What are your favorites? There are movies for which the costume designer won an Oscar and that are an explosion of visual excess (Marie Antoinette, we’re looking at you). Then there are the moves that are about the fashion and apparel industry (The Devil Wears Prada or Coco Before Chanel). But what about those films that focus on another subject entirely but linger in the mind as examples of chic? Continue reading for ten of our top picks. Share your own in the comments!

Sabrina (1954). The costume designer is technically listed as Edith Head in this early Audrey Hepburn favorite, but the memorable outfits here are designed by Givenchy. Selected by Hepburn off the rack at Givenchy’s atelier where they met shortly before filming, the dresses in this film are unconventional, yet make full use of the actress’ height, dancer waist, gamine haircut and defined shoulders to make an impression that is utterly winning. The friendship begun between a starlet Audrey Hepburn and the burgeoning designer Hubert de Givenchy proved to be a prolific and defining one for both their careers.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967). This movie immortalized the outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow as icons of back-road, gunslinger chic. Faye Dunaway’s sun-bleached bob + beret is a combination that is still emulated today.  Costume designer Theadora Van Runkle was nominated for an Oscar and it’s easy to see why: the outfits are battered Depression-era fare that still somehow add up to some of the most effortlessly stylish ensembles in film history.

In the Mood for Love (2000). Wong Kar-Wai’s camera immortalizes everything in frame, from cigarette smoke to droplets of rain, from noodle steam to the grill of a small metal fan. We’ve written about In the Mood for Love already, but the luscious, high-necked dresses worn by Maggie Cheung’s character elevate this lyrical, moody film in the realm of stylish movies to be remembered. It has even inspired more than one fashion editorial (you can view one here, and another one here).

La Dolce Vita (1960). One of the most visually influential films of all time, there has literally been a book written about La Dolce Vita‘s style… Dolce Vita Style by Jean-Pierre Dufreigne. The movie follows the activities of a tabloid journalist who is constantly in search of the next rising scandal, and who is seduced by the decadent, pampered life of the rich in Rome. Watch the dreamy, nonsensical clip above, and see the performance by Anita Ekberg that captivated the imagination of a generation.

• Friday Food and Favorites-La Dolce Vita in Italia
  

  Friday Food and Favorites-La Dolce Vita in Italia

  Happy Friday! Last week at this time I was in Belgium getting ready for my early morning flight...

  Read Full Story »
• CheapDV by Dolce Vita Women’s Rosalinda Top
  

  CheapDV by Dolce Vita Women’s Rosalinda Top

  DV by Dolce Vita Women’s Rosalinda Top Dolce Vita – . This poncho features a hood...

  Read Full Story »
• Anita Ekberg on Her Jaguar in Late 1950s
  

  Anita Ekberg on Her Jaguar in Late 1950s

  Anita Ekberg, on Her Jaguar, Late 1950s Photographic Print Buy...

  Read Full Story »
• La Dolce Vita
  

  La Dolce Vita

  This is an entry in  "The Big Ones,"  a series covering 30 classic films for the first time on...

  Read Full Story »
• La Dolce Vita. 1950-1960. Stars and Celebrities in the Italian Fifties
  

  La Dolce Vita. 1950-1960. Stars and Celebrities in the It...

  Between charm and fame, Italian Fifties show themselves in New York. The exhibition La Dolce Vita...

  Read Full Story »
• Film Law: Paramount Sues For Ownership of Fellini’s ‘La Dolce Vita’
  

  Film Law: Paramount Sues For Ownership of Fellini’s ‘La D...

  “Paramount Pictures is going to court to prove that it owns the copyright to Frederico...

  Read Full Story »