GLAMOUR PHOTOGRAFY

"The hat is not for the street: it will never be democratized. But there are certain houses that one cannot enter without a hat. And one must always wear a hat when lunching with people whom one does not know well. One appears to one's best advantage."

Today, travel & fashion collide, as we catch a breathtaking glimpse of the beautiful world of hats, exploring some of the new and best millinery studios around the world, discovering a little of their history, and concluding with a few tips for wearing and preserving these impossibly chic fashion accessories.


Above: Diana, Princess of Wales, wears tartan by Caroline Charles and a beret to the Braemar Games, September 1981

{1957 -- joanna mccormick for chanel}

I remember the first time I fell in love with the work of Henry Clarke (1918-1996) -- it was as if I were falling, falling into a world of impossible elegance and incredible sophistication . . .

Included are a few photographs not published in the original post. Although Clarke's work reached its height in the 1950's and 60's, it will always remain timeless.

{1953 - suzy parker for mauboussin}

{1959 - rose-marie for givenchy}

{1959 -- ann sainte-marie for saks}

*see also:
post war elegance
indelible images of elegance

{images: scanned by frederic at fashion cosmos}

{1968 -- Actress Tina Aumont (daughter of Jean-Pierre Aumont and Maria Montez)}

. . . recently discovered the terribly sophisiticated and stunningly beautiful work of Henry Clarke (1918-1996), an haute couture photographer whose work reached its height in the 1950's and 60's.

{1959 -- Simone Dayancourt, above & below}

Born in Los Angeles, Clarke's family moved to San Francisco in 1932, where he got a job as a window dresser for the I. Magnin department store. In 1946, he went to New York and became a background and accessorizing assistant at the Vogue studio, where, while watching Cecil Beaton photograph model Dorian Leigh, he decided on becoming a fashion photographer.

He worked under contract to the American, French and British Vogues from 1950 to the late 70's. During the editorial reign of Diana Vreeland, when jet travel made exotic locations more accessible, he traveled to India, Sicily, Mexico, Iran, Jordan and Syria for features that often took up to 20 incredible pages.

{1967 -- Princess Ira von Furstenberg reclining on pillows in Ungaro outfit of striped jacket, matching pullover, and dark pants}

He died of leukemia on April 26, 1996 in the south of France at the age of 77. His photographs of haute couture and of the stylish and oftentimes royal women who wore it, were published in a book titled, L'Elegance des Annees Cinquante.

{1965 -- Baroness Fiona Thyssen-Bornemisza on carved rosewood settee}

{1966 -- model wearing asymmetrical chartreuse chiffon dress by Malcolm Starr}

{1952 -- Comtesse Consuelo Crespi}

{1954}

{1957 -- Margaret Philips}

{1953}

{1951}

{images: © Condé Nast Archive; agentlee; CORBIS; nytimes.com }