Few women could capture a screen like Dorothy Dandridge did. The late actress' presence was enough to keep men's jaws dropped... and women attentively taking style notes.
Dandridge's appearance in 1954's "Carmen Jones" alongside Harry Belafonte was one of her biggest hits in the industry, leaving her with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress (a first for African Americans). Though she didn't win, the look she sported in the film is sill a classic: Who else could wear that fire-orange pencil skirt, that off-the-shoulder top and those hoop earrings as well as Dandridge?
Nobody, but we can certainly try -- we can already see fiery pencil skirts in our near future. In honor of what would have been Dandridge's 91st birthday today (Nov. 9), we're taking a look back at this iconic outfit on her 1954 cover of Life Magazine.
More vintage inspiration:
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