Lauren Bacall – Death of a Fashion Icon

There were few women more stylish and inherently sexy than Lauren Bacall . When she died last week at the age of 89, Hollywood mourned not just a talented and smouldering actress, but a woman of immense passion, verve and glamor, both on and of the silver screen.

Always making headlines throughout her life, whether it be for her marriage to Humphrey Bogart and his admittedly chequered past sexual conquests and love life, or through her own impeccable screen presence and the fact she dared to be that little bit different, through all of it Bacall’s fashion sense shone through.

She was known for her friendships with Yve St Laurent and a great admirer of Diana Vreeland too. This made sure that when she put on an outfit she wore it, rather than the other way round. Her way was, in many ways a total opposite to many of the other wordly Hollywood glamor-pusses of the day such as Monroe, Mansfield and Gardner. Favoring cleaner lines, simple shapes and fabrics – there was still an innate sensuality to her image, and without the need to bare too much flesh. Some would say she had a slightly androgynous chic to her too – her poses for photos were sometimes slightly masculine, but still incredibly elegant and timeless. Alongside actresses like Marlene Dietrich, she carried off this unusual, sexy-but-not-quite-sure-why-or-how look with ease.

Bacall often also favoured accessories and make up to complement a simple outfit, rather than focussing on wearing something glitzy and showy, feeling that dressing down to dress up was more the key. She epitomized a Spartan glamor and even to the end she remained timelessly chic and able to carry off her look with easy aplomb.

Her look is probably much easier to carry off than many others, it’s easy, relaxed, adaptable and suits all body shapes whether waif like or Hepburn-esque or a slightly more curvy figure.

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