Fashion Friday: Harper’s Bazaar, 1940
In 1940, Vivien Leigh appeared in the pages of Harper’s Bazaar as a fashion model. For Vivien, modeling designer clothing was nothing new. She’d been appearing in fashion magazines since the 1930s.
The photographer for this particular shoot was George Hoyningen-Huene, who was well-renowned in the field of fashion photography. The clothing came from Henri Bendel, a NYC based department store (which is still in business today).
In these photographs, Vivien wears two different velvet skirts, each topped with a lamé blouse. The first skirt is made from black, chiffon velvet. Chiffon velvet is simply a lighter weight than normally expected from velvet. To top off the skirt, Vivien wears a beautiful melon-pink blouse made from Bianchini silk. The lamé blouse ties in the middle, providing that cinched-waist look. The retail price of this outfit was $135.
In this next image, Vivien is pictured wearing a full skirt, made from black, rayon velvet. Vivien wears a silver lamé top, with a striking, silver lace trim around the collar, lapels and bottom of the blouse. I can only imagine how stunning both blouses would be in color! The retail price of this outfit was $165.
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