Changing of times is a great challenge to style traditions. Time doesn’t wait and different historical events have already succeeded each other. New stars rise to their Olympus and rush off, and their fans find other idols. But there are at least 10 female faces, which are known to everyone. Despite the wars, natural disasters and the change of presidents, they are always beautiful, stylish and relevant. Here’s top list of 10 women, who defined the style of the 20th century, and their young successors of the 21st century. Read about 10 beauties at the meeting place of 2 epochs. Get ready to be dazzled by the beauty!
1) Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner was usually nicknamed in press as “commoner with a body of an aristocrat”. Her parents owned a tobacco farm and later lost it and did a number of odd jobs. Ava was the 7th child in her family, and she could hardly be called a well-educated woman. But Gardner was incredibly beautiful and it helped her sign a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at the age of 19.
Ava Gardner later developed her inner feeling of style. She changed long luxurious gowns, which graciously covered her perfectly fit body, put on lux fur coats and flirty maillots. She was known as Frank Sinatra’s wife, a woman, who caught the heart of a genious. At the same time, Ava Gardner was considered as untalented actress, whose only weapon was her style and her beauty.
2) Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Bardot was considered as the sex symbol of her epoch. She was the first one to be photographed in a swimsuit, didn’t hesitate to demonstrate her hot body on the screen and left acting at the age of 40, when her beauty started to change with age.
As a real bombshell, BB (thus she was called by her fans), created her own erotic style of clothing. She wore leather pants, long boots and long scarves. At the same time, she was a classical French actress, who had trench coats, long dresses with flower prints and trouser suits in her wardrobe.
Brigitte Bardot bought her clothes from the most famous designers of her epoch (like Jean Bouquin). No need to say, that she had perfect body, which was worth demonstrating. BB attended ballet lessons at a young age, which helped her shape her body. Then she started modeling and finally rose to fame as an actress of such movies as “Contempt”, “Love Is My Profession”, “And God Created Woman” etc.
3) Audrey Hepburn
Why do we love Audrey Hepburn? Probably, for her delicate taste, big eyes and little waist; for making Tiffany the most desirable present of any woman and making hats an inseparable part of female wardrobe.
Audrey Hepburn’s style was unique, especially for her epoch. She rose to fame in after-war years, when luxurious clothes were unaffordable for most part of women. In the years of her activity people were obsessed with sex fetishes like Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe, and her aristocratic noble style, which had nothing in common with deep décolleté and leather boots, was not of grade demand. Nevertheless she made people love her!
Audrey Hepburn was considered as a muse of then-young designer Hubert Givenchy. The style of this fashion house determined Audrey’s wardrobe. She wore satin evening gowns, sheath dresses, elegant Givenchy suits and velvet coats. Audrey created the screen image of a woman, who looks like a royal, even in shorts and low-heeled shoes and who remains right even after several glasses of champagne. Her movies, such as “Breakfast at Tiffany's”, “Funny Face” and “My Fair Lady” are considered as the Fashion Bible of her epoch.
4) Claudia Cardinale
Sex symbol of 60s and the most beautiful actress of all times (according to “Time” magazine) Claudia Cardinale appears in new movies even nowadays. One of her latest screen works was in “All Roads Lead to Rome”, where she demonstrated the great sample of mature bright beauty.
Claudia Cardinale was born in Tunisia in a family of poor Italian immigrants. She rose to fame in 1957, when managed to win the beauty contest. Cardinale participated in a number of hit movies like “The Professionals”, “The Leopards”, and “The Pink Panther”, which made her a mega-star. Her career was supervised by her then-husband, a producer Franco Cristaldi.
Claudia Cardinale is usually named in mass media as “olive version of Brigitte Bardot”. She had similar style of clothing and had similar nickname – CC. The actress could boast with huge eyes, thick dark brown hair and ideal white teeth. She liked bright eye makeup and headscarves, which modern girls of fashion copy till now.
5) Jackie Kennedy
Most of women in our top list are rare beauties, but stylish doesn’t always means “beautiful”. Jackie Kennedy was not considered as incredibly beautiful lady, but no doubt, she was one of the most elegant women of her epoch.
Jackie dreamed to make a career of a journalist. She got brilliant education at Sorbonne (several years in France defined her style later) and at George Washington University. After that she wrote articles for Vogue.
Jackie had to forget about her own career after her marriage to young John F. Kennedy. He dreamed about successful career of a politician and soon was elected as the 35th US President. His wife, Jackie, had become an ideal screen housewife. Probably, her style resembles that one of Bree Van de Kamp in “Desperate Housewives”. Hairstyle “hair-to-hair”, string of pearls and elegant dresses as well as self confidence and self-control, endless support of her husband and ability to turn a blind eye made people if not love, than at least respect her.
Till now her style lessons are studied by the young girls all over the world. The main of them are “wear white”, “wear flower-looking hats” and “wear fabulous sunglasses”.
