Years active: 1950-1990.
Known for: Decorator and fashion icon.
Net worth: Many millions.
With a zeal for unique decorating ideas and a classic beauty herself, Chessy Rayner paved the way for interesting styles the world over. She and her husband, William P. Rayner, were a fast-paced, beautiful couple who frequently appeared in “Women’s Wear Daily”.
When her mother remarried and became the wife of Iva S. V. Patcevitch, the chairman of Conde Nast, Chessy became a fixture of the Manhattan social scene. Rather than relaxing, Chessy became a fashion editor and writer for Vogue. She passed away at the age of sixty-six in 1998.
Gloria Guinness
Years active: 1940-1980.
Known for: Socialite and fashion icon.
Net worth: unknown millions.
Gloria Guinness, born Gloria Rubio y Alatorre, was a Mexican socialite and fashion icon, as well as a contributing editor to " Harper's Bazaar" from 1963 to 1971, considered to be one of the most elegant women in modern history. She frequently lied about her origins, claiming she was from Veracruz, and that her father was a revolutionary killed in a war. In truth, she was born in Guadalajara, and her father was a journalist who died of natural causes.
She often wrote for "Harper's Bazaar" and was voted the second best-dressed woman in the world by Time in 1962, losing out only to Jackie Kennedy. There's even a rumor Gloria was employed as a spy. Gloria died in 1980 at the age of sixty-eight.
Slim Keith
Years active: 1950-1960.
Known for: Model.
Net worth: $5 million.
Nancy “Slim” Keith was an American New York socialite and fashion icon during the fifties and sixties. While she was well known as a fashion trend-setter, one of her biggest actions was bringing Lauren Bacall to Hollywood. She showed her then-husband, Howard Hawks, a magazine cover with Bacall's picture on it, and the rest is history.
Dubbed the original “California Girl” thanks to her golden looks and athletic ability, she at one point pursued a career in opera but decided it was too demanding. Keith died at the age of seventy-two in 1990.
Loulou de la Falaise
Years Active: 1960-2010.
Known for: Fashion muse and designer.
Net worth: $5 million.
Author Judith Thurman, writing in The New Yorker magazine, called Loulou de la Falaise “the quintessential Rive Gauche Haute bohémienne.” After a tumultuous childhood, Loulou was a fashion model for Vogue and inspired Saint Laurent's 1966 women's tuxedo "Le Smoking" as well as his line of see-through blouses.
La Falaise designed jewelry, boxes, vases, and articles of clothing alongside Saint Laurent, and her jewelry designs are still sold today, including a simplified line for the Home Shopping Network. She died in 2011 at the age of sixty-three.
Pilar Crespi
Years active: 1970-present.
Known for: Vogue editor, fashion industry, model, President at Source of Hope.
Net worth: Millions.
Being the daughter of a countess who is a member of the International Best Dressed List puts the spotlight on you at a young age, but Pilar Crespi did nothing but flourish. After becoming a model at a young age, Pilar stunned the fashion world with her breezy, effortless beauty.
She went on to become an editor at Vogue and a well-known name in the fashion industry, but she's most proud of the organization she started with her husband Stephen Robert called Source of Hope, which provides educational programs, grants, and scholarships to low-income cosmetology students.