After the interest in Marilyn Monroe’s measurements (and the debate about whether she was really a size 16) I thought it would be interesting to look at the measurements of some of the supermodels of the 1950s and see how they compared.
I assumed models of the fifties would all be very much the same size and shape, but not at all! Just the difference in height is really surprising, Dorian Leigh was only 5 feet 5 inches, whereas Wilhelmina Cooper was 5 feet 11!
Dovima was one of the most popular models of the 1950s and (along with Lisa Fonsagrives and Dorian Leigh) has been called the first supermodel.
Height: 5 feet 8 1/2 inches
Bust: 33″
Waist: 19″
Hips: 34″
Arguably the world’s first supermodel Jean Patchett photographed by John Rawlings for Vogue November 1948. The silk taffeta ballgown is by Adrian and the photos were taken at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
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Jean Patchett photographed by Louise Dahl-Wolfe for Harpers Bazaar, January 1955
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50s model Jeannie Patchett in a striped headscarf on the cover of July 1951 Vogue.
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Jean Patchett in a 1950s advert for Moorevilles bold plaid from Harpers Bazaar 1955.
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Jean Patchett photographed for a vintage Enka Rayon advert from Vogue 1950. Photographed by John Rawlings in the New York apartment of Mme. Helena Rubinstein.
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Jean Patchett photographed by Horst P Horst for November 1948 Vogue wearing a wonderful berry coloured evening coat.
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