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
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