The King of Rock ’n’ Roll didn’t just change music — he re-wrote the rules of menswear and pioneered what we now refer to as personal branding. Elvis Presley played a major role in re-shaping mid‑20th‑century menswear and performance fashion, by popularizing rockabilly style, the pompadour and grooming culture and the flamboyant stage jumpsuit thatContinue reading “How Elvis Presley Revolutionized the Fashion Industry”
Category Archives: Beauty
Elvis’ Beauty Secrets
Elvis’ hair-care and skin-care secrets combined with stage make-up, deliberate tanning and a simple but consistent skin routine. He used heavier stage foundations and eyeliner for performances, took tanning pills and sun exposure to deepen his tan, and favoured basic cleansers and emollients (Noxzema, Neutrogena soap, Vaseline) plus careful hair and brow tinting. Could youContinue reading “Elvis’ Beauty Secrets”
The Mid-Century Fashion Feud: Chanel vs. Dior
A battle of silhouettes, politics, ego and the future of femininity. The feud between Coco Chanel and Christian Dior was just as personal as it was philosophical. It was a war between two visions of womanhood, two opposing aesthetics and two designers whose reputations were shaped by re-construction of the mid‑20th century. When Chanel returnedContinue reading “The Mid-Century Fashion Feud: Chanel vs. Dior”
How Lucien Lelong Became a Fashion Powerhouse
The Early Years and Family Roots Lucien Lelong was born on 11 October 1889, in Paris, France. He was born directly into the world of fashion. His parents, Arthur Lelong and Éléonore Marie Lambelet, owned a modest but respected Parisian couture house called A. E. Lelong. With Lelong growing up surrounded by textiles and seamstresses, LelongContinue reading “How Lucien Lelong Became a Fashion Powerhouse”
Dior by Dior: The Autobiography of Christian Dior
I first read Dior’s autobiography so many years ago in its original version so French, and later an English translated version was gifted to me. Reading from Dior with his time as a protégée of Lucien Lelong, along with Pierre Balmain, during the Second World War. Plus, reading from himself in how his House ofContinue reading “Dior by Dior: The Autobiography of Christian Dior”
How Lucien Lelong Single-Handedly Saved French Haute Couture During WWII from the German Occupation
Lelong protected his younger designers including Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain, by keeping them employed inside his couture house during the Occupation. Under German rule, French men risked being deported to Germany for forced labour. By maintaining couture as an active industry, Lelong ensured that his staff remained classified as essential workers, protecting them fromContinue reading “How Lucien Lelong Single-Handedly Saved French Haute Couture During WWII from the German Occupation”
