Born 1920 as Lucy Douglas Cochrane in Boston, Massachusetts, American stage actress, author, columnist, horsewoman, fashion designer, and socialite C. Z. Guest achieved a degree of fame as a fashion icon. She was frequently seen wearing elegant designs by designers like Mainbocher. Her unfussy, clean-cut style was seen as typically American, and she was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1959.
C.Z. Guest in the 1950s
In 1985, Guest designed a small fashion collection consisting mainly of cashmere sweaters that was introduced at a show of the Cuban-born American designer Adolfo, well known for dressing Nancy Reagan and Babe Paley, among others. In 1986, she expanded her design work to include a limited line of sportswear sold under license, and, in 1990, she came out with a fragrant insect repellent and other garden merchandise.
Guest died in 2003, in Old Westbury, New York, at the age of 83. Take a look at these glamorous photos to see the beauty of young C. Z. Guest in the 1950s.
C.Z Guest in blonde lace dress with molded bodice by Trigère, photo by Louis Dahl-Wolfe, 1950
C.Z. Guest in floral dress and jacket by Mainbocher, photo by Clifford Coffin, 1950
C.Z. Guest in what Diana Vreeland called “…one of the most beautiful dresses I have ever seen”, by Mainbocher, photo by Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Harper’s Bazaar, 1950
C.Z. Guest in a suit by Mainbocher at the Villa Artemis with one of her pet dogs, photo by Cecil Beaton, March 1951
C.Z. Guest is wearing a beautiful silk dress with beaded and embroidered bodice by Herbert Sondheim, photo by Avedon, Vogue, October 15, 1951
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