I always preferred the first Mrs de Winter

The 20s, 30s and 40s are my favourite periods for fashion; women always looked so glamorous, exuding mystery and danger. Undoubtedly that perception of mine comes from watching a lot of old films from that era. Two that come to mind are Otto Preminger’s Laura and Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca, both centred on female characters personifying that notion. Gene Tierney plays the title role in the former, and of course the fascinating Rebecca is merely a ghost, terrorising the second Mrs De Winter (whose fearfulness always irritated me).

I like dark interiors for the same reason: they look mysterious, full of promise for adventure. That’s what I like about these four fashion photographs. The shadowy rooms with their grand proportions and their tall, slender occupants hint at some dire impending event that requires equestrienne attire to make a hurried escape. Or perhaps the donning of a diamante belt to gussy up a comfy wool cardi, so that our heroine can infiltrate some high-society do...  Even the lighting in the stills is mysterious, easily evoking the image of the woman to whom these discarded clothes might belong.

In fact, it was this picture torn from an Italian magazine in the early 90s that made me long for just such a glittering belt. Last year I finally fulfilled this ambition, haggling for one from a stall in the steep back streets of Hong Kong. I’ve never actually worn it, but perhaps its time will finally come on the pages of this journal.

Photos: (interiors) William Garrett; (stills) Aldo Fallai.