Tag Archives: older icon

Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, Older Icon of the 1900s

If you think you have a pushy mother, you should read about Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont. Born in 1853 to a gentile Southern family in economic decline, Alva married a son of Cornelius Vanderbilt in the 1870s.  With Vanderbilt money … Continue reading

Posted in 1900s, Older Icon | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Faith Ringgold–Artist Chic

Have you heard the term “art teacher chic”? Well, what about an actual artist? Take a look at this photo of multi-talented Faith Ringgold—painter, quilter, children’s book author and illustrator, writer (and I’m sure the list goes on.)  Her talent … Continue reading

Posted in 2010s, 2020s, Older Icon | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Elsie de Wolfe Recommends…

Perhaps you don’t know the name Elsie de Wolfe (ca 1859-1950).  However, if you like Cole Porter maybe you have heard her other name, Lady Mendl.  In the 1934 song “Anything Goes,” her athletic skills make a brief appearance: “When … Continue reading

Posted in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, General | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Elsie de Wolfe, Older Icon from the 1920s

Elsie de Wolfe, the famed interior designer, lied about her age.  According to the birth date on her passport, which many questioned, she was at least 57 years old when she was featured in a Ladies Home Journal fashion spread … Continue reading

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Lillian Russell–An Older Icon for the 1910s

Although she all but is forgotten today, Lillian Russell was a big star of the American stage, music hall, and vaudeville circuit at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. Called “America’s Beauty” for decades of … Continue reading

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Gloria Steinem–Feminist Icon, Style Icon

I may be one of the only people who read Gloria Steinem’s new memoir, My Life on the Road, for the clothes. But unlike many early second wave feminists, Steinem is clearly a woman who takes great pleasure in what … Continue reading

Posted in 2010s, Older Icon | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Betty Dorso, the Toast of Two Coasts

I discovered Betty McLauchlen Downey Dorso (1911-2002) on the pages of Vogue, where she was featured in a 1960 article “Applied Black-and-White.” Vogue introduced her as “Mrs. Richard Dorso, a former Vogue model and fashion editor who is now a … Continue reading

Posted in 1960s, 1970s | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Duchess of Windsor Patterns

In the fall of 1959, the Duchess of Windsor began putting out sewing patterns under her name for the Spadea pattern company. The first offerings were a set of six rather fancy styles: three cocktail dresses, one day dress, one … Continue reading

Posted in 1950s, 1960s | Tagged , | 7 Comments

The Duchess of Windsor: Older Icon of the Fifties and Sixties

I am not a fan of the Duchess of Windsor, American born Wallis Warfield Spencer Simpson (1896-1986). As far as I’m concerned, her biggest achievement was getting the Nazi sympathizer Edward VIII off the throne. But my opinion notwithstanding, the … Continue reading

Posted in 1950s, 1960s | Tagged , , | 1 Comment