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Hollywood's Most Daring Vintage Fashion Moments
12.
Clara Bow's Bathing Suit
Clara Bow was the original "It Girl" and was one of Hollywood's biggest stars during the flapper era. She was known as "a hard-partying jazz-baby", and wasn't afraid to break a few rules.
Actors were able to get away with racier dress choices, but even Bow raised a few eyebrows when she appeared at a dinner party wearing nothing but a bathing suit.
David Stenn, author of Clara Bow: Runnin' Wild, explained, "When director Frank Tuttle invited her to dine with his family at the elegant Beverly Hills Hotel, Clara arrived in a belted bathing suit. 'It was a shocker,' one of Tuttle's daughters remembers. It was also a violation of both the hotel's dress code[s] and Hollywood's rule of formal dress for evening engagements, yet Clara couldn't fathom the fuss. Why should something she wore make someone else uncomfortable?"
Actors were able to get away with racier dress choices, but even Bow raised a few eyebrows when she appeared at a dinner party wearing nothing but a bathing suit.
David Stenn, author of Clara Bow: Runnin' Wild, explained, "When director Frank Tuttle invited her to dine with his family at the elegant Beverly Hills Hotel, Clara arrived in a belted bathing suit. 'It was a shocker,' one of Tuttle's daughters remembers. It was also a violation of both the hotel's dress code[s] and Hollywood's rule of formal dress for evening engagements, yet Clara couldn't fathom the fuss. Why should something she wore make someone else uncomfortable?"
