countess--olenska

[countess--olenska]

Paolo Sebastian | Allora Domenica

#paolo sebastian #fashion #I want that dress!

[countess--olenska]

In Audrev Hepburn in Paris one relationship I was excited to delve into was the creative collaborations between Audrey Hepburn and Paris' leading hairdresser, Alexandre de Paris. Alexandre was a celebrity in his own right and tended to the expensive locks of Hollywood's most sought after actresses including Jackie Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor. For the "My Fair Lady" premieres "Warner Brothers agreed to pay Alexandre and his team $2,000 to tend to Audrey's tresses […] Audrey's statement hairdos were architectural and built high above her head. Her locks were gathered into oversized loops using a combination of Audrey's real hair and fake hairpieces that were layered and roped together overpowering her small frame." (Excerpt From "Audrey Hepburn in Paris" by Meghan Friedlander)

Alexandre de Paris' handiwork can be seen throughout the pages of Audrey Hepburn in Paris from the imaginative updos Audrey sported for various Vogue photoshoots or her short, modish haircut from "How to Steal a Million." There were many people responsible for Audrey's fashion forward appearance and Alexandre de Paris' was an instrumental piece of that puzzle.

Photos of Audrey Hepburn (with Rex Harrison, Mel Ferrer, and Jack Warner) at the Los Angeles, New York, and London premieres of "My Fair Lady" 1964/1965.

#audrey hepburn #vintage hair #1960s #classic hollywood #Alexandre de Paris

[countess--olenska]

MARGOT ROBBIE Vogue's Sneak Peek into Barbie: The World Tour (March 8, 2024)

#fashion #Barbie #1950s #vintage #haute couture

[countess--olenska]

#babe paley #fashion #1950s #swimwear #vintage

[countess--olenska]

The New Soft Greenery” by René Bouché in Vogue, June 1957

#rene bouche #rené bouché #fashion #art #1950s #vogue

[countess--olenska]

Sara Mrad | Ribbon Reverie

#sara mrad #fashion #I want that dress!

[countess--olenska]

US Vogue December 1948 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Here, four reigning beauties bring to life a drawing from Charles Dana Gibson's famous series, "The Weaker Sex." Left to right: Miss Wendy Burden, Mrs. Barbara S. Paley, Mrs. Mary Sinclair/Abbott and Mrs. Philip Isles are shown as they will be dressed and wearing evening dresses designed by Mainbocher especially for the Gibson Girl Ball.

Ici, quatre beautés régnantes donnent vie à un dessin de la célèbre série de Charles Dana Gibson, « Le sexe faible ». De gauche à droite : Mlle Wendy Burden, Mme Barbara S. Paley, Mme Mary Sinclair/Abbott et Mme Philip Isles sont présentées telles qu'elles seront coiffées et portant des robes de soirée conçues par Mainbocher spécialement pour le Gibson Girl Ball.

palette.fm

Photo Horst P. Horst

vogue archive

#wendy burden #babe paley #mary sinclair #horst p. horst #mainbocher #1940s #historical fashion #haute couture #vogue

[countess--olenska]

A/W 1956 Jeanne Lanvin by Antonio Castillo Haute Couture black and gold embroidered velvet dress.

1stDibs

#fashion #Maison lesage #jeanne lanvin #haute couture #1950s

[countess--olenska]

It was her style, that indefinable asset. It was said that the others had style but Babe was style.

Melanie Benjamin, The Swans of Fifth Avenue    

Barbara Cushing Mortimer Paley, known as “Babe”, was born on July 5th 1915. Though all the Cushing’s married well and gained popularity in society circles, Babe made her mark as a style icon.

After making her official debut during the Great Depression, Babe was often featured in the society pages, alongside other members of prominent and wealthy New England families.

Paley worked as a fashion editor at Vogue, and married oil heir Stanley Grafton Mortimer Jr. in 1940. In 1941, Babe received the title of the World’s second best dressed woman, after Wallis Simpson, in Time Magazine, and was also added to the best-dressed list in 1945.

Her marriage to Mortimer Jr. ended in 1946, and in the same year she met William S. Paley, the founder of CBS. Though Paley craved entrance to New York’s high society, and certainly had the money to match his ambitions, he remained shut out. Babe was well connected, and adored; paired with Paley’s substantial wealth, they made a fine match and were married in 1947. Together they lived an idyllic lifestyle, spending their weeks in their apartment at the St. Regis, designed by Billy Baldwin, and their weekends at Kiluna Farm in Long Island.