6) Claudia Schiffer
Claudia Schiffer is absolutely elegant and dazzlingly beautiful. She rose to fame at the age of 17, when was occasionally discovered by a photographer at a discotheque in her native city and then cemented her star status as the muse of Karl Lagerfeld.
She left modeling at about 40, and now shares her time between upbringing of three children, caring about her husband, a producer Matthew Vaughn, and participating in occasional ceremonies and significant events.
Claudia has been pleasing her fans with great photos and videos for several decades already. No need to say, that her style had changed with age.
As Karl Lagerfeld’s inspiration, Schiffer used to wear Chanel creamy suits and little black dresses in her youth. Later she fell in love with luxurious dresses from Valentino.
Nowadays, in her 40-s, Claudia wears striped jackets from Chanel and long grey coats. She has launched her own clothing line not long ago and presented knitted apparel (designed by the beauty) to the followers of her style. Green cashmere sweaters are the favorites in her everyday life. Her favorite designers are Lagerfeld, Dolce & Gabbana, Isabel Marant and Valentino nowadays.
7) Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah is one more woman, who managed to become the stylish icon of her epoch without being classically beautiful. Frankly speaking, it was not she, but her heroine Carrie Bradshaw, who deserved the title of the most fashionable lady in Manhattan. But Sarah’s own style, which differs greatly from Carrie’s, helped her to hold the title of the most elegant actress of her generation.
SJP used to tell, that she also likes great shoes. But, probably, that is the only thing she has in common with eccentric Bradshaw. The mother of 3, Sarah prefers jeans and loose sweaters in her real life. But when she becomes red-carpet ready, the star puts on luxurious gowns of classical colors – black, white, grey, green.
She has toned arms and great breasts, which are worth showing. That’s why the star prefers strapless dresses from Chanel and Alexander McQueen. When it’s getting colder, the star puts on sleeveless coat or long jackets. Skinny jeans and blouses with flower prints are also among her favorites.
8) Kate Middleton
If mentioned-above heroines of our list represent style of the previous generations, Kate Middleton is absolutely modern stylish icon. She is compared to the late Princess Diana, her husband’s mother, as she has also caught hearts of British people as well as of all the others worldwide.
Kate is an incredibly beautiful woman with great model-like body. It gives her an opportunity look perfect in haute-couture dresses. But her style is not just her own choice. As a wife of a heir to the throne, she wears clothes, suitable for a royal lady.
Kate prefers British designers like Alexander McQueen or Jenny Packham. It is recommended for representatives of British royal family to wear outfits of home designers. Some of fashion critics think that Kate chooses clothes, which make her older. Probably, this young pretty woman would look much better in bright dresses with flower prints or in bright summer shorts. But she chooses traditional English hats, long gloves and classical coats. Her style can be, probably, called retro. But in any case, Kate is perfect and she deserves the 8th position among 10 stylish icons of the epoch.
9) Blake Lively
Gossip Girl actress Blake Lively inspires fashion girls all over the world to make bright make-up, put on multi-colored dresses and dye their hair blonde. Like Sarah Jessica Parker, Blake created the great screen heroine Serena Van Der Woodsen, and usually her own style is mixed with Serena’s.
In her real life Blake never cares about clothes. As she used to tell in her interview, Lively chooses clothes according to her mood, and if she feels as princess, she puts on a poufy dress and high-heeled shoes, decorated with rhinestones.
Blake Lively’s red-carpet style is the result of her long-term fashion investigations. Now she knows, that dresses with strictly outlined waist line, long Indian scarves and massive bracelets are a must-have in her wardrobe. Blake’s main style rule is not to look too perfect. She considers it as unisexual.
10) Gigi Hadid
She is the youngest heroine in our top-list and represents the stylish icon of the next generation. She is classically beautiful; Hadid has doughnut lips, doll-like eyes and long blonde hair. Unlike other stylish icons, Gigi Hadid is not going to starve to look slim like Audrey Hepburn or Sarah Jessica Parker. She is healthy and naturally sporty young girl, who is reasonably slim and very fit. Although she was refused by managers of Victoria’s Secret for the first time for her “too plump hips”, Gigi decided not to change herself, and soon her natural beauty made her the most popular model of her generation.
Gigi’s style is just forming, so it is hard to define it. Ragged jeans, jackets with spikes, multi-colored sun-glasses – the fashion star looks like a naughty teenager in her everyday life, but it is so peculiar for people of her age.
Gigi has perfectly fit long legs, which she usually shows, wearing short dresses. Long knitted jackets are one more favorite item in her wardrobe.
These beautiful elegant ladies are always at the peak of fashion. Some of them, like Gigi Hadid and Kate Middleton, have just started to develop their style. The others, like Ava Gardner or Audrey Hepburn, have already passed away. But in any case, they made the world more elegant and stylish, and they deserve to be followed.
