Style File: The Magnificent Marlene

There are plenty of style icons out there. Grace Kelly holds the crown for timelessness, Jackie O the title for classic, Coco Chanel for French chic, Jane Birkin for off model duty, and Audrey Hepburn for sophistication. But nobody did androgynous, sexy glamour like Marlene Dietrich. Oh yes, the film noir actress, will go down in history for being one of the most stylish ladies ever to grace the silver screen, and dazzle with her choice of fashion off of it. Whether she was stalking through the airport with her husband Rudolph Sieber in tow, waving to fans along the red carpet or serving food to war veterans with the likes of Rita Hayworth, Dietrich always looked nothing less than fabulous with her fur coats and fitted suits.

Born in Berlin as Marie Magdalene Dietrich, the actress grew up in a wealthy, loving family. At the age of 11 she decided to merge her two first names together to form Marlene, and the rest is history. Throughout the 1920s Marlene starred in a number of cabaret shows as a chorus girl before landing her big break as Lola Lola in 'The Blue Angel.' Paramout pictures snapped her up, as they wanted a German actress to rival that of Greta Garbo, and roles in Hollywood blockbusters such as 'Morocco'(earning Dietrich her only Oscar nomination), 'Shanghai Express,' 'The Garden of Allah' and 'Angel' soon followed.

Even in her movies, Dietrich sizzled on screen in beautiful designer gowns, stunning jewellery and of course, that famous mens suit she wore in the film Morocco. Not to mention her distinctive make up and arched eyebrows. Its no wonder the Nazis asked her to become the cover girl for the Third Reich - she refused and became US citizen. Favoring Dior and Lanvin gowns, Marlene played with male/female boundries by wearing a mens suit as comfortably as a dress. In her later years she dressed in Azzedine Alaia, famously saying, "I dress for myself. Not for the image, not for the public, not for the fashion, not for men." She worked with directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Wells and Billy Wilder and starred opposite the likes of Charlton Heston, Gary Cooper, James Stewart, Frank Sinatra, David Niven all the while reinventing her image all the time, staying relevant until her death at the age of 90. 

What I love about Dietrich's style is her sense of self importance and the fact that she knows she looked good in whatever she chose to wear. She was fearless in nautical sailor hats, glamorous in floor length gowns spilling out across the floor and stylish in beautiful mink coats paired with boxy handbags and leather gloves. I love her use of fur especially - whether that be a fur stole thrown over a padded jacket or worn as a light coat slung over the shoulders. Never without a pair of heels or a pencil skirt, she would strut rather than walk, with her style copied by numerous celebrities such as Beyonce, Madonna and Catherine Zeta Jones almost 100 years later. She didn't play by the rules and wasn't afraid of scandal (she had affairs with John Wayne, Yul Brynner and Frank Sinatra) and that is why she should be hailed as an inspiration to women the world over. And she is one of my style icons.