The 60s Face

Some further scans from the March 1965 edition of US Vogue; these images (from photographer Bert Stern) illustrate a beauty story contrasting 'European' make-up (think Italian mid century films) and the 'new American-English' make-up (soft, illuminated transparency). There is no doubt though that, being the sixties, the eyes had it for both of these looks and that colour was the real trend on display here. Silver lashes! Luscious falsies! And blue eyeshadow (that freaks some people out, but which I've loved for years and years. My eyes are about the same colour as the model on the left of the top picture, and there is something about the contrast between baby blue and deep brown that appeals).

Anyway, these photos got me thinking about my favourite beauty trends across the decades. I've always been partial to the slick of black eyeliner so popular in the 1950s; the shiny, voluminous and effortless hair of the early supers; the vibrant, matte pink and red lips of the 40s and 50s; the strong full eyebrows of the late 70s and early 80s; the over sized lashes of the 1960s (but only on top please ... I have a paranoid fear of gluey mascara on the lower lashes) and, finally, the tanned skin from the real life sun of the 1970s (my bad, I know, but fake tan just doesn't cut it for me. I love alabaster skin too but I'm not someone who can wear it well).

What is your favourite beauty decade?

Early Jean P

From the same 1948 issue of US Vogue as those photos of a 16-year-old Elizabeth I posted comes these two images of the glorious 50s top model Jean Patchett. Jean would have been only 21 or 22 when these photos were taken, and in the first year of her modelling career, which lasted until 1963. She signed with an agency in early 1948 and by the end of the year she was already a cover-girl, gracing the pages of Vogue.

The editorial that the photographs come from is called 'Fashions For A Man's Eye' and has models posing in some of Vogue's favourite recent frocks for the benefit of a panel of men who give their thoughts. It's all quite amusing really and is a concept still used in magazines today.

As the point of this issue is 'Will a man like them?' we went to four acidulous young columnists, who were part of the male rebellion against the new-born new look a year and a half ago; showed them the dresses, invited them to say exactly what they wanted to about them, pro or con.

You might like to know that the judge for Jean's first dress said men embarrass easily. This dress isn't embarrassing.
And for the second dress the male critic said I like halter-tops. They show off a good back.

When it comes to men, it seems not too much has changed. All the men declared that they detested ballet flats! (Lucky we don't care what they think).

The advertisements in this issue are just as exciting to pore over as the fashion editorials. I think my favourite frock is the gorgeous Patullo - Jo Copeland for the opening of the Opera ... for a brilliant ball. Patullo - Copeland was a shared ready-to-wear label designed by Jospehine Copeland, based in New York, that existed from the 20s through to the 60s. You can read more about her over at the Vintage Fashion Guild.

Interestingly her daughter, the novelist Lois Gould, wrote a memoir in the 1990s about her mother, from a child's perspective. Called Mommy Dressing I'm sure it would provide a fascinating insight into the world of early American high fashion.

Models of the Past: Part 1

The July issue of British Vogue has a story entitled "History of the Supermodel" which looks at the top models and beauty trends of the last twenty years.

I would argue that the supermodel moment was unique and of its time; limited to the late 80s and early 90s when a group of beauties became serious movers and shakers in the fashion industry, moving products and magazines, commanding fortunes, dating rock stars and becoming mainstream celebrities. I know I was pretty obsessed with the supers in my early teens, but many other people who didn't salivate over Vogue every month knew just who Linda, Christy, Naomi and Cindy were too. No surnames needed.

While I know who the top models of today are, my hubbie, for example, would probably only be able to recognise Giselle and maybe Miranda Kerr (she gets an awful lot of press in Australia).

Vogue's story was interesting - a collection of quotes from the top models, photographers and casting agents of the last two decades - but there have been key models shaping the look of an era going back for yonks. So in this post I thought I'd take a look back at some of the top names of the 1950s.

Bettina - given that name by designer Pierre Balmain - was a French model and early muse for Hubert de Givenchy. Interestingly she married playboy Prince Aly Khan who had previously been married to Rita Hayworth, and she - pregnant at the time with their child - survived the car accident that killed him in 1960.

Post modelling she worked as a designer, poet and composer.

Jean Patchett - whom I've posted about plenty of times before - was an all American head turner famous for her beauty spot, not unlike Cindy Crawford would thirty years later. Jean was the first superstar of the Ford Modelling Agency and she worked from the late 1940s into the early 60s before retiring to raise her family.
Her family have actually started a website about her which is a must visit for anyone who loves 50s high fashion.

Mary Jane Russell was another American and star of Ford who, at 5ft 6, was rather short for a model, even in those days (Suzy Parker was 5ft 10 and was, before she became famous, considered too tall for modelling).

Mary's long neck and classically elegant features suited the New Look styles of the period and she was a favourite of photographer Louise Dahl-Woolfe.

Dorian Leigh's Wikipedia entry says that she is considered the world's first supermodel. As the term hadn't been invented yet (Janice Dickinson lays claim to coming up with the title), I'm not so sure about that, but she was certainly one of Ford's first top models who gained a reputation in the US and in Europe. While Mary Jane Russell was only 5ft 6, Dorian was only 5ft 5 (my height!) and was already 27 and had two children when she started modelling (it may feel like models are getting younger and younger, but there is certainly a history of teens appearing on the cover of Vogue).

Dorian was a neighbour and close friend of Truman Capote and legend has it that Dorian was his inspiration for Holly Golightly.

