• Fashion
Jul 14, 2012 4:20 PM EDT
0
Bastille-Day Babes! 8 French Style Icons

By

Fullscreen

2 of 9

Cleo-de-Merode_Cigarette-card

Cleo de Merode, 1875-1966

Nicknamed “the beauty of the belle epoque,” Cleo was a famed ballet dancer, but it was her tiny waist and fashionable hairstyle — seen on postcards and playing cards — that made Cleo the envy and emulation of Parisian women. Her dramatic presence also mesmerized countless artists (Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec painted her; Alexandre Falguiere sculpted “The Dancer” after her physique), and both King Léopold II and Gustav Klimt were struck with cupid’s arrow.

Photo: Via TopInAmbours

Related Stories

Month of Party Girls
19lyz_olko_0062
Check it out
Refinery29 TV
Street Fashion 1 Girl, 4 Looks: Ashley Turchin's Model-Turned-Shopowner Style opener2
More Style At Your Fingertips