"The joy of dressing is an art."
—John Galliano
"You can never take too much care over the choice of your shoes. Too many women think that they are unimportant, but the real proof of an elegant woman is what is on her feet."
—Christian Dior
"A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view."
—Sophia Loren
"Fashion is not necessarily about labels. It's not about brands. It's about something else that comes from within you."
—Ralph Lauren
Carmen Miranda, born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha,was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress and film star who was active from the 1930s on. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", Miranda is known for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in her American films.
She was born in Portugal, but her family moved to Rio de Janeiro when she was about a year old. She sang and danced as a child, and by 1930 was Brazil's most popular recording star, a position she kept for a decade. She made a few Brazilian movies, and while appearing in an elaborate stage show, was seen by producer Lee Shubert, who offered to star her in his Broadway revue, The Streets of Paris. She accepted, but only if he hired her band as well, which he did. Her samba music, sung and danced to while she wore elaborate hats decorated with a cornucopia of fruits, bare midriff gowns, and amazing platform heels (she was five feet tall), created a sensation.
In August 1955, while taping a Jimmy Durante Show, she suffered shortness of breath and fell to her knees after completing a number. Around 4 in the morning she suffered a fatal heart attack in her bath.
Cyd
Charisse was born Tula Ellice Finklea on March 8, 1922, in Amarillo, Texas.
Born to be a dancer, she spent her early childhood taking ballet lessons and
joined the Ballet Russe at age 13. In 1939, she married Nico Charisse, her former dance
teacher. In 1945, she was hired to dance with Fred Astaire in Ziegfeld Follies (1945), and that
uncredited appearance got her a seven-year contract with MGM. She appeared in a
number of musicals over the next few years, but it was Singin' in the Rain (1952) with Gene Kelly that made her a star. That
was quickly followed by her great performance in The Band Wagon (1953). As the 1960s
dawned, musicals faded from the screen, as did her career. She made appearances
on television and performed in a nightclub revue with her second husband,
singer Tony Martin. Cyd Charisse died at age 87
of a heart attack on June 17, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.
