Grace Kelly was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 12 November 1929 to John and Margaret Kelly. Born into a wealthy family with two sisters and a brother, she spent her childhood in the Kelly home on the hill above East Falls, 3901 Henry Avenue. At a young age, Grace decided she wanted to become an actress and after finishing school studied acting at American Academy of Dramatic Art and worked as an actress and model in New York before moving to Hollywood. This was where she began to mold her own emphatic style.

I guess the first images we had of her were when she promoted Old Gold cigarettes and appeared on the covers of magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Redbook. She was to create a unique style of her own. A fairytale story of the all American Girl who made it big in Hollywood and married her Prince Charming. Grace debuted in the film Fourteen Hours, in a minor supporting role, this was to snowball her silver screen career starring in Hollywood blockbusters such as High Noon and Mogambo which won her an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.

Grace is known for her image I guess as much as her performances for this she needed the help of two designers, Edith Head and Helen Rose. Her work in High Noon and a screen test for the film Taxi piqued the interest of director Alfred Hitchcock, who introduced her to Edith Head, who was a brilliant costume designer of this vintage period, she groomed Grace into his image of an elegant, beautiful blonde he envisaged for his movies. Edith Head designed clothes for several Kelly films but only Hitchcocks Rear Window and To Catch a Thief gave her the real opportunity to put Grace in this luxurious and sophisticated wardrobe.

She gave Hitchcock unforgettable performances in Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, and To Catch a Thief. Kelly personified the essence of his cool blonde and he made the most brilliant use of her regal, aristocratic sophistication and beauty. Grace with the help of her designers changed Hitchcocks vision of her for the film The Country Girl, which won her the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role of 1954. In 1956, she was voted the Golden Globes World Film Favorite Female Actor.

All you have to do is watch a small extract of any of her films to see how she personified the late 40s to early 50s era elegant fitted suits and tight bodice full skirt dresses with her fashionable blonde curled hair adorning every unique glamorous design she wore. The stylish cooperation between designer and actress continued off screen. The sleek baby blue satin dress worn for her Academy Award acceptance was also an Edith Head creation.

In 1956, she married Prince Rainier Grimaldi III of Monaco to become Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco. Helen Rose was a MGM designer who Grace chose to be the creator of her fabulous wedding gown. This dress for me personified Graces unforgettable style. The dress was made of yards of silk, silk taffeta, silk tulle and rich, antique Valenciennes lace. Her bridesmaid dresses were designed by Pricilla Comins who was also a talented designer of the 50s.

Just to give you some idea of the influence she had on 50s style and fashion, in 1956 she arrived in New York carrying a large, almost square handbag she had purchased at Hermes in Paris. Henceforward it became known as the Kelly bag and this is still how we refer to it today.

Graces new life with her prince meant she was forced to give up her successful acting career but even so in 1962 Alfred Hitchcock offered her the leading role in Marnie which she refused. She settled to life as a Princess and a mother with her three children, Caroline, Albert, and Stephanie. Finally in 1977 after a break of almost 20 years she narrated a documentary, The Children of Theatre Street. This was the last time we were to hear her on the silver screen.

Like all fairytales this story has as dramatic an ending as the best. Grace died on 14 September 1982 after her car went off a road in the cliffs of Monaco and ended the life of one of the best and most beautiful actresses of the silver screen. So now you can see why Grace is one of my vintage icons, aristocratic elegance, beauty, charm, unsurpassed class, she had it all. No vintage collection would be complete without something taken from her emphatic 50s style.