Twiggy

Born: Neasden, England, 1949

Known as one of the most celebrated faces of English style, Twiggy was the prominent teenage model of the 1960’s. Distinguished mainly by her androgynous look and sense of fashion, she enjoyed career as a model, singer and actress and was dubbed ‘The Face of 1966’ by the Daily Express.

Born in 1949 in Neasden, as Lesley Lawson, Twiggy was only sixteen was she first started modelling. She was discovered at the hairdressers House of Leonard in Mayfair, London, when she went in to have her hair cut for some modelling shots, yet Mr Leonard himself ended up creating Twiggy. He cut her long hair into a crop and dyed it blonde with a side parting; the hairstyle was to become famous in itself. Apart from her iconic hairstyle, Twiggy was also known for her highly arched brows, round pillow like lips, and of course, her eyes. Her eyes attracted the most attention, they were large and doe like, and complimented the oval shape of her face. The blackness and length of her lashes were enviable, and Twiggy admitted she had to draw her eyelashes on to her eyes to achieve the stunning effect. This was her known beauty signature, apart from this, Twiggy often sported a flawless complexion with just a hint of blush, her lip was always kept nude or a very natural pink, and her eyebrows always polished.

In terms of style, it was Twiggy’s waif-like figure that permitted her to experiment with the androgynous trend. The shift dress complimented her figure, and she almost always wore it with long socks or boots to highlight her legs. Turtle and funnel neck sweaters were also a favourite, and these she wore with the hair slick to the side, drawing attention to her eyes. Some of the most iconic pictures of Twiggy include her sitting cross legged in a yellow dress with yellow shoes and white socks, pouting with her hands just under her face. Another is her sitting on the floor in a pink and gold metallic dress with metallic shoes, smiling at the camera. Twiggy’s greatest idol is Jean Shrimpton, whom she considered to be the first supermodel.

Apart from modelling, Twiggy also had a successful career as a singer and actress. Additionally, she brought out her own range of dresses called Twiggy’s Dresses in 1967 and has been the face of Marks & Spencer’s for numerous rangers, first appearing in 1967 and in 2012 she worked with M&S to launch a women’s range.

Twiggy Biography