Sorry if this has been asked already.
I'm referring to what you see in this film -- the male dancers routinely have shoes the same color as their slacks. Was that some kind of fashion in the '50s? Was it just something they did in color movies?
I think Bing was about 5'9" and Danny was about 5'11". Wearing shoes the same color as the pants can give the illusion of height, or at the very least not emphasize how short they were. I didn't even notice it until I read your post. Also, if the number is not to emphasize the feet, but the couple dancing then that might be a reason.
ETA: I wrote Fred before, meaning Fred Astaire from Holiday Inn. I was posting on both boards.
- Sally
The perfect human being is uninteresting. - Joseph Campbell
It may also be a "costume" thing - the women's shoes all match, too. I agree with the thought that they didn't want to call attention to the feet in particular so you could focus on the dancers themselves.
what if the hokey pokey really IS what it's all about?share
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For the record, you might want to take a look at some of the debunking of Edith Head that's been done in recent years. There was a big Vanity Fair article a couple of years ago.
She herself admitted that she wasn't very artistically talented, but she was good at marshaling other talents. A lot of "her" best work was actually done by others who got no credit, according to some.
I'm not saying to take it at face value. It did make me wonder.
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Please put some dashes above your sig line so I won't think it's part of your dumb post.
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Rosemary Clooney commented on this on her interview on the DVD, which I just watched. She said Edith Head who designed the costumes liked to have an unbroken line on male dancers so that everything looked like it flowed. She was speaking specifically about the grayish blue suit with the matching socks and shoes Danny Kaye wore for "The Best Things Happen When You're Dancing." They believed it made the dancing look more fluid.
shareWhen it comes to real life this wasn't just a 50s thing. Men, women & teens all used to match the dress shoe color to their outfits in the 60s & 70s. My boyfriends & brothers did it and I used to too. We also bought the same pair of shoes in every color they came in along with the slacks & shirts for them and pants, skirts & dresses for us ladies. Look at the outfits worn in films by Doris Day & Sandra Dee or on tv by Marlo Thomas. Not to mention the Queen's been matching her ensembles for decades. Also the singing acts ,especially Motown acts, also dressed this way.
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