Legendary illustrator Steven Stipelman shares with me illustrations he did of Babe Paley for W. BABE PALEY —the Fashion Goddess— wife of William S. Paley, powerful head of CBS, stands out from the best dressed ladies because she leads. She doesn’t follow trends, she inspires them. She can wear a caftan to a museum opening; others follow. She appears in skunk and squirrel these ecology-minded days; it has become a new trend. Her newest direction is hand painted silks and ancient Mandarin robes. She runs gracious homes on Long Island and in Nassau, loves to garden and for three years has been studying sculpting. What Babe Paley says about fashion: “Neatness—which is grooming after all—is definitely the most important requirement.” Her figure: A model size 6 or 8, she is over 5 feet 8 inches. She likes to accent her slim body with narrow shapes and high set in armholes. She has long legs, beautiful hands and feet. Her Favorite designers Halston, Mary McFadden, Adolfo, Givenchy, and occasionally, St. Laurent. What she likes for day: She doesn’t like prints or mid calf skirts and hardly ever wears a belt. She likes straight pants, slightly flared ones for evening. Her skirts for day are just below the knee. Her coats in leather or wool are skinny, but full when they are in furs such as sable, squirrel, or skunk. What she likes for Evening: Her concept about restaurant dressing — a woman should fade into the ambiance and not stand out. She likes classic clothes, mostly black when dining out. For at home, she likes color. Her favorites are peach, strong yellow, jade green, true red, and lime green. She doesn’t like bare necklines. She prefers deep V’s filled in with jewels or a scarf. Her biggest desire is always to have something that no one has. She wants to be different. If she knows any of her friends have ordered a dress, she won’t take the same one. She likes things that float and is good at handling stoles, since she moves gracefully and is very feminine. During her holiday trip to Nassau she wore Halston’s bright yellow evening pajamas with blue and yellow sapphire earrings, which her husband gave her for Christmas. #babepaley #trumansswann #capotevstheswans #foryourpagetiktok #oldmoneyaesthetic #classicstyle #halston