Elizabeth Taylor was the antithesis of today’s Hollywood fashion icon, who is eager to be seen as an everywoman. She was always dressed like a movie star: hair done, makeup on and lots of jewelry. Never would you see Taylor in jeans and a T-shirt. And while she was famous for her Oscars, iconic roles and many husbands, she was most renowned for her beauty — the violet, almond-shaped eyes, creamy skin, pouty lips and raven hair. She died Wednesday at 79 from congestive heart failure.
“She was incredibly beautiful, funny, smart, charming and super-glamorous,” said designer Michael Kors. “In today’s world, people who combine all of those attributes with a big life in the public eye and a big talent are few and far between. One of a kind means just that — there is just one.”
The public saw her mature from a young curly haired tomboy in “National Velvet” to the sultry “Cleopatra.” Yet no matter the time, place or role, her glamour was consistent, and that was inspiring to women, even if they could never quite replicate it.
“Every quality that we consider classically beautiful, she had,” said Amy Keller Laird, beauty director of Allure. “She was sexy and girlish at once, she had both those qualities all through her life.”
In 1951, Taylor showed off her legendary 19-inch waist in a strapless dress with a bodice top, full tulle skirt and delicate flowers at the neckline designed by Edith Head. InStyle fashion director Hal Rubenstein said the outfit was the “blueprint for prom dresses of the ’50s.”
She had the same influence on lingerie styles after she wore a lace-trimmed slip in “Butterfield 8.” And black kohl eyeliner was all the rage after “Cleopatra.”
Somehow, she even made caftans stylish in the ’70s, Rubenstein said with a laugh.
Rubenstein said he had the pleasure of meeting her a few times. “As a child, she was eerily beautiful — she never had a child’s face, and as a woman, she was unmatchably beautiful,” he said.
In person, the most striking thing about her was her impeccable features, but her broader appeal, the one the world saw in photographs, was her overall glamour, he said.
“When she walked into a room, she just had the most amazing presence about her,” added designer Elizabeth Emanuel, who is best-known as Princess Diana’s wedding dress designer but who also made several looks for Taylor, including caftans. “She was just incredible.”
The big studios trained her to always step out the door as glamourpuss Elizabeth Taylor: She wore the role of movie star all the time, and she didn’t apologize for it.
Her longevity as a style influencer is proven by the longtime success of her fragrance collections launched with Elizabeth Arden. White Diamonds, which followed 1980s-era Passion and was one of the original celebrity perfumes, has been a beauty-counter best-seller for 20 years.
The fragrances will continue, according to a company statement. “Our best tribute to Elizabeth Taylor will be to continue the legacy of the brands she created and loved so much,” said chairman and CEO E. Scott Beattie.
“White Diamonds is still one of our readers’ favorite fragrances. The fact that hers has stood the test of time, even though every hot celebrity has a fragrance, says a lot about her as a beauty icon,” said Allure’s Laird.
