Amazing Vintage Photos of Barbara “Babe” Paley

Barbara “Babe” Cushing Mortimer Paley (1915 – 1978) was an American socialite and style icon, whose second husband was the founder of CBS, William S. Paley. She was known by the popular nickname “Babe” for most of her life. She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1958.

Long after her death, Babe Paley remains an icon in the world of fashion and style. “Babe Paley had only one fault,” commented her one-time friend Truman Capote.

“She was perfect. Otherwise, she was perfect.”

Richard Avedon, Portrait of Barbara “Babe” Paley, 1960’s via

Babe Paley by Erwin Blumenfeld via

Clifford Coffin, Portrait of Barbara “Babe” Paley, British Vogue, 1946 via

John Rawlings, Portrait of Barbara “Babe” Cushing Mortimer Paley, Vogue, February 1946 via

Babe Paley  in 1940 Wedding Gown by Mabel McIlvain Downs via

 

A Collection of Vintage Fashion Photography From the 1950s

‘Black and White’, Mary Jane Russell, Le Pavillon, New York, Harper’s Bazaar, 1950 by Lillian Bassman via

Henry Clarke, Suzy Parker wearing Givenchy, 1952 via

Lisa Fonssagrives in Charles James Suit, photographed by Horst P. Horst for Vogue, 1950 via

Carmen Dell’Orefice in Paris, 1950s, photo by Richard Avedon via

Dorian Leigh wearing Madame Grés by Henry Clarke in 1955 via

Traina-Norell dress 1957, photo by Karen Radkai (model could be Sunny Harnett) via

Carmen Dell’Orefice

Carmen Dell’Orefice, 1950s via

Carmen Dell’Orefice, 1950s via

Anne Saint-Marie (1950s)

Tom Palumbo, Anne Saint-Marie, 1950’s via

A Collection of Vintage Photos Featuring Anne Gunning

Anne Gunning (1929-1990) started modeling in Ireland in 1953. First photographed by photographer Milton Greene, she went on to be photographed by the greatest photographers of the day. She gained global recognition after being featured on the cover of Life magazine in 1953.

Gunning limited herself to photographic modelling, despite requests from designers like Coco Chanel to be a part of their stage shows. She did only one fashion show – for Sybil Connolly – as a favour. She was afraid of falling down on the stage, and remarked:

“that sea of faces glaring at me was too daunting.”

She worked in Paris, New York and London. She and fellow model Barbara Mullen even accompanied Norrman Parkinson to India, on an assignment for Vogue.

Ann Gunning, Paris Collections, for Vogue, August 1952 via

Anne Gunning for Cartier Jewellery, 1952 via

Anne Gunning in dress by Christian Dior for Vogue UK. Photo by Norman Parkinson, 1952 via

Anne Gunning in crinolines, Ireland. Photo by Milton Greene, 1953 via

Anne Gunning wearing Dior, 1954 via

Anne Gunning in front of Nandi, the Sacred Bull, on Chamundi Hill above Mysore City. Skirt and blouse by Christian Dior, India, Vogue. Photo by Norman Parkinson, 1956 via

Suzy Parker by Horst P.Horst (1954)

Horst P.Horst, Suzy Parker, August 1954

A Collection of Vintage Fashion by Charles James

Though he had no formal training, he is now regarded as one of the greatest designers in America to have worked in the tradition of Haute Couture. After designing in his native London, and then Paris, James arrived in New York City in 1940. The same year he opens Charles James, Inc. custom design business on East Fifty-seventh Street, New York. In 1943 James begins designing custom creations for Elizabeth Arden. One of his most successful collections opened in Paris in 1947 at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée. In the 1950s he spent most of his time in New York.

James looked upon his dresses as works of art, as did many of his customers. Year after year he reworked original designs, ignoring the sacrosanct schedule of seasons. The components of the precisely constructed designs were interchangeable so that James had a never-ending fund of ideas on which to draw. He is most famous for his sculpted ball gowns made of lavish fabrics and to exacting tailoring standards; in 1955 James created the Balloon dress with high Empire waist and voluminous folds and the Butterfly sheath dress with enormous bustle.  He is also remembered for his capes and coats, often trimmed with fur and embroidery, his spiral zipped dresses, and his white satin quilted jackets.

Charles James (in black) with models during one of his fashion show, photographed by Eliot Elisofon, ca. 1950 via

Dominique de Menil at home, dressed in Charles James and on Charles James couch, ca. 1951 via

Charles James Butterfly Gown 1954, photo by Cecil Beaton via

Austine Hearst in Charles James Four Leaf Clover Dress, ca. 1953 via

Charles James, Dresses, 1959 via

Christian Dior (1951)

Christian Dior, Ensemble, 1951 via

Christian Dior, Ensemble, 1951 via

Marilyn Monroe by Richard Avedon (1957)

Marilyn and the Tiger by Richard Avedon, 1957 via

Marilyn Monroe photographed by Richard Avedon, 1957 via

Marilyn Monroe photographed by Richard Avedon, 1957 via

Marilyn Monroe Photographed by Richard Avedon, 1957

A Collection of Vintage Photos Featuring Dovima

Dorothy Virginia Margaret Juba (1927 – 1990), later known as Dorothy Horan, and best known as Dovima, was an American model during the 1950s.

Born in New York City, Dovima was discovered on a sidewalk in New York by an editor at Vogue, and had a photo shoot with Irving Penn the following day. She worked closely with Richard Avedon, whose photograph of her in a floor-length black evening gown with circus elephants—”Dovima with the Elephants” —taken at the Cirque d’hiver, Paris, in August 1955, has become an icon. The gown was the first evening dress designed for Christian Dior by his new assistant, Yves Saint-Laurent.

Dovima was reputed to be the highest-paid model of her time. She had a role in Funny Face (Paramount, 1957) as an aristocratic-looking, but empty-headed, fashion model with a Jackson Heights whine.

Dovima gave birth to a daughter named Allison on July 14, 1958, in Manhattan. Allison’s father is Dovima’s second husband, Allan Murray.

She died of liver cancer on May 3, 1990 at the age of 62.

Diana Vreeland, Dovima and Richard Avedon, 1950s via

Lillian Bassman, Dovima in New York, 1954 via

Dovima in Christian Dior Suit and Hat, photographed by Richard Avedon, 1955 via

Richard Avedon, Christobal Balenciaga, Dovima in cloche – Cafe de Deux Magots, Paris 1955 via

Henry Clarke, Dovima wearing Lanvin dress, 1955 via