The woman with the angelic face also inspired fashion trends—most notably, the Kelly bag. Hermès named the double-enclosed bag that now has a waiting list of up to two years for Princess Grace of Monaco after she used the purse to hide her pregnancy (long before the days models and actresses posed nude and with child on the covers of magazines). It’s tough to decide which photo still captured her most winning look: Was it the white silk-satin gown in “Rear Window”? How about Edith Head’s halter robe a l’anglais in “To Catch a Thief”? The Princess had taste. Oleg Cassini fell madly in love with her, and the subject of our previous post, Josephine Baker, was a friend of Grace Kelly’s. She financially sponsored Josephine, Baker’s final stage show before her passing in 1975.

In addition to displaying singular taste, many fashion icons have extraordinary vitality and magnetism. Cults of personality develop around these idols—people like James Brown, Michael Jackson, and Tina Turner. Fashion-conscious folks seize upon their favorite luminary’s style of dress as a way of looking smashing while also channeling that person’s charisma. Although known for her own flair for dressing, Diana Ross asked the flashy, glitzy designer, Bob Mackie, to create looks for her that mirrored those of a monumental fashion icon: Josephine Baker. Wearing Baker-inspired looks, Diana Ross also became known for oversized rhinestone earrings, headpieces, and figure-clinging sequin dresses. Beyoncé chose another Baker look, the celebrated banana skirt, as the prototype for her costume in the CBS special “Fashion Rocks,” which aired on September 8 of that year. Lauded in France before she was appreciated in her own country, Baker was the first American woman to receive the Legion d’Honneur and the Croix de Guerre for participating in the Résistance during World War II. Watch as she dances in the role for which a line of lingerie is named, Princess Tam-Tam:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTIT9PJJAQA&feature=related