The Muse: Mrs. Robinson

 In 1968 no name was more notorious than that of the original cougar herself, Mrs. Robinson. Seducer of impressionable young boys and really mean mom who tries to keep her daughter from her one true love (same said young impressionable boy who jumped Mom's bones).  The anti-heroine of Charles Webb's novel and the subsequent film by Mike Nichols, The Graduate she is forever immortalized by the Simon and Garfunkel tune that also shares her name. In reality Anne Bancroft was only six years older than Dustin Hoffman who played her "young" lover, Bancroft was thirty-six and Hoffman was thirty-one when they played opposite each other. EIther was Bancroft looks damn good, and the filmmakers have her stylized as a real femme fatale. Most noticeably animal prints are how Mrs. Robinson rolls, from the swing coat she wear to meet Benjamin at the hotel to the pillbox she wears for Elaine's wedding, the cheetah and tiger strips are all over her. That and the bling, she's always sparkling, whether its rhinestones, metallic fabric, or gold she glitters. Which makes sense of course, she's a rich woman looking for a plaything.

 The Graduate is so tame in comparison to today's films it wouldn't even cross most people's radar Compared to the girls from Bridesmaids or the boys from Superbad, Mrs. Robinson is practically a Mother Superior (a part Anne Bancroft also played in Agnes of God, quite the contrast). But there is something still quite shocking about The Graduate, despite the sexual revolution and I think it has a lot to do with how Bancroft plays her. She's a woman who doesn't play by the rules, and regardless of the time period she exists in she pushes our buttons, and she has the style that every woman wants, even if the inside isn't quite as pretty as the facade.

Dress: vintage, Darian, thrifted via Wheeler School Clothing Sale
Belt: Below the Belt, swapped
Shoes: BCBG Girls thrifted via The Bargain Box
Purse: Nine West, thrifted via Second Time Around

Also I realized that this is a head to toe thrifted outfit, and all cost less that $25. The dress was $10, the purse $8-$9 (I don't really remember), and the shoes were $2.50. The belt was swapped so it was technically free. So the whole thing is worth either $ 20.50 or $ 21.50. Not bad. Here's to you Mrs. Robinson, you're one thrifty girl.