The Vogue editor also kept a fine circle of friends, including Truman Capote who noted Paley as one of his famous “Swans”; a selection of society’s elite and most glamorous women. Capote once said, “Babe Paley had only one fault, she was perfect. Otherwise, she was perfect.” Truman was said to be her one true confidante, until their friendship ended after she read excerpts of Answered Promises, which aired the dirty laundry of New York high society.

Vogue once commented that Babe had a “special talent for wearing clothes.” She gained access to designer clothes and often received gifts in exchange for her coveted status. She was known to buy entire haute couture collections from fashion houses such as Givenchy, though she often paired expensive clothing and fine jewelry with inexpensive costume pieces. Oscar de la Renta recalled her style stating, “Whatever she wore, she wore in a way you would never forget.”

She kept her place on the best-dressed list fourteen times before entering the Fashion Hall of Fame is 1958. Her beauty signature was her alabaster skin paired with a fiery red lip.

Later in life she let hair her turn grey rather than using dye to cover it, a statement that was heavily copied by other American women.

In all accounts of her style, Babe Paley’s manner of dressing has been deemed elegant, effortless, aspirational and crisp. She favoured twin sets, prim skirts, silk scarves, and pearls: all customary tools for any would-be society darling. No American woman since - with the exceptions of Gloria Vanderbilt and Lee Radizwell - has ever matched her iconic style status.

#babe paley #fashion #vogue #1950s

[countess--olenska]

US Vogue November 1, 1950 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

American socialite Barbara Cushing aka Babe Paley at her home on Long Island.

Mrs Paley is pictured here in a dress made for her by Charles James; the purpose of it, a game of textures. A polish of velvet and satin in the same deep ruby ​​red with different lights, and a pleated, surprisingly rough and starched petticoat of white cotton.

La mondaine américaine Barbara Cushing alias Babe Paley dans sa maison à Long Island.

Mme Paley est photographiée ici dans une robe faite pour elle par Charles James ; le but de celui-ci, un jeu de textures. Une polonaise de velours et de satin dans le même rouge rubis profond avec des lumières différentes, et un jupon plissé, étonnamment rugueux et amidonné, de coton blanc.

Photo John Rawlings

vogue archive

#babe paley #barbara cushing #charles james #historical fashion #john rawlings #1950s #vogue

[countess--olenska]

Babe Paley

With friend Slim Keith in Nassau, 1952.

Barbara Cushing with Hugh Chisholm, Jr., 1940s.

Photo by William S. Paley.

Babe Paley on her wedding day to her second husband William S. Paley, July 28, 1947.

Babe and sister Betsey.

Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Mortimer on their wedding day, 1940.

Babe and Pill Paley, 1950s.

#babe paley #barbara cushing #barbara cushing mortimer paley #swans of fifth avenue #Fashion #1950s

[countess--olenska]

Toshiro Mifune in Tokyo Sweetheart (1952) dir. Yasuki Chiba

#toshiro mifune #tokyo sweetheart #yasuki chiba #Vintage hawtness #1950s #japan

[countess--olenska]

Toshiro Mifune, Mieko Takamine and Kajirô Yamamoto on the set of Datsugoku (1950) also known as Escape from Prison

#Toshiro Mifune #mieko takamine #Escape from prison #1950s #japan #vintage hawtness

[countess--olenska]

You don't understand how badly I need someone to find The Last Embrace (1953) dir. Masahiro Makino

#toshiro mifune #the last embrace #yoshiko yamaguchi #1950s #vintage hawtness

[countess--olenska]

Vivien Leigh has her make-up applied during the making of William K. Howard’s FIRE OVER ENGLAND. (January 1937 U.S. premiere)

#vivien leigh #classic hollywood #vintage #1930s #Fire over England

[countess--olenska]

I look back home, as every soldier does, and then when the others look back to their respective sweethearts — I don’t. I see you. I don’t want to dash and throw myself at your feet and say ‘Vivien, I love you’ or anything: I just want to see you and know that beauty, real active living beauty is still in the world. And all I want to do now, is tell you that you are one of my loveliest memories: One day I’ll marry and love someone, perhaps with dark hair and light expressive eyes, but I promise you now that you’ll still hold a place in my memory box. - James Kennaway, soldier in the British Army, in a fan letter to Vivien Leigh, 1946

#vivien leigh #classic hollywood #1940s

[countess--olenska]

The daughter of Ramon Villalobos, owner of the Havana Shipyards, appears with her husband in a 1941 photograph at the family’s residence in the city’s Miramar neighborhood. Archived from: Dos Epocas

Source: Dosepocas

#cuba #historical fashion #1940s