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legends
August 13, 2014

Lauren Bacall Could Teach You a Thing or 2 About Style

By Isabel Wilkinson and Véronique Hyland

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Photo: Keystone/Getty Images

When Lauren Bacall strode into a room — dress shirt open and tucked into high-waisted pants, a long chain dangling below her braless sternum, sunglasses covering her most of her face — men practically flew from their chairs at the chance to light her cigarette. Her deep, confident voice, insouciant gaze, and perfectly molded waves made her, perhaps, the original embodiment of Effortless Glamour.

From her early days as a department-store model to her later years as a Hollywood legend, Bacall — who died yesterday at the age of 89 — was a style icon in the truest sense of the word. She was discovered by Diana Vreeland, then editor in chief of Harper’s Bazaar, when she was 16 and a year later, in 1943, debuted on the magazine’s cover, where she was reimagined as a Red Cross nurse, with red lips, a sultry expression, and what soon became her signature shiny waves.*

Photo: Louise Dahl-Wolfe for Harper’s Bazaar

The powerful Hollywood director Howard Hawks (at the suggestion of his wife, Slim) saw the issue and took a chance, casting Bacall in To Have and Have Not opposite Humphrey Bogart. (“You do know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve?” she famously told him in that movie. “You just put your lips together and … blow.”)


Bacall soon became known for her alluring looks and raspy voice that was, according to The Guardian, honed into a wolfish growl thanks to two packs of cigarettes a day early on. And, through much of her career, there were always men around to light those cigarettes: Bogart again in To Have and Have Not (“Anybody got a match?”), whom she married in 1945 (at age 21) and stayed with until his death in 1957 — and later Frank Sinatra and actor Jason Robards Jr.

The star was an early adopter of the jumpsuit and coveralls trends still beloved by today’s fashion set, managing to make even a rumpled denim all-in-one look somehow alluring. (The red lip and cascading waves helped.) She favored items of clothing that showed off her midriff as early as the ‘40s — like cutout dresses and bandeau tops — and became a lover of silky, liquid lamé. She befriended many designers, including Pierre Cardin, Yves Saint Laurent, and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Click through our slideshow for highlights of Lauren Bacall’s incredible, stylish life, from the early years all the way to her later pantsuits and the red carpets where she carried her pet papillon, Sophie, under one arm.

* This post has been corrected to show that Bacall was 16, not 17, when Diana Vreeland discovered her, debuted on Harper’s Bazaar in 1943, not 1944, and was 21, not 20, when she married Humphrey Bogart. 

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1 / 49 Photos
A femme fatale photo shoot from the early 1940s, when the actress was only 19. Photo: Transcendental Graphics
She chose a bold tie-neck blouse for a 1945 publicity photo. Photo: Bettman/Corbis
With Bogart on the set of To Have and Have Not, the movie they first met on. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
A bold orange turtleneck and a matching bold lip, circa the '40s. Photo: Corbis
In 1945, she showed off a customary combination: striped tailored dress, smart wedges, and a cigarette. Photo: Ralph Crane/Ralph Crane
Traveling in style with her dog, 1945. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
"Maybe it's just a hold-over from my modeling days, when I had to dress to the nines whether I felt like it or not, but I just don't like to doll... "Maybe it's just a hold-over from my modeling days, when I had to dress to the nines whether I felt like it or not, but I just don't like to doll up for my own admiration," the casualwear enthusiast told her interviewer on this 1945 shoot. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
In 1946, the actress got bookish in a wool suit, the work of designer Leah Rhodes. Photo: Keystone/Getty Images
Only she could ably ride a bike in a full skirt, 1948. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
In her signature high-waisted trousers, 1948. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Glamorizing smoking on set in 1948. Photo: Alfred Eisenstaedt/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Strong shoulders and bold color in an undated publicity still. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Accessorizing with pearls in 1950. Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Sophisticated lounging-at-home style, circa 1950. Photo: Silver Screen Collection/2011 Silver Screen Collection
She was dubbed "Languorous Lauren" in this 1950 publicity shot. Photo: John Kobal Foundation
She wore a white lace blouse to play opposite Kirk Douglas in the 1950 film Young Man With a Horn. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Animal instinct: sporting a zebra-striped top and lizard-skin shoes, 1954. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
A snappily dressed family: with Bogart and their son Steve in 1952. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Soaking up the sun in a minidress at her Brentwood home, 1954. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Working a statement necklace in 1955. Photo: Hulton Archive
A master of color-blocking, mid-1950s. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
In 1955, she and her daughter Leslie adorably matched plaids. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The most glamorous of gowns, in 1956. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
With Rock Hudson in Douglas Sirk's Written on the Wind, 1956. Photo: Archive Photos/2012 Getty Images
The dog lover sported clean-cut separates and a wide-brimmed hat in 1957. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
It's hard to know where to look, between Bacall's fur bodice and a young Frank Sinatra, 1957. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Early to the blanket-skirt trend in Goodbye Charlie, 1959. Photo: Gjon Mili
In 1965, she danced onstage in full flower-child fashion while starring in the Broadway play Cactus Flower. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Bold sequins for her 1966 star turn in the musical Applause. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
After the performance, she joked around with co-star Eli Wallach. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
High-flying style (note the ladylike purse) with her children circa 1961. Photo: Hulton Archive
Fresh from a Paris flight, with a draped fur coat, a Chanel bag, and not a hair out of place, 1961. Photo: New York Daily News Archive/1961/Daily New... Fresh from a Paris flight, with a draped fur coat, a Chanel bag, and not a hair out of place, 1961. Photo: New York Daily News Archive/1961/Daily News, L.P. (New York)
She picked a surprisingly low-key frock for her 1961 wedding to Jason Robards. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
A dream of a gown, complete with pockets, in 1966. Photo: Jack Mitchell
One of her many fashion-designer friends was Yves Saint Laurent, here with her in Paris in 1968. Photo: CBS Photo Archive/1968 CBS Photo Archive
Head-to-toe white, ladylike earrings, and a knowing expression in 1968. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
With Pierre Cardin in 1968. Photo: CBS Photo Archive/2004 CBS WORLDWIDE INC.
Note the dramatic choker and full sleeve, circa 1970. Photo: Baron
She wasn't afraid to pair a sweeping feathered hat with a bold fur, circa 1974. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Political accessorizing: Woody Allen gives the actress a Jimmy Carter pin at a rally for the candidate, circa 1976. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Rese... Political accessorizing: Woody Allen gives the actress a Jimmy Carter pin at a rally for the candidate, circa 1976. Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Arriving, Louis Vuitton bag in tow, at the Oscars rehearsals in 1975. Photo: Ron Galella
An avant-garde take on overalls, 1980. Photo: Walter McBride/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Menswear chic on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1983. Photo: NBC/¬© NBC Universal, Inc.
With the ultimate accessory, a Golden Globe, in 1993. Photo: Ron Galella Ltd
Bacall loved a suit, and this all-white one made an impact at a 1991 AFI ceremony. Photo: Ron Galella Ltd
Kissing up to a fellow blonde: Gwyneth Paltrow. Photo: Time & Life Pictures/Time & Life Pictures
A silver fox at the 2000 Film Fest. Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd.
Sophie and a be-suited Bacall at the premiere of The Walker in 2007. Photo: Malcolm Taylor/2007 Getty Images
She chose a sweeping cocoa-colored gown to accept an honor from the Academy in 2009. Photo: ROBYN BECK/2012 AFP
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  • lauren bacall
  • old hollywood
  • star style
  • legends
  • diana vreeland
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