Gloria Guinness

Born: Guadalajara, Mexico, 1912
Died: Épalinges, Switzerland, 1980

Recognised as ‘the most elegant woman in the world’ by founder of the Best dressed List Eleanor Lambert, Gloria Guinness is perceived as one of the most stylish and chic socialites of the twentieth century.

Born in Mexico in 1912 to a journalist father and his wife, she was employed in a nightclub before she moved to Germany. Guinness managed to climb her way up the social ladder through her numerous marriages. Her most notable spouses include a von Furstenberg, a grandson of King Fuad I of Egypt and Thomas Loel Guinness, a member of the Guinness beer family.  In the Sixties and Seventies especially, Guinness was regarded as  the ‘it’ socialite, with Truman Capote naming her one of his swans. Additionally, she was a contributing editor to Harper’s Bazaar from 1963 to 1971.

Gloria Guinness’s dress style was extremely unique. Her favourite designers included Cristóbal Balenciaga, Antonio del Castillo and Halston. Guinness’s influence on fashion lives on, especially through the extremely popular Pucci Capri pants that she debuted in the Sixties. She was also the inspiration for a Michael Kors Resort Show. The garments that Guinness favoured often sported extremely shaped well cut lines which draped over her body and shaped it well. She favoured classic shades of black, white and red to compliment her pale complexion. With high defined cheek bones, bold brows and a slim pronounced neck, Guinness was every inch the traditional Mexican beauty. Because of her exquisite sense of style, Guinness appeared on the International Best Dressed List from 1959 to 1963 and in 1964 she was promoted and appeared in its Hall of Fame.

Gloria Guinness Biography