Monday, March 4, 2013

Diana Vreeland: The Eye has to Travel

Over the weekend I netflixed a very cool documentary. It is called "Diana Vreeland: The Eye has to Travel."


This short biopic showcases the life of one of the most influential fashion icons in history, Diana Vreeland, who was the fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar and eventually editor-in-chief of Vogue.

From the 1930s until the 1970s, Diana Vreeland WAS fashion.


She was an editor more terrifying than Anna Wintour. She was close friends with Coco Chanel. She brought the bikini to the United States.


She discovered future Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall, was the fashion adviser for First Lady Jackie Kennedy, launched Twiggy's career, and was instrumental in the modeling paths of Cher, Edie Sedgwick, Barbra Streisand, and a jaw-dropping number of iconic supermodels.



She celebrated physical flaws by accentuating models' quirky characteristics. For example, when she featured Barbra Streisand on the cover of Vogue, she focused prominence on Barbra's large nose, which was considered unattractive at the time. The photo shoot was legendary and changed people's perception of the famous singer.


The reason supermodels today are not cookie-cutter perfectly sculpted blondes is based on her direct influence. If it was not for Diana Vreeland, supermodels like mole-faced Cindy Crawford, gap-toothed Lauren Hutton, and wide-faced Tyra Banks would never have made it in the industry.

Some believe Diana's obsession with the imperfect stemmed from her own insecurities. Growing up, the socialite was always deemed "ugly" by her gorgeous wealthy mother.


By the 1970s, Diana was already a living legend. Instead of retiring into obscurity, the elderly style icon partied with Andy Warhol at Studio 54 and flirted with handsome movie stars Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty in Hollywood.


She died of a heart attack in 1986.


What do you think of Diana Vreeland? Did you know much about her before? Have you seen this documentary?
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31 comments:

  1. MelanieMarch 4, 2013 at 1:59 PM

    I had never heard of her before! I love that you mention people that we all should know about but alas we do not!! So she is the reason why imperfection in modeling is grand? Well I'll have to give her a round of applause for doing that! =)

    Ergo - Blog

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  2. Priyanka SachetiMarch 4, 2013 at 2:10 PM


    I have always associated Diana Vreeland with her famous remark, "Pink is the navy blue of India."

    However, other than that, I knew little about her so nice to learn more...especially about her efforts to introduce imperfection into the modelling arena.

    Would definitely like to catch that documentary about her!

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  3. AnonymousMarch 4, 2013 at 3:58 PM

    I have not heard of her before this post but it's amazing that she launched some of my favorite models' careers!
    www.kawaiicoffee.blogspot.com

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  4. A Very Sweet BlogMarch 4, 2013 at 8:18 PM

    I've never seen that documentary but did read about her. She was a visionary! Excellent synopsis Jen.
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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  5. Dina's DaysMarch 4, 2013 at 10:00 PM

    I haven't heard of her before. I love what she did with Barbara's photo. Now if only these models will eat a burrito or two....

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  6. SherinMarch 5, 2013 at 1:29 AM

    I love her! I saw this documentary a few months ago and thought it was incredible! She seemed like such an incredible woman.

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  7. FASHION TALESMarch 5, 2013 at 5:20 AM

    I have not seen this entire documentary, but heard about it. I will have to grab it soon. Iconic and amazing lady! Great post Jenn. xx/Madison

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  8. Couture CarrieMarch 5, 2013 at 11:22 AM

    Amaaaaaaazing review and pics!
    Must see this documentary!

    xoxox,
    CC

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  9. Tights LoverMarch 5, 2013 at 11:35 AM

    I hadn't heard of her, but I'd definitely love to check out that documentary...she was behind so many amazing people!

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  10. JosieMarch 5, 2013 at 1:17 PM

    I'm putting this on my to-watch list -- it sounds so good!
    xo Josie
    www.winksmilestyle.com

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  11. ravenlocksMarch 5, 2013 at 1:21 PM

    I feel very unfashionable because I don't think I've ever heard of her. But I do recognize her work with models. I've always loved models with "flaws." It's because of what she did that I felt better about myself when I was younger. Everyone in school looked the same (or tried to) and Diana made it cool to look different. This is one of the reasons why I started to love fashion...flaws in models were considered beautiful. I LOVED seeing unique models in Vogue, W, and Harper's Bazaar. Now I know where it all started from :) Thanks, Jen <3

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  12. UnknownMarch 5, 2013 at 2:32 PM

    It's crazy I haven't ever heard about her before, she was incredible talented and her work looks great, I will research and try to find the documentary because sounds pretty interesting, I love Barbra's pic is really natural and special.
    Kisses
    City-aholic.blogspot.com.es

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  13. Blond DuckMarch 5, 2013 at 9:12 PM

    I'd love to learn more about her.

