Diana Vreeland
|
|
Vreland.jpg
Diana Vreeland (July 29, 1906, Paris, France - August 22, 1989) was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. Born Diana Dalziel, she was the eldest daughter of British father, Frederick Young Dalziel (d. 1960), and an American mother, Emily Key Hoffman, a socialite who was a descendant of George Washington's brother as well as of Francis Scott Key of "Star-Spangled Banner" fame. Vreeland had one sister, Alexandra Vreeland. She also was a cousin of Pauline de Rothschild, a style icon of the 1960s who was frequently publicized in the magazines for which Vreeland worked.
Diana's family emigrated to the United States of America at the outbreak of World War I, and moved to 15 East 77th Street in New York. On March 1, 1924, she married Thomas Reed Vreeland, a banker, at St. Thomas's Church in New York. After their honeymoon, they moved to Albany, New York and raised their two sons -- Frederick Vreeland (later U.S. ambassador to Morocco) and Timothy Vreeland -- staying there until 1928. They then moved to Hanover Terrace, Regent's Park, London; during her time in London, she operated a lingerie business whose clients included Wallis Simpson, later famed as the Duchess of Windsor. She was presented to King George VI and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace on May 18, 1933. In 1937, her husband's job brought them back to New York, where they lived for the remainder of their lives.
Her fashion career began in 1937 as columnist for Harper's Bazaar. She joined Vogue in 1962, where she was editor-in-chief until 1971, when she was fired. Her husband died in 1967. She became consultant to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1971.
The playwright Mark Hampton wrote a play about Vreeland's life called "Full Gallop"; it was based on "D.V.", Vreeland's published memoirs. The play starred Mary Louise Wilson.