She Dresses for Men, Likes Slacks and Spends $10,000: Slim Hawks

When I was writing the post on Lauren Bacall, it got me me remembering Slim (Hawks) Keith.  She was my first Style Icon crush - it was a combination of her chunky blonde streak (I eventually brought a photo of Slim Keith into Brad Johns and asked him to do it in my hair in the mid 90s), her amazing and sure sense of style, her marriage to Howard Hawks, her friendship with Hemingway and her book, Slim: Memories of a Rich and Imperfect Life.  You can still buy the book here.

Slim Hawks was voted best dressed woman in 1946 and here is what she had to say to LIFE magazine about it...

After two weeks as America's best dressed woman, "Slim" Hawks says wearily, "Now I have to be fixed up all of the time.  It will probably force me into a life of seclusion; I may go to Honolulu, rent a few palm fronds and never be seen again."

This proposal would probably save Mr. Hawks some $10,000 a year in clothes allowance, not counting jewelry and furs and her maid's salary. At the moment, Slim's glass-door wardrobe contains considerably more than two palm fronds:

9 fur coats

24 suits

47 dresses

35 evening gowns

10 negligees

23 pairs of slacks

46 blouses

21 pairs of shorts

12 girdles

14 slips

35 bags

120 pairs of shoes.

Of model proportions (5ft 8 1/2") Mrs. Hawks wears from a size 12 to a 16 dress.  Her blonde hair is pulled back by a solid gold barrette she had copied from a 10 cent store model, has a bleached streak across the front which she says is "half God, half me".  She changes her clothes twice a day but unlike most women, does it in jig time.  She spends most of her time in shorts or slacks.

Mrs. Hawks has no set rules for chic but advises women to develop their own sense of style.  "If you know crab doesn't agree with you," she advises metaphorically, "just don't eat it."  Mrs. Hawks suggests: never dress for other women, dress for men, don't follow fads and always be mysterious.  Her pet hates are white fox and lucite bags, the latter because by revelaing their contents, make the observer feel like they are in a woman's bathroom.

Excerpted from LIFE magazine, 1946

For me, my style crush on Slim Keith started with this photo:

Slim Hawks.  Photo by John  Engstead, 1945

Sorry it is so small but it is the only one I could find but how great does she look?!  I love the sandals, the rolled up pant, the cigarette holder... too chic.  And so timeless too.

By the way, her $10,000 a year clothing 'allowance' is about $128,000 in today's money.  And hey!  I would like a clothing allowance too!  Is my husband listening?  Anyone?  Helloooo??!  (cue, sound of crickets... : )

Here is Slim in an Adrian dress from LIFE magazine -which she did not buy.  It was $300 ($3800 today)

I love the black jersey top with the pink silk trouser shorts...

xo, Juliana

American Fashion: the Lady, the Tramp and the Vamp.

Next week is the book release party at Bergdorf Goodman for American Fashion, the new CFDA and Assouline tome. We have three dresses from three iconic American designers: Bill Blass, Norma Kamali and Adrian. Each piece is very different, but there is a distinct cool glamour and spare elegance that is iconic of American design to each one.

The Lady, the Tramp and the Vamp:

The lady is, of course, a navy 1980s silk cocktail dress from Bill Blass. Cigarettes and ice clinking in a cocktail glass would not have been nearly so glamorous if women had not been wearing Bill Blass. No one smokes anymore and no one drinks as much anymore, but if you want to capture that spirit and glamour this is the dress. On first appearance it seems a little conservative although that pleated high collar stands in a very flattering way around the face, but then you turn around and see that it is backless with that pleated collar falling to frame the back in a most inviting and sexy way! Please note that the belt shown is not the original. We see this dress with high cherry red Laboutins! Size 6.



The tramp is another one of our pieces from Norma Kamali. This one is a very early OMO Kamali from 1978. OMO stands for On My Own after Norma divorced. We think that she must have been feeling the freedom because it is not a dress designed for someone who wants to stay at home eating a pint of ice cream in front of the television. It is a black, tight-fitting, sexy one shoulder dress definitely for a disco diva ready to gloss her lips and not stay home. Size 4.









The Vamp is a late 1940s Adrian. Before the war Adrian designed costumes for Hollywood stars like Joan Crawford and Jean Harlow. He opened his own fashion house in 1942 and became known for elegantly draped evening gowns. This is a dress made for Hollywood. It is so glamorous and it is unfortunate that our readers can not see this dress in motion because it is spectacular! Because of the way it is cut there is much fluttering and movement when you walk. The color is a midnight navy and the workmanship is beautiful. The lucky girl who wears this will either be a movie star or will feel and look like one! Size 6.

For more information about this item please email info@rarevintageinc.com or call (212) 581 7273