les parapluies de cherbourg: to be a young french mademoiselle in 1964
On Sunday, I went to the cinema to see Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg), a 1964 Jacques Demy film starring Catherine Deneuve. From the start of the opening credits, the film left me smitten. For 90ish minutes, I gushed over the romantic soundtrack, the chic French setting, the lovely mod cinematography, Catherine Deneuve’s timelessly cute hair styles and outfits, the adorable Nino Castelnuvo, and the eternal style of the 1960s.
No detail of the film was unexamined. Even the wallpaper of the tres French apartment, where Genevieve (Deneuve’s character) and her mother live, and the signature French bicycles charmed me.
I left the theater humming the theme song and imagining I had the style of Genevieve. I took that sartorial ambition to my closet and vanity this morning. I dressed in a simple white blouse, pleated floral skirt, basic black mini-blazer and my trench coat. I wore my hair pulled half way up, high on my head, and lined my top eye lid with thick black liner, just like Deneuve in the film. Hours later I still haven’t taken my hair out of the style; And from the stream of photos below, I think it’s clear my mind very much remains in the cinema of Les Parapluies de Cherbourg. I want to buy one of the movie posters from the film many included below, but I just cant decide on which one (and unfortunately, I’ve hardly the wall space for them all.)
For the utmost magic, you must see the film in its breathtaking entirety. As Genevieve sings, Je t’aime, Je t’aime, Je t’aime.
