Way before there was a Cindy or Naomi, or Linda or Christy and way… way before there was a Giselle, or Lara (as in Stone) …There was Suzy. In the 1950’s Suzy Parker was the Supermodel of the day. Suzy was photographed in an era that was classic and refined. Suzy Parker had a sister named Dorian Leigh. Together, the sisters were two of the most sought after models in the 1950’s. (That must have been one heck of a gene pool that their parents passed down). 

 As we look to the week ahead I thought it might be nice to take a look back when clothing was classic and models followed suit. 

As my mother always said: “Good taste never goes out of style.”  

Circa 1951 Suzy Parker photographed by Lillian Bassman

Suzy Selling Chanel!

Suzy could make ANYTHING Glamorous!

Before there were lucrative cosmetic contracts, celebrities posing as models and really bad “Model Behavior” there was Suzy Parker.   Suzy was the first model to earn $200 per hour and $100,000 per year (mind you-we are talking 1950’s wages).  With that much bank-I definitely think that we can all acknowledge that Suzy was SUPER-thus the moniker SUPERMODEL, would surely fit. Please sit down Janice Dickinsin, this is not up for discussion.  

Vogue declared her one of the faces of the confident, post-war American woman, and Suzy, was the signature face for designer COCO CHANEL!!!!!! (P.S. Chanel herself became a close confidante, giving Parker advice on men and money as well as creating numerous Chanel outfits for her). Ms. Parker had a sister who modeled as well. If you’re up to speed on the greatest models of all time pre-Naomi “throwing a brush/cell phone/shoe” Campbell and Linda “I don’t get out of bed for under $10,000” Evangelista  you may have heard of her: 1950’s model Dorian Leigh who started modeling first and actually got her sister Suzy into the biz at the age of 15.   Suzy Parker modeled from 1947 to the early 1960’s. She then retired to settle down with her third husband and raise her four children and two step children Suzy Parker passed away on May 3, 2003 at he age of 70. I hope her life was as beautiful as the pictures she left behind…