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  14. UnknownMarch 5, 2013 at 11:46 PM

    Hi Jennifer! It was lovely to have you visit my blog :) I am a big fan of your blog and have read all the posts in it :)

    http://everythingthatclicks.blogspot.com

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  15. Glam up your LifestyleMarch 6, 2013 at 12:05 AM

    A really interesting post. You girl have a great blog.

    Glamupyourlifestyle.blogspot.de

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  16. UnknownMarch 6, 2013 at 2:27 AM

    Thanks for leaving the sweet comment :) You are quite famous in my office with many people reading your blog! One of the girls has reached Oct 2010 :D

    http://everythingthatclicks.blogspot.com

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  17. AnonymousMarch 6, 2013 at 2:29 AM

    I followed you ;)

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  18. Aditi SoSareeMarch 6, 2013 at 5:53 AM

    WOW..i m in love with this post.
    There are so many ppl involvled in making fashion what it is today.
    APpreciate u sharing it.
    Following u now.

    Aditi
    So-Saree
    www.sosaree.blogspot.in

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  19. Loving EvelynMarch 6, 2013 at 5:57 AM

    I didn't know her
    http://loving-evelyn.blogspot.ro

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  20. FashionJazzMarch 6, 2013 at 6:42 AM

    I loved reading this! Hope you been well babe! Mwah xx

    wwww.fashionjazz.co.za/blog

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  21. ImogenMarch 6, 2013 at 6:55 AM

    I don't know much about her but I would like to. I have heard the name around a lot recently so I think that would be really interesting.

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  22. Cafe FashionistaMarch 6, 2013 at 7:37 AM

    I worship Diana Vreeland. And now that I've seen this, I recommend that you look into the life of Grace Coddington - you would find her fascinating.

    P.S. It's definitely a sign - you need that skirt in your life! :)

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  23. UnknownMarch 6, 2013 at 8:46 AM

    Thank you so much <3
    xxx

    http://infinityuniverse-ema.blogspot.pt/

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  24. ravenlocksMarch 6, 2013 at 12:57 PM

    Quick question. I forgot to ask you...

    Did you ever hear about Hugo Boss and the Nazi uniforms connection? Ever since you wrote about Chanel and the Nazis, I've been wondering about other designers.

    And then I came across something else. Fucking Hugo Boss. Apparently he made the uniforms for the nazis using slave labor. Thought you might find this interesting:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2040943/Hitlers-Tailor-Hugo-Boss-apologises-using-slave-labour-make-Nazi-uniforms.html

    Crazy shit!

    xo Azu

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  25. Oh to Be a MuseMarch 6, 2013 at 2:24 PM

    I knew her name but I didn't know her title. I can tell that she was a friend of Coco Chanel's based on how she styles herself.

    www.ohtobeamuse.com

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  26. meghan silvaMarch 6, 2013 at 5:33 PM

    Gorgeous post , very interesting read.

    xo Meg<3

    Meghan Silva's Blog

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  27. Blond DuckMarch 6, 2013 at 9:15 PM

    Have you ever seen the documentary on Gigi?

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  28. AbhilashaMarch 6, 2013 at 10:05 PM

    wow!! i had no idea...what an interesting read (the post) and what a lovely find (ur blog)
    looking forward to many more...n so im ur latest fan n follower...love
    lookingoodfeelingfab.blogspot.in
    do drop by

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  29. UnknownMarch 7, 2013 at 9:52 AM

    I've never seen this documentary before, and to be honest, I didn't know about her! Thanks so much for sharing! I feel so much more educated now! I'm always up for learning about new things =D

    http://sensiblestylista.blogspot.com/

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  30. AnnMarch 7, 2013 at 11:15 AM

    I have not seen the documentary
    but she's really famous so I know her my Mom used to talk about her. She's just so influential in the fashion world and she's so classy.
    But I didn't know she's terrifying.

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  31. fabulousjunkMarch 8, 2013 at 10:46 AM

    This makes me want to see the documentary even more! Thanks for another awesome post :)

    becks
    http://fabulous-junk.blogspot.com

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