Diana Vreeland

Diana Vreeland was a highly influential American fashion columnist and editor.

She spent her career shaping how people perceived style and beauty through major publications. Vreeland worked for the luxury magazine Harper's Bazaar for many years. Later, she served as the editor-in-chief of Vogue. She also worked as a special consultant to the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1964, she was honored by being named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame. She even coined that very term in 1965.

Her professional life was defined by a bold and imaginative approach to fashion. At Harper's Bazaar, she wrote a famous column titled "Why Don't You...?" This column featured whimsical and often strange suggestions for her readers. For instance, she once asked why a blond child's hair was not washed in dead champagne. She also had a keen eye for talent and discovered the model Lauren Bacall. During World War II, Vreeland directed a March 1943 cover shoot featuring Bacall near a Red Cross office. Vreeland believed that fashion magazines must provide a distinct point of view for their readers.

Vreeland's early life was filled with international travel and high society. She was born Diana Dalziel in Paris in 1903. Her mother, Emily Key Hoffman, was an American socialite. Her father, Frederick Young Dalziel, was a British stockbroker. Her family lived in Paris before moving to New York City during World War I. As a young girl, she trained in dance under Michel Fokine and Louis Harvy Chalif. She even performed in Anna Pavlova's Gavotte at Carnegie Hall. In 1922, she was already appearing in Vogue as a notable socialite.

Her personal life included marriage and family transitions. In 1924, she married Thomas Reed Vreeland, an international financier. They had two sons, Tim and Frederick. Their lives moved between New York, London, and Brewster, New York. While in London, Vreeland danced with the Tiller Girls and met her lifelong friend, Cecil Beaton. She also ran a lingerie business near Berkeley Square. In 1933, she was one of fifteen American women presented to King George V and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace. These experiences helped shape her sophisticated worldview.

During the 1960s, Vreeland reached the peak of her power as editor-in-chief of Vogue. She held this position from 1963 until 1971. She embraced the decade's celebration of uniqueness and individuality. Vreeland famously noted that a physical trait like a bump on a nose did not matter if one had good carriage. She encouraged designers to push boundaries and be creative. When Rudi Gernreich presented the idea of a topless swimsuit, she urged him to make it a reality. This design became known as the monokini.

Vreeland's influence extended into the highest levels of American government. In 1960, she became an advisor to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy regarding matters of style. She helped connect Mrs. Kennedy with the designer Oleg Cassini. Vreeland observed that the White House could sometimes seem plain compared to the world of fashion. Despite her massive cultural impact, her personal earnings were modest. At Harper's Bazaar, she earned a salary of $18,000 a year for many years. She only received a $1,000 raise in 1959.

Her departure from Vogue in 1971 marked the end of a major era in fashion publishing. She was let go because she was often over her budget and acted as a tyrant in the office. However, her legacy as a "genius fashion editor" remains. She viewed fashion as a way to provide direction and leadership to the public. Her life and work have been captured in the 2012 documentary, "The Eye Has to Travel." She remains a central figure in the history of 20th-century style.