Charles James was a couturier's courturier who championed the 'New Look' along with Dior, just less commercially and more exquisitely (exquisite is the word of the day, folks!). Cecil Beaton was a tastemaker, artist, author, photographer, designer from the mid 20th century, best known for his set and costume designs for such movies as Gigi and My fair lady. Pair them together and you have 2 of the geniuses of the 20th century working together! It's so odd that most of my favorite designers (and characters, they were all odd!) were friends. In this huge world they found each other to share ideas with. How lucky!
I love the fact that these models are seen relaxing before a fashion show in a BEAUTIFUL room in beautiful gowns. They're having tea, fixing their hair in the mirrors and chatting: they're LIVING in beauty GLAMOROUSLY. 
I especially love the color version of this as it has that TECHNICOLOR glow -so much better than REAL color. The black and white images is also beautiful but doesn't capture quite everything for me. The most memorable part of this famous photograph for me is the model off on her own in the background on the far left side. You get a glimpse of her looking into the mirror; a private moment. She is eyeing the photographer and through him, us, the viewer. She seems to be saying ' oh, just leave me alone'. She had no idea she would live on for history in this really insignificant moment during her life.
I've looked for a quality hard photo of this image for years to frame, but haven't found one in my price range (they range from 4-6k!!! for a copy of a photograph!!). One day, one day...
