Vikki Dougan (The real Jessica Rabbit) in Life Magazine (1953)

Throughout the 1950s model, actress and It girl Vikki Dougan (born 1929) was most famous for appearing at social events in a series of daring low-cutbackless dresses.

In 1953 publicity man Milton Weiss had the idea of promoting Vikki using the backless dresses to garner publicity. The idea was to gain a contrast with the fashion for models and actresses with large bosoms, such as Jayne Mansfield.

Throughout the 1950s she scandalized more respectable Hollywood society with her appearances in her daring backless dresses.

In 1953 photographer Ralph Crane photographed her extensively for Life Magazine. Their edition of October 26 featured her on the cover.

In the 1980s she got another claim to fame as the muse for cartoon pin up Jessica Rabbit.

Vikki Dougan by Ralph Crane, 1953

Vikki Dougan by Ralph Crane, 1953 via

Vikki Dougan by Ralph Crane, 1953

Vikki Dougan by Ralph Crane, 1953 via

Vikki Dougan by Ralph Crane, 1953

Vikki Dougan by Ralph Crane, 1953 via

Vikki Dougan by Ralph Crane, 1953

Vikki Dougan by Ralph Crane, 1953

Nusch Éluard Photographed by Man Ray

Nusch Éluard (born Maria Benzn; 1906 – 1946) was a French performer, model and surrealist artist.

Born in Mulhouse (then part of the German Empire), she met Swiss architect and artist Max Bill in the Odeon Café in Zurich; he nicknamed her “Nusch”, a name she would stick to.

She moved to Paris in 1928 working as a stage performer, variously described as a small-time actress, a traveling acrobat, and a “hypnotist‘s stooge”. in In 1930 she met the poet Paul Éluard working as a model. They married him in 1934. She produced surrealist photomontage and other work, and is the subject of “Facile,” a collection of Éluard’s poetry published as a photogravure book, illustrated with Man Ray’s nude photographs of her.

She was also the subject of several cubist portraits and sketches by Pablo Picasso in the late 1930s, and is said to have had an affair with him. Nusch worked for the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. She died in 1946 in Paris, collapsing in the street due to a massive stroke.

Nusch Éluard by Man Ray, 1936 via

Man Ray, Nusch au Miroir, 1935 via

Man Ray, Portrait of Nusch Eluard, 1934 via

Man Ray, Portrait of Nusch Eluard, 1936 via

Vintage Photos of Glamorous 1950s Model Suzy Parker

When modeling agent Eileen Ford met the model Dorian Leigh’s fifteen-year-old redhead sister, in 1948, she ‘almost fainted with delight’. Suzy Parker became a prominent model of her times who, with her high dimpled cheeks, short flame hair and dark blue eyes, captured the attention of the most famous photographers such as Richard Avedon who believed ‘she was something else – a redheaded force of nature, a wolf in chic clothing, the one flesh-and-blood woman in a world of exquisite creatures’ (source).

Her modeling career reached its zenith during the 1950s. She appeared on the cover of dozens of magazines and in advertisements and starred in movie and television roles.

Suzy Parker in Harpers Bazaar, wearing a little feathery hat. Photograph by Richard Avedon via

 Suzy Parker for Mauboussin. Photograph by Henry Clarke, 1953 via

Suzy Parker 1955 in Lillian Bassman’s photograph The V‐Back Evenings. Lillian Bassman/Harper’s Bazaar via

Suzy Parker, Etole Leopard, Paris. Photograph by Georges Dambier, 1952 via

Suzy Parker wears Dior Haute Couture. American Vogue. Photograph by Horst P. Horst, 1952 via

Vintage Photos Featuring Surrealist Muse Nusch Éluard by Dora Maar

Nusch Éluard (born Maria Benzn; 1906 – 1946) was a French performer, model and surrealist artist.

Born in Mulhouse (then part of the German Empire), she met Swiss architect and artist Max Bill in the Odeon Café in Zurich; he nicknamed her “Nusch”, a name she would stick to.

She moved to Paris in 1928 working as a stage performer, variously described as a small-time actress, a traveling acrobat, and a “hypnotist‘s stooge”. in In 1930 she met the poet Paul Éluard working as a model. They married him in 1934. She produced surrealist photomontage and other work, and is the subject of “Facile,” a collection of Éluard’s poetry published as a photogravure book, illustrated with Man Ray’s nude photographs of her.

She was also the subject of several cubist portraits and sketches by Pablo Picasso in the late 1930s, and is said to have had an affair with him. Nusch worked for the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. She died in 1946 in Paris, collapsing in the street due to a massive stroke.

Dora Maar – Nusch Eluard, c. 1935

Nusch Eluard (couchée à plat ventre sur la plage), 1936-37 Photo by Dora Maar ©

Dora Maar, Nusch Eluard, 1935

Vintage Photos of Beautiful 1930s Muse Princess Natalia Paley

Princess Natalia Pavlovna Paley, Countess de Hohenfelsen was a member of the Romanov family. A daughter of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, she was the first cousin of the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II. Natalia’s half-brother, Grand Duke Dmitri had helped murder Grigory Rasputin in 1916; and her full brother, Prince Vladimir Paley, was killed by the Bolsheviks in July 1918.

After the Russian revolution she emigrated first to France and later to the United States.

At age 21 she met her first husband, Lucien Lelong. A prominent French couturier, he offered her a job in his fashion house. Natalia was an asset for Lelong’s business, with her aristocratic background and delicate features. With deep-set gray eyes and pale blond hair, she became a sought after model establishing an image for herself in the Parisian elite becoming a well known socialite. As a model, she appeared in many magazines including Vogue. She was a favorite model for the great photographers of her time: Edward Steichen, Cecil Beaton, Horst P. Horst, Andre Durst and George Hoyningen-Huene.

After her marriage to Lelong had fallen apart she began to pursue a film career. She is known for L’homme des Folies Bergère (1935), Les hommes nouveaux (1936) and L’épervier (1933).

She died on December 27, 1981 in Manhattan, New York City. In the last two decades of her life she had lived as a reclusive surrounded by her pets. After developing diabetes she had progressively lost her vision, which isolated her further.

Natalie Paley, 1930 via

Natalie Paley via

Natalie Paley via

Natalie Paley by Edward Steichen via

Natalie Paley via

Maurice Chevalier and Nathalie Paley  “L’Homme des Folies-Bergère” 1935

Ivy Nicholson in Hubert de Givenchy Ensemble (1952)

Ivy Nicholson in Hubert de Givenchy Ensemble, photographed by Nat Farbman, 1952 via

Ivy Nicholson in Hubert de Givenchy Ensemble, photographed by Nat Farbman, 1952 via