"Darling, the legs aren't so beautiful, I just know what to do with them."

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This is one of my favourite quotes from my ultimate glamour heroine, Marlene Dietrich!

I have a huge framed picture of Marlene hanging in my lounge and many of my fashion choices are influenced by her style. She was everything a fashion icon should be, in my opinion: elegant, rule-breaking, playful and entirely her own creation.

Every time I learn a new fact about Marlene, it's one that makes me respect her even more, e.g.

1. She was the first woman to wear trousers on American television.
2. She had affairs with Marilyn Monroe and Anita Berber (my namesake!)
3. She was a German who publicly spoke out against Nazism throughout WWII

If these facts alone do not a cool bitch make, what does?! And there are plenty more, believe me. I have many books about Marlene lined up on my bedroom shelf, with photographs charting her life from cradle to grave. I can assure you that she was just as glamorous in her 90s as in her 20s! As she said herself, "Glamour is my stock in trade, it's what I sell." Isn't that one of the most fabulous things you've ever heard?! Well, I think so! After all, what is "glamour" but another word for MAGIC?

 The incomparable Marlene Dietrich!

Anyway, although I am often told that I come across in quite a Marlene-like way under certain lighting (I even used to shave 'n' draw my eyebrows!), I have never done a full, proper Marlene-themed photo shoot, not least because I would need to invest a lot of time and money into getting each detail absolutely perfect! I know that it was in her contract that photographers had to use a certain filter when photographing her, for instance, and that she used a kind of wax under her foundation as as base, and... oh gosh, I could go on and on with the minutae from this era that I am obsessed with! I won't bore you with it all!

Having said all that, these photos from a recent shoot with Aneil Sharma have a surprisingly Marlene-like feel to them, especially the first one. I was so pleased when I saw them that I actually welled up a little bit! Silly, I know!

Top: Red or Dead | Knickers: Coco de Mer | Shoes: Fabulously Fetish | Styling: me!

I'll leave you with another quote from Marlene- a particularly relevant one, considering how often I quote quotes!!

"I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognised as being wiser than oneself."

It's so true!

Speak soon, and if you liked this blog, please share it with your friends on Twitter and Facebook using the buttons below! :)




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