren come full circle dressed as always, beautifully, elegantly and tastefully.
Fancy some Italian passion?
If you want a little of the Italian magic that Sophia Loren oozed, then it takes an inner confidence and determination to believe in yourself. You must walk like you mean it, wear your clothes and never let them wear you. Understand the importance of accessories and always make sure you’re beautifully turned out, no mess, no scruffy jeans. Loren was always perfectly groomed, right down to her lipstick, and although she wore clothes that were on the cusp of daring, she never went that one step too far.
Sophia Loren – Curves and shapely silhouettes
Sophia Loren was sometimes seen in corsets in her films and they would have certainly helped to pull in the waist, as did typical fifties underwear of the time.
You can choose to wear one or not, a small waist isn’t compulsory for the Sophia Loren look, but dressing femininely is. Wear dresses, separates, be it trousers or skirts, worn to flatter the figure, no baggy shapes. Rich colours that match your skin tone and beautifully applied colour to the lips. Never over do the makeup, slightly smoky eyes, but full on lips are good, but not both. Pumps with kitten heels and beautiful sheer stockings (never tights!) and when you’re finished, go out and look like you own the town.
A woman’s dress should be like a barbed-wire fence- serving its purpose without obstructing the view. – Sophia Loren