Dorian's little sister Suzy - who went by her real surname of Parker - became an even bigger star than her sister. She was the first model to earn $100,000 in a year, appeared on the covers of every major magazine of the age and went on to star in Hollywood movies.

The story goes that Dorian made Eileen Ford sign her little sister sight un-seen, and Eileen, expecting a petite, very thin, dark haired and blue eyed beauty just like Dorian was rather upset to discover she had signed a tall, freckle-faced red-head with a hip measurement of 36 inches (the ideal for a model is 34 inches which to me seems very slim, but I guess that's because I'm a pear shaped girl who is blessed/cursed with 37 inch hips).

Eileen later went on to call Suzy "the most beautiful creature imaginable" and Richard Avedon said of her "there were great models before and after Suzy, but she was something else - a red-headed force of nature, a wolf in chic clothing, the one flesh-and blood woman in a world of exquisite creatures."

Certainly I think she was one of the great beauties of the last century.

Born in New York City, Dovima's unconventional beauty made her one of the most sought after models of the 50s. Who can forget her glorious turn as snooty model Marion in Funny Face?

Cool blonde Sunny Harnett was another New Yorker who became famous in the 50s. Sunny, once she retired from modelling (and she shot campaigns for many top brands and appeared in both Vogue and Harper's regularly), actually became assistant to Eileen Ford.

The girl gave great cheekbones and I love the last image of her wrapped in a Jean Desses coat.

The images of Cindy, Christy, Noami et al posing together care of photographers like Peter Lindbergh and Patrick Demarchelier have become iconic in themselves, so I was exited when I found this old Edith Small advertisement featuring the three top models of their age: Jean Patchett, Suzy Parker and Dovima.

Are there any 50s ladies that I've forgotten?

Meanwhile next stop is the swinging 60s!

Pictures to make you go WOW

I love it when Vogue pulls out all the stops and constructs a lavish narrative driven fashion editorial. A good one will have you longing to immerse yourself in it's visually rewarding world, even if - in this particular case - that world is a crumbling marriage and a wife's affair.

The Prada and Louis Vuitton A/W collections were among my favourites of the season; both luxe but wearable and heavily influenced by the classic silhouettes of yesteryear.

It is nice to see them get a run in these gorgeous shots and don't Ewan and Natalia make a gorgeous faux couple? Natalia looks so at home in these retro styles as her face recalls revered beauties from the 50s and 60s like Jean Patchett, Jean Shrimpton, Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Natalie Wood.

I LOVE the blue Vera Wang cocktail dress in the third pic.

Peter Lindbergh's gorgeous shots can be found in the July issue of US Vogue, or you can also check them here.

As the rain buckets down, I dream of sun ...

and tropical print dresses, clear blue water and hours with no phone calls and no plans.
To cheer myself on this wintry and wet evening, I gaze at this gorgeous image of one of my all time favourite models; the cute as pie and supremely elegant Jean Patchett.
Loads more photos of the lovely lady can be found over at My Vintage Vogue, plus Jean now has an entire website devoted to her substantial body of work.
Irving Penn called her "a young American Goddess of Parisian couture."
And while I won't be taking any black pumps with me when I visit Fiji next month (I think my snorkeling gear might be a little more useful), my vision for my trip definitely resembles this 1949 photo.
Love the dress. Fingers crossed for no cyclones.

Favourite Fixations

The lovely Greetz from Greetz from Tiz posted the other day about her current obsession for berets, and it got me thinking about my current obsessions. I've talked about Hawaiian dresses in a previous post (and how sunny and fresh is this lovely one from Vintage Kitten?) but some other fixations that are occupying my waking moments between bed and work include:

1950's fashion models like the ridiculously elegant Jean Patchett

And 1990's supermodels, whom I grew up idolising and are now making a delightful comeback.
Hurrah for models with personality!

Vintage hats, perfect for Spring racing, like this royal blue feather concoction from Circa Vintage Hats.

My obsession with vintage costume jewellery endures. The brighter they sparkle and shine the better.

Holidays. Half the fun is dreaming of your destination and the beautiful memories then comfort you for weeks. One of my colleagues just spent the long weekend at beautiful Seal Rocks on the North Coast, and I quite fancy staying in this very house, next to the lighthouse there. Summer is coming - yippee!

Karl Lagerfeld's stand-alone ready-to-wear collection was understated and eminently wearable perfection but his collection for Chanel was truly squeal inducing. It included another one of my fixations; floral prints. Love, love this print and this dress. And I love that he had Lily Allen performing on a runway which resembled a barn-yard.

Robert Pattinson.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

The feminine and elegant Governor-General Quentin Bryce (obviously the foxy lady in co-ordinated green) plus

sartorial risk-taker and international trendsetter, the lovely US First Lady Michelle Obama.

And last but not least ... cardboard boxes. Because I am in the midst of moving house and I'm completely surrounded by them. Who knew I had so much stuff.

Some classic Jean to close the weekend ...

I've been away this weekend and have been remiss in my blogging and am thus storing up a lot of ideas I plan to unleash this week.

But right now I'm tired so I am heading off to bed and just posting a small item I came across this week; a sophisticated blog called Vintage Vogue which contains page after page of drool worthy images to inspire and delight. I even found two pics of my favourite 50's fashion model, the adorable Jean Patchett, which I had never seen before.

Enjoy and sweet dreams.