Diana Vreeland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Diana Vreeland
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Diana Vreeland (1979) by Horst P. Horst
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| Born |
Diana Dalziel
September 29, 1903 Paris, France
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| Died | August 22, 1989 (aged 85) New York City, U.S.
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| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1936–89 |
| Employer | Hearst Corporation and Condé Nast Publications |
| Agent | Irving Paul Lazar |
| Title | Editor-in-chief of Vogue |
| Term | 1963–71 |
| Predecessor | Jessica Daves |
| Successor | Grace Mirabella |
| Spouse(s) |
Thomas Reed Vreeland
(m. 1924; died 1966) |
| Children | 2, including Frederick Vreeland |
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Diana Vreeland (born September 29, 1903 – died August 22, 1989) was a famous French-American fashion writer and editor. She worked for important fashion magazines like Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. Later, she became a special advisor for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. She was known for her unique style and was added to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1964. Diana Vreeland also created the popular term youthquake in 1965, which described the big changes in youth culture and fashion during the 1960s.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Diana Dalziel was born in Paris, France, in 1903. Her mother, Emily Key Hoffman, was an American socialite, and her father, Frederick Young Dalziel, was a British stockbroker. Emily Hoffman was even related to George Washington's family! Diana also had a younger sister named Alexandra.
When World War I started, Diana's family moved to New York City in the United States. They became well-known in New York society. Diana loved dancing and even took lessons from famous ballet masters like Michel Fokine. She performed at Carnegie Hall, a very famous music venue. In 1922, when she was a young woman, she was featured in Vogue magazine, which was a hint of her future career!
On March 1, 1924, Diana married Thomas Reed Vreeland, a banker. They had two sons: Tim (Thomas Reed Vreeland, Jr.), who became an architect, and Frecky (Frederick Dalziel Vreeland), who later became a U.S. ambassador. Sadly, Diana's mother passed away in September 1928.
After their wedding, the Vreelands lived in Brewster, New York, for a few years. In 1929, they moved to London, England. In London, Diana continued to be involved in fashion and even ran her own lingerie business. She met famous people like Cecil Beaton, a photographer, and often visited Paris to buy clothes from designers like Chanel. In 1933, she was presented to King George V and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace. In 1935, her husband's job brought them back to New York, where they stayed.
Diana Vreeland later said that before she started working for Harper's Bazaar in 1936, she had a "wonderful life in Europe." She enjoyed traveling, seeing beautiful places, and learning a lot. A movie about her life, called Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel, was released in 2012.
Career in Fashion
Working at Harper's Bazaar (1936–1962)
Diana Vreeland started her career in magazines in 1936 at Harper's Bazaar. This magazine is a guide for women's style, showing new trends and the work of top stylists, photographers, and designers. The editor, Carmel Snow, was so impressed by Diana's fashion sense that she offered her a job.
From 1936 until she left, Diana wrote a popular column called "Why Don't You...?". This column was full of fun and imaginative ideas. For example, she once wrote, "Why don't you...Turn your child into an Infanta for a fancy-dress party?" Another famous suggestion was, "Why Don't You wash your blond child's hair in dead champagne, as they do in France?"
During World War II, Diana Vreeland helped "discover" the actress Lauren Bacall, who was not famous yet. Lauren Bacall appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar in March 1943, thanks to Diana's direction. Diana was always focused on fashion. In 1946, she famously said that the "bikini is the most important thing since the atom bomb!" She didn't like the typical fashion in America during the 1940s, especially "strappy high-heel shoes" and "crêpe de chine dresses" worn in summer.
At Harper's Bazaar, she worked closely with famous photographers like Richard Avedon. Avedon once called her "the only genius fashion editor." In 1955, the Vreelands moved to a new apartment that Diana had decorated entirely in red. She wanted it to look like "a garden in hell." Many famous people, like composer Cole Porter, attended their parties. In 1957, a movie musical called Funny Face even had a character based on Diana Vreeland!
In 1960, when John F. Kennedy became president, Diana Vreeland advised First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on her style. Diana helped connect Jackie with fashion designer Oleg Cassini, who became her main designer. Diana felt that the White House at the time was "plain" and helped Jackie make it more stylish.
Even though she was very successful, Diana Vreeland was paid a relatively small salary by the Hearst Corporation, which owned Harper's Bazaar.
Leading Vogue (1963–1971) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art
In 1962, Diana Vreeland left Harper's Bazaar and joined Vogue. She became the editor-in-chief in 1963 and held that role until 1971. Diana loved the 1960s because she felt it was a time when people celebrated being unique. She believed that small imperfections, like "a bump on your nose," didn't matter as long as you had confidence and good style.
Diana would send creative memos to her staff, encouraging them to think outside the box. One famous memo said, "Today let's think pig white! Wouldn't it be wonderful to have stockings that were pig white! The color of baby pigs, not quite white and not quite pink!" During her time at Vogue, she helped discover Edie Sedgwick, a famous "youthquake" star of the 1960s. Diana believed that fashion magazines should give people a clear point of view and direction.
After she was fired from Vogue in 1971, Diana Vreeland became a special consultant to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She organized many popular fashion exhibitions there. By 1984, she had put together twelve major shows. There's even a life-size doll of Diana Vreeland created by artist Greer Lankton in the Costume Institute's library.
Later Years and Legacy
In 1984, Diana Vreeland wrote her autobiography, which was called D.V. She passed away in 1989 at the age of 85 from a heart attack in New York City.
Today, the Diana Vreeland Estate is managed by her grandson, Alexander Vreeland. He works to keep her legacy alive. The official Diana Vreeland website, launched in 2011, shares her work and influence, showing how she became such a famous and important figure in fashion.
Diana Vreeland in Films
Diana Vreeland has been shown in several movies. She was played by Juliet Stevenson in the film Infamous (2006) and by Illeana Douglas in Factory Girl (2006). Her life was also the subject of the documentary Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2011). More recently, Diana Vreeland Parfums was featured in the opening scene of the movie Ocean's 8.
See also
- Monk with a Camera, a film about Nicholas Vreeland, who is Diana Vreeland's grandson.
