Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) was born Margarita Carmen Cansino, the daughter of a professional flamenco dancer from Spain. Trained as a dancer herself, she started out in Hollywood doing bit parts. The studio dyed her hair red, changed her name, and transformed shy young Rita Cansino into Rita Hayworth, flame-haired femme fatale of the 40s. Her signature role was Gilda, in which she did amazing things in a black satin strapless gown. Independent studies have concluded that Rita Hayworth is so mesmerizing in that film that nobody has any idea what the movie is actually about.
The pieces we suggest:
1. Strapless gown in black satin with a scarf. Tie the scarf around your waist and make a big bow at the front, and you’ll have a pretty good approximation of the Gilda dress. (The costume designer for the movie added the bow to disguise Rita Hayworth’s postpartum figure.)
3. Rita Hayworth wig. If you don’t already have Rita Hayworth hair, this wig will fix you up.
4. Cigarette holder. You don’t actually want a great big long one like Audrey Hepburn’s in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Something like this is a better match.
5. Rhinestone tennis necklace. In Gilda, Rita paired her strapless black satin gown with a simple diamond necklace, which you can see in the video below. Look for a “tennis necklace” like this with a chain of rhinestones.
The famous “Put the Blame on Mame” number from Gilda:
