Discover Diana Vreeland in Her Words, in the New Book from Rizzoli

DIANA VREELAND MEMOS, The Vogue Years from Rizzoli, released on October 15th, 2013

The legendary Diana Vreeland , formerly editor in chief of Vogue, was never present at meetings with her stuff or collaborators. She communicated with them using short notes that were that dictate to her faithful secretary while smoking a cigarette.

“My grandmother was somebody who inspired a lot of creative people to do their best work,” Alexander Vreeland, grandson of the late Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland.

Diana Vreeland looks at a drawing with Cecil Beaton in 1965. © James Karales

The weighty edition includes editorial notes, personal letters , archival photos and memories of Vreeland’s period at Vogue. Sympathy message of Cristobal Balenciaga at the closure of his fashion house , correspondence with Veruschka , Irving Penn , and many others ,all of this included in the volume edited by her grandson.

A mix history , fashion and the story of the extraordinary personality of the heroine , this book deserves a place in every home.

Here are some of the best quotes from the book :

VREELAND ON: HAIR

Date: Jan 18, 1971

Subject: Hair ribbons
“This is the year of the ribbon.
Please ask me to show you how to put on a hair ribbon as we can get so many variations and it would be lovely to run them as a group.”

Date: Feb 10, 1967
“For goodness sakes, beware of curls… It is a great art to do them so that the girls not only look modern – but do not suddenly look very vulgar.”

Date: April 14, 1970
Subject: Ironing one’s hair with an iron
“What has happened to this delightful idea, we have not heard about it lately.”

VREELAND ON: CELEBRITIES

Date: Jan 5, 1970
Subject: Lauren Hutton
“ This girl is obviously on her way to being an important star of the movies.
I feel that we are not using her importantly enough.
We are not waorking on her make-up, hair, expression. The photographs that I see of her taken from movies are very much more beautiful than anything we do.”

Date: June 18, 1968
Subject: Sonny and Cher
“Sonny and Cher are going to be here the end of June.
As we couldn’t publish the pictures of Cher the last time she was here and her dream is to be in high fashion and she looks beautiful in it, are there not some pictures that could be taken then?
The great thing is to wash her face… and if you have any trouble with her tell her that I will talk to her and she simply has to realize that certain makeups, such as a thick opaque one with thick opaque eyelashes (such as was done before) simply doesn’t photograph… and this is all we can say about it…”

VREELAND ON: NEW DESIGNERS

Date: May 11, 1970
Subject: Gucci
“Please all of you take trouble. Please use [Guccio Gucci's] bags. Please keep in touch with all of the things that are currently coming in from Rome.
He is making a fortune and is an enormous new asset to the New York fashion scene. As where he is is perfect and the luxury and perfection is something much needed.
Don’t forget his boots are the best in town. His bags are certainly the best in town.”