Cinema Style File--Veronica Lake Plays Peek-a-boo in 1940s Style

Whereas Brigitte Bardot embodies the style of the 1960s, Veronica Lake is a sophisticated stunner from the stylish 1940s.  Veronica became popular in the early part of the decade with a trio of back-to-back hits--Sullivan's Travels (1941), This Gun for Hire (1942), and The Glass Key (1942).  The last two were ones in which she established herself as a film noir heroine and she was paired with her strongest co-star, Alan Ladd.  The two would go on to do the film noir classic The Blue Dahlia (1946) together as well.  Interestingly, the style from these pictures actually had less to do with Veronica herself and more with the genius of Paramount's head costume designer and one of my personal heroes, Edith Head.  

Edith's biggest challenge was her star's petite frame--some sources say Veronica was only around 4'11".  Edith made the actress seem much taller by almost always dressing her in floor-length garments and keeping details to a minimum.  Sleek and simple.  Those long gowns disguised yet another trick, which was putting Veronica in enormous platform heels to increase her height next to her leading men.  Even Alan Ladd at only 5'6" was much taller than Veronica, and Joel McCrea was a giant next to her in Sullivan's Travels at 6'3".  As a finishing touch to make Veronica seem more voluptuous and statuesque, Edith employed ruching along the bustline...a trick that she used with Grace Kelly's nightgown in Rear Window as well.  

But as wonderful as those wardrobes and movies were, it was really Veronica's hair that became the hugest hit.  In fact, the studios experienced resistance from the public if they varied her hair too much.  Over the years, I have heard several stories surrounding the origins of her iconic style. One is that her hair simply had a natural wave and tendency to fall over one eye.  Another story is that the wave came as the result of clipping her hair to the side during one particularly bad hair day.  And yet another story is that she played peek-a-boo with the camera when a stray lock of hair fell over her eye during a photo shoot...hence how the style became known as "the peek-a-boo."  It actually seems quite reasonable that all of the above are true.

Though she didn't necessarily have the longest or most distinguished acting career, Veronica's legacy is that her look did indeed become iconic. Her "peek-a-boo" hairstyle continues to be popular even to this day.  The look is particularly strong right now for summer and can be seen in all the magazines. It's enjoying such a moment in fashion that we'll likely see the trend stretch into next season to accompany all those wonderful wardrobes for fall as well.  Perfect!

Trying to buy Sullivan some ham and eggs for breakfast at the diner after her evening out...
note how often Veronica's stomach was concealed due to her pregnancy while filming

Finding out that her handsome hobo is really a Hollywood producer hiding out to research the real world

Lounging poolside (check out those platform pumps!)
before hitting the road again as undercover hobos

Looking lovely while learning some lessons in love

Veronica surrounded by frequent co-star Alan Ladd (left) and Robert Preston

Sizing up the situation in sexy suiting

Stunning gowns for the songbird all have somewhat similar features--
floor-length, longsleeve, and v-neck front with ruching along the bustline

Great shots of the gown along with the iconic hairstyle that's copied time and time again

Veronica--surrounded by co-stars Brian Donlevy (left) and Ladd again--

was dressed in a lot more black for 1946's The Glass Key

She also wore a lot more hats--
in order to support the war effort, Veronica's famously long hair was styled shorter