Reluctantly elevating her image, Twiggy paired her large blue eyes and elfin-like face with a pixie cut for a distinctive look that has been imitated for decades.
The iconic cover girl, whose young aesthetic revolutionized the fashion industry, reportedly admitted that she was too embarrassed to turn down the services of a well-known hairstylist in a “posh salon” and that she didn’t want the androgynous buzz that characterized the Swinging Sixties.
As we commemorate Twiggy’s 74th birthday on September 19, we’re taking you back to the 1960s, the decade that gave rise to the well-known baby doll looks we see today!
Lesley Hornby, Twiggy’s real name, was born in Britain, and in 1966, she sought a fashionable new appearance to help kickstart her career. The young, aspirational model, who was just 5-foot-6, was told she wouldn’t make it in the cutthroat fashion world.
The former supermodel, who turns 74 on September 19, remembered visiting renowned British stylist Leonard Lewis (also known as Leonard of Mayfair) and having her shoulder-length hair arranged for some test “head shots” at London’s House of Leonard.
Lewis was trying to find some models to test out his new short hairstyle.
The former style star said she had always wanted her hair to be long when she made a guest appearance on Jessie Ware’s podcast, “Table Manners.”
Twiggy stated to Ware on the show, “I went in to have it shampooed and set and Leonard saw me, and he said, ‘Let me do my new haircut on you.'” “After growing my hair for a while, I kind of wondered if I wanted a haircut.'” However, I was a little too nervous to say, “I don’t want it done,” because I was in this upscale Mayfair salon, so I just nodded.
Twiggy went back to the salon the following day and took a seat in Lewis’ chair, preparing herself for what was about to happen.
“I returned the following day, spending seven hours there while he cut it. After that, I went outside to have it colored and then recut. Oh, it was crazy,” she said.
Even though Twiggy wasn’t going for the androgynous appearance, she soon saw why Lewis became well-known as a stylist.
Twiggy was photographed by British photographer Barry Lategan after Lewis had her golden blonde crop perfected.
Twiggy remarked, “Leonard put it up in the salon and a journalist saw it,” alluding to Deirdre McSharry, the fashion editor of Daily Express, who noticed Twiggy’s audacious hairstyle in the pictures while having Lewis style it. That’s how everything transpired.The crucial point was when that haircut began and that picture was taken.
Her wide blue eyes were accentuated by the pixie cut, and she added mascara to her lower lashes.
In a discussion with Vogue, Twiggy highlighted the inspiration behind her doe eyes: “I was also constantly playing around with make-up at home. I got false eyelashes and adopted what became known as my “look” after seeing a rag doll with those thick, spikey lashes.
When the former supermodel was younger and outside of the rigid walls of her school, she rebelled by dressing up and going to mod clubs on Saturday nights with her pals, according to her statement.
I attended a grammar school, so the atmosphere was really rigid. We wore uniforms and cosmetics was not allowed. Thus, like most adolescent females, my friends and I would sit on the weekends and dabble with makeup. “And that’s how that makeup evolved,” she went on.
And her trademark style included the eyes.
A few weeks after the Daily Express photo shoot, the paper’s pages carried a series of photographs—now famous black and white shots that marked the beginning of her modeling career—with the headline “Twiggy–The Face Of ’66.”
She shot her first Vogue shoot the following month, and after that, her “life became a whirlwind.”
Twiggy was the first celebrity that Mattel chose as a model for a Twiggy Barbie when she was still in her teens. She was the embodiment of mod fashion and served as a role model for many women.
Over the ensuing years, Twiggy’s name came to be associated with British designer Mary Quant, a trailblazer who liberated the feminine leg by introducing low hemlines into fashion.
Twiggy only modeled for a few years before retiring in 1970 to pursue acting on theater and cinema as well as singing.
Her leading parts in films include Club Paradise (1986), costarring the late Robin Williams, and The Boy Friend (1971), for which she received two Golden Globes for her performance.
The America’s Next Top Model judge also contributed to a Marks & Spencer-only fashion line and starred in multiple billboard advertisements for the company.
She published the album “Romantically Yours” in 2011, which includes cover versions of songs including “Right Here Waiting,” “Blue Moon,” and “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.” Carly Lawson, her sole child who was born in 1978, contributes a guest vocal on a few of the songs.
The gorgeous woman, who is still at the forefront of fashion, is a partner with other firms as a designer and ambassador for L’Oreal.
The icon is currently occupied with her own podcast, Tea with Twiggy, in which she has weekly private conversations with her well-known pals.
Despite all of her accomplishments, one of her generation’s most known faces, Twiggy, claimed that her relationship with her extraordinary daughter is the true test of her success.
Following the death of her father, actor Michael Witney, at the age of 52 during her fifth birthday party, Twiggy’s second husband, Leigh Lawson, raised Carly.
“My family is my top priority. Even when Carly was a young child, it has always been. Twiggy, a grandma, remarked, “I didn’t do it if it didn’t work for Carly.” We’re pretty close now because we traveled everywhere together. I was always there, which is why she said the other day, “I can’t remember a time when you weren’t there, Mum.” She traveled with me even when I did.
Many ladies are envious of Twiggy because she can pull off the 1960s pixie cut! She still looks stunning, just as she did!
What recollections do you have of the Sixties? Which hairdo you’ve tried that is the most audacious?
Tell this tale to others, and let’s celebrate Twiggy’s birthday by giving her some love!
