(big & little edie beale, from the original documentary)
i am among the world's biggest fans of the 1975 documentary grey gardens. i love the edies beale ~ their batty repartee, their spectacularly zany style, and their waffly warbled show tunes. i love them, madly!
(the real little edie beale ~ a true original)
so i was very reluctant to watch this year's hbo version of their story, starring jessica lange & drew barrymore. i assumed it would be just like when sienna miller botched the character of my beloved edie sedgwick in 2006's factory girl ~ an outrage to true fans.
i was wrong.
(drew barrymore as little edie beale)
i finally watched it yesterday and it was marvelous!!! it celebrated their legacy, it perfectly showcased their style, it made me really, really happy! i ended up watching it three times, straight through.
i'm thrilled that the reinterpretation of grey gardens was such a revelation. i'll try to take screen shots next time i ogle it, but for now, in celebration, i'll settle for sharing this photographic fashion tribute, shot in 1997 by terry richardson for harper's bazaar:
the endurance of beales' influence just serves to prove ~ having your own style never goes out of style!
18 comments:
i love these photo! i am a huge grey gardens fan too, and had the same reaction to the new movie. drew barrymore did an amazing little edie impression. last time i was in the hamptons i finally took a drive to their house and was so tourist-y, making my boyfriend take photos. he was embarrassed of me but it was fun, lol. anyway. have you seen the lauren hutton + one of the olsen twins' shoot as little and big edie? i think that was in harper's too.. it was really good. ~joelle
@ joelle: i did the same thing the VERY FIRST MOMENT i ever visited the hamptons ~ made my boyfriend drive me to their house before i ever even saw his! LOL.
definitely remember the lauren hutton / mary kate tribute. it was nice, but almost too 'pretty' for me. i like my beales with wrinkles, warts & all!
xoxoGlamourai
What an amazing post!!!
Again - thanks so much for this posting - as mentioned the exact same scne form the 1975 original turned up in Gilmore Girls - and I wasn't able to find out WHAT this curious scene was coming from... :)
Thanks to you I finally found it out! YAY! Edie Beale and Grey Gardens! Will try to organize it!
Thanks for the advices!!!
LOVE YOUR BLOG and can't wait for my necklace :-D
Happy Wednesday!!!
xoxo sofie
Cult classic! I love both the documentary and the HBO film. Drew Barrymore was astounding! My husband and I like to do Edie impressions to each other. :0)
My absolute favorite quote? "You can always take off the skirt and use it as a cape. So I think this is the best costume for today." - Little Edie
"Having your own style never goes out of style!" Agreed!
how appropiate...being that i am seeing the original TONITE @ the stanford theatre...
love edie for her originality...
elena @ fabulous finds
Thanks for sharing the Richardson shoot! It's wonderful, much like the Beales themselves!
Unfortunately, I have yet to see either the original documentary about the Beales or Grey Gardens, but this post has certainly heightened my interest! I may just have to rent the doc.
I love that photoshoot! Especially the first picture! I'm a sucker for red, white and blue. =P
i agree with you so much about the remake, its fab! drew barrymore really stepped up her game for this role.
A few years ago my business partner and I hosted a Preen Boutique Dinner in a dingy warehouse in the middle of summer. We had a sold out night, a bit of a performance piece where my husband at the time cooked a fabulous 8 course meal. We decorated the stage with old newspapers, fabrics galore, stuffed cats, the works.. We each had a small table with pins, needles and scissors. we each had a model that stood there still only wearing a nude slip. it was our job to search the stage for whatever we could find fabric and trim wise and dress our models in our own creation inspired by the beal ladies. while this went on, behind us was a huge projection screen that featured grey gardens. the meal, movie and costumes all ended at precisely same time. it was brilliant. i really should document work like this more. if i can find some photos, i will send them to you. love the pucci pan am, we have a couple a the shop right now, they are like rare gems.
@ erin bradley: what a great event ~ and story!!! i would LOVE to see photos; please find them!
it's amazing how many lives have been touched, how many people have been inspired by the beales. what a legacy!
xoxoGlamourai
oooo i love this spread, i have never seen it!! I will have to post and link yoU!
I went through a grey gardens OBSESSION period, i would watch the real documentary before I went to sleep, and everytime I watched I heard some new quirky thing that edie said under her breath that would make me grin. their energy is truly amazing!!! and i was utterly surprised at how well drew did in the HB0 version, it was so spot on!
great post, made me smile.
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Oh yes, they did quite a good bio movie. For some scenes it was almot identical to the doc. Such a sad and yet heartwarming story.
oh my goodness... i just recently saw grey gardens on the plane... edie is just an incredible woman, and the story is so tragic, yet, somehow i can see it happening...
my friends at patricia field could not, repeat, could NOT stop talking about this for weeks when it came out. they had nothing else to talk about. which is incredible for some queens and gays with sort attention spans!!
i still need to watch it! haha!
ok im having a weird moment right now because, like you, i was reluctant to watch the remake. 2. I also thought Drew did a (surprisingly) wonderful job. and 3, MOST IMPORTANTLY, I ALSO WATCHED THIS YESTERDAY AND JUST FINISHED IT RIGHT BEFORE CHECKING OUT YOUR POSTS!
Finally my DVD of GG's documentary arrived yesterday - never shown in the UK and only ever seen clips on youtube. Lapped it up last night and even better than I'd anticipated. Watched it with a friend who is a psychiatrist who found it fascinating.
Glamourai, is it just me who thought 'Hmm was this where Marc Jacobs got his 'ahem' Daisy inspiration from' after seeing little Edie in her knitted daisy tank top, then after seeing her in the daisy swimsuit which looked identical to his perfume bottle I thought this is too much of a coincidence?
Fabulous Harpers editorial - thanks for sharing and will have to order the Drew and Jessica movie now.
this particular combiantion between Middle East fashion and the American fashion, is interesting you know, not only because have both elements, the mistery of the Middle East and the sensuality of the American.
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