When Cleopatra premiered in 1963, the film would be known for more than the story of Cleopatra, for a few reasons, one of which is the cat-eye hits the global stage which it wasn’t something audiences were expecting. What audiences were expecting upon watching the premiere of Cleopatra was a spectacle that included the sets, the jewels,Continue reading “Get the Look: The Cleopatra Effect (1963): How Elizabeth Taylor’s Cat Eye Went Global, Plus Tips to Re-Create from her Make-up Artist”
Author Archives: Stacey Hobbs
The Tiffany Dress: The Little Black Dress That Became a Legend
When Audrey Hepburn stepped out of that New York taxi in the opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), she wasn’t just wearing a dress — she was wearing a moment that would define 20th‑century fashion. The Tiffany Dress, designed by Hubert de Givenchy, is arguably the most famous little black dress ever created. What makes it extraordinaryContinue reading “The Tiffany Dress: The Little Black Dress That Became a Legend”
The Women Who Inspired the Scandal Collection
This isn’t Dior’s New Look — however the Parisian women preferred to forget. While the majority of designers in 1971 romanticized the past, Dior’s nipped waists, Balenciaga’s sculptural purity, the soft nostalgia of the 1950s — YSL chose to do the opposite. He reached back to the darkest most un-comfortable corner of French memory: occupied ParisContinue reading “The Women Who Inspired the Scandal Collection”
PART VII: The Era of the Cocoon: Sculpting Modernism
When the early 1950s rolled around, Balenciaga had entered the phase that would end up defining his legacy: the era of the cocoon. This was not a trend nor a seasonal experiment. It was the culmination of everything he had learned during the war — discipline, restraint, architectural thinking — now expressed with full creativeContinue reading “PART VII: The Era of the Cocoon: Sculpting Modernism”
Elizabeth Arden vs. Helena Rubinstein: The Beauty War
Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein didn’t simply create beauty brands — oh, no, these ladies did much more. They engineered ideologies. Their rivalry wasn’t petty; it was architectural. Each woman built a world, a philosophy, and a clientele that reflected her deepest beliefs about beauty, class and modern womanhood. Arden believed beauty was a discipline. A ritual.Continue reading “Elizabeth Arden vs. Helena Rubinstein: The Beauty War”
A Beautiful Rival: A Novel of Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden by Gill Paul
There are beauty stories, and then there are beauty wars, the kind that shaped an entire industry. A Beautiful Rival brings Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein to life with the kind of glamour, ambition, and unapologetic rivalry that defined 20th‑century beauty culture. “Scandal, sabotage and spies. Who knew the beauty industry was so cutthroat! This was a thoroughlyContinue reading “A Beautiful Rival: A Novel of Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden by Gill Paul”
