Diana Vreeland
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Diana Vreeland (July 29, 1903 in Paris, France – August 22, 1989) was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion.
She was born Diana Dalziel (pronounced Dee-ell), the eldest daughter of a British father, Frederick Young Dalziel and an American mother, Emily Key Hoffman, a socialite who was a descendant of George Washington's brother as well as a cousin of Francis Scott Key. Vreeland had one sister, Alexandra. She also was a distant cousin of Pauline de Rothschild.
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[edit] Biography
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Vreeland's family emigrated to the United States at the outbreak of World War I, and moved to 15 East 77th Street in New York, where they became prominent figures in society.
On March 1, 1924, she married Thomas Reed Vreeland, a banker, at St. Thomas' Church in New York, with whom she would have two sons: Thomas Reed Vreeland, Jr., and Frederick Dalziel Vreeland. A week before her wedding, it was reported in The New York Times that her mother, Emily, had been named correspondent in the divorce proceedings of Sir Charles Ross and his second wife, Patricia. The ensuing society scandal estranged Vreeland and her mother, who died in September 1928 in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
After their honeymoon, the newlyweds moved to Albany, New York and raised their two sons – Thomas, Jr. and Frederick (later U.S. ambassador to Morocco)– staying there until 1929. They then moved to 17 Hanover Terrace, Regent's Park, London, previously the home of Wilkie Collins and Edmund Gosse. During her time in London, she danced with the Tiller Girls. Like Syrie Maugham and Elsie de Wolfe, other society women that ran their own boutiques, Diana operated a lingerie business near Berkeley Square whose clients included Wallis Simpson and Mona Williams. While living in London, she lived a luxurious life. She enjoyed playing tennis with Gertrude Lawrence in Regent's Park every morning.
She often visited Paris, where she would buy her clothes, mostly from Chanel, whom she had met in 1926. She was one of fifteen American women presented to King George V and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace on May 18, 1933.
She also befriended photographer Cecil Beaton, composer Cole Porter, art critic Sacheverell Sitwell, artist Christian Berard, and writer Evelyn Waugh. Of Waugh she later recounted "I adored his books. I mean Vile Bodies – wasn't it great? He was writing about a whole society that existed in London – wonderful looking girls and wonderful fellas, some of them grew up to be somebody, some of them just didn't, but at that particular moment they were just marvellous. They were so crazy, they were rather wild – crazy as only the English can be. That's the London I walked into – it existed from I guess about 1927, 1928, right through to about 1935 -- and then it was pretty much over."
In 1937, her husband's job brought them back to New York, where they lived for the remainder of their lives. He died in 1967.
[edit] Career (Editor)
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Her publishing career began in 1936 as columnist for Harper's Bazaar. Over the next 25 years she worked closely with Louise Dahl-Wolfe and became Fashion Editor for the magazine. She joined Vogue in 1963, where she was editor-in-chief until 1971, when she was fired. During her tenure at the magazine she discovered Edie Sedgwick.
[edit] Career (Curator)
She became consultant to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1971. Artist Greer Lankton created a life size portrait doll of Vreeland that is on display at the museum.
[edit] Career (author)
In 1984, Vreeland wrote her autobiography, D.V.
[edit] Fictional portrayals
Playwright Mark Hampton wrote a play about Vreeland called Full Gallop; it was based on Vreeland's memoirs. The play starred Hampton's co-author Mary Louise Wilson.
Vreeland was portrayed in the film Infamous (2006) by Juliet Stevenson. She was also portrayed in the film Factory Girl (2006) by Ileana Douglas. In 1957's Funny Face, the character of Maggie Prescott (as portrayed by Kay Thompson) was said to be at least partly based on Vreeland. Vreeland's famous quote, "I love that pink! Pink is the navy blue of India!" certainly inspired the "Think Pink" number in the film. Meryl Streep some what based her performance in The Devil Wears Prada off of Vreeland finding inspiration from the editor's memoir.
| Preceded by Jessica Daves |
Editor of American Vogue 1963–1971 |
Succeeded by Grace Mirabella |
