Diana Vreeland

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Vreeland began her publishing career in 1936 as a columnist for Harper's Bazaar, writing the column 'Why Don't You...?' One of her most famous suggestions was to 'wash your blond child's hair in dead champagne, as they do in France.' During World War II, she 'discovered' the then-unknown Lauren Bacall, directing the March 1943 Harper's Bazaar cover showing Bacall leaning against a Red Cross blood donor room door. Vreeland worked closely with Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Richard Avedon, Nancy White, and Alexey Brodovitch. In 1962 she joined Vogue, becoming editor-in-chief from 1963 until 1971. During her tenure, she encouraged Rudi Gernreich to produce the monokini after he showed her the design, telling him, 'If there's a picture of it, it's an actuality. You must make it.' She advised First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on style, connecting her with fashion designer Oleg Cassini. Vreeland coined the term youthquake in 1965. She was let go from Vogue in 1971, chronically over-budget and, though good-natured, a tyrant in the office.

Reader's Guide

Diana Vreeland's significance lies in her transformative influence on fashion journalism and editing. At Harper's Bazaar, her imaginative 'Why Don't You...?' column and her eye for talent, such as discovering Lauren Bacall, set a new standard for fashion media. As editor-in-chief of Vogue during the 1960s, she championed individuality and celebrated uniqueness, coining the term 'youthquake' to capture the era's cultural shift. Her advice to Jacqueline Kennedy helped shape the public image of the First Lady. After leaving Vogue, she served as a special consultant to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, further cementing her legacy. Vreeland's impact on fashion and popular culture endures, as seen in the 2012 biographical documentary 'The Eye has to Travel.'

Did You Know?

• Vreeland was born Diana Dalziel in Paris in 1903 and lived at 5 avenue du Bois-de-Boulogne, known as Avenue Foch after World War I.
• She performed in Anna Pavlova's Gavotte at Carnegie Hall as a child.
• Vreeland's column 'Why Don't You...?' was parodied by S. J. Perelman in The New Yorker, outraging her editor Carmel Snow.
• She was paid $18,000 a year from 1936 at Harper's Bazaar, with only a $1,000 raise in 1959.
• Vreeland had Billy Baldwin decorate her apartment entirely in red, saying, 'I want this place to look like a garden, but a garden in hell.'