The Lauren Bacall Effect: The Case for a Timeless Signature Look by Catherine Piercy

The Lauren Bacall Effect: The Case for a Timeless Signature Look

by Catherine Piercy

VOGUE BEAUTY

From the moment Lauren Bacall exploded onto the silver screen in To Have and Have Not, her breakout 1944 star-making turn opposite Humphrey Bogart, there was no mistaking her singular beauty: the arched, heavy brows, the deep side-parted waves, the fine bone structure. And then there was “The Look”: Chin down, eyes tilted upward, the 19-year old actresses’ soon-to-be trademark and throaty voice burned her instantly into the collective consciousness. Bogart, then married to the actress Mayo Methot, fell for her instantly—and America did too.

In fact, it was Nancy Hawks, the wife of the filmmaker Howard, who first noticed Bacall’s rare and particular good looks—a striking combination of romanian and polish genes that had launched her burgeoning modeling career. She suggested that her husband see Bacall for a screen test. The actress would later recall that Hawks, with whom she made numerous films, had liked her idiosyncratic features—the thick brows, the slightly crooked teeth. Even at a time when Hollywood producers fashioned female archetypes for each of their studio actresses, she seemed to break the mold. She crafted her original side-sweeping waves herself, she refused the tweezers, she preferred the natural look to anything overly or contrived.

And there was something more remarkable yet: Throughout a long and noteworthy career of iconic hits including The Big Sleep and How to Marry a Millionaire, her look remained gloriously constant—a decision that seems like something of a revelation in the wake of today’s whirlwind Internet culture. While the Hollywood starlets and street style stars of today make a career out of changing their hair and makeup at a breakneck pace on a daily basis, Bacall’s particular beauty makes the case for something different: a deeply personal and distinctive commitment to a signature look—and a no-gimmicks approach that calls for sheer, unwavering confidence.

http://www.vogue.com/vogue-daily/article/the-lauren-bacall-effect-the-case-for-a-timeless-signature-look/#1