Cool as Ice
Suzy Parker, the Seine, 1953. Photo: Louise Dahl-Wolfe
Suzy Parker, the willowy, red-headed beauty whose elegant poses on scores of magazine covers defined glamour in the 1950′s, paved the way for the generation of supermodels to follow. Her insouciance was breathtaking, imparting a signature style of icy sophistication often likened to that of Grace Kelly, which belied her natural girl-next-door prettiness accompanied by a sort of wacky loquaciousness. Audrey Hepburn’s role in ”Funny Face,” as a fast-talking beatnik who unwillingly becomes a world-famous model, was inspired by Parker, who made a cameo appearance in the film, her first movie role.
The epitome of style, “Suzy” adored slouch hats of the sort favored by Garbo and collected Coco Chanel’s classic designs for herself. Famed photographer Richard Avedon called her ”my most challenging and complicated of muses.”
Ever the pragmatist, it’s been reported that Miss Parker looked in the mirror each day and humbly thanked God for her cheekbones.
i love Suzy Parker. I think i used her pens through most of college. Insouciant caprice: a turn of prase i used in a poem once. It might have been about you… or your cheekbones.