The voluptuous Sophia Loren was among the most successful international stars of the postwar era; not only did she rise to fame as a sex symbol, but she also won a measure of critical acclaim rarely afforded most of her foreign-born contemporaries. Her film Houseboat, where she played alongside Cary Grant, is one of my favorite movies.

“A woman’s dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.” -Sophia Loren

“Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.” -Sophia Loren

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” -Sophia Loren

The staircase of Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay’s home

“I believe in flashy entrances,” said Jayne Mansfield, whose Pink Palace in Bel-Air epitomized the camp icon’s screen and celebrity image in the early 1960s. Her collection of hundreds of magazine covers adorned the staircase—she appeared in Life as well as in Playboy. “Publicity has always come to me. I haven’t gone to it,” the actress once said. “But I’ve been cooperative.”

Mansfield on the balcony overlooking the living room

“I would rather stay at home…and have a dinner before the fireplace,” said Mansfield, who identified with her character in The Girl Can’t Help It: “All she wants is to be a wife and mother, but sex keeps getting in the way.” The lettering in the arabesque above the living room fireplace commemorated her marriage to Hargitay, who did much of the handiwork in the house. Her favored heart motif was quilted into the purple sofas.

Mansfield and Hargitay in their office

“Nobody cares about a figure like 163,” she said of her supposed IQ. “They’re more interested in 40-21-35.” The typewriter carried the house’s predominant color, pink, into the red leather office.

Mansfield in the pink bedroom

The couple shared the Pink Palace with Powderpuff, a Pekingese, several Chihuahuas and an ocelot. One of her Playboy spreads, partially shot in the pink bedroom, was banned in Chicago.

Mansfield in her bath

Mansfield announced her ambition to have a house in Beverly Hills and a million dollars—and to be a star. She traded promotional appearances for an estimated $150,000 worth of merchandise for the house, including the pink shag for the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling treatment in the bath.

Jayne Mansfield patiently awaiting the completion of her heart-shaped swimming pool

Husband Mickey Hargitay, who owned his own construction company before becoming 1955’s Mr. Universe, built the pool for her as a part of her “Pink Palace” with a matching heart-shaped jacuzzi.

As a special surprise, Mickey even inscribed the words “I love you Jaynie” in gold leaf mosaic at the bottom of the pool.

Mansfield in her pool

Mansfield relaxes in the couple’s forty-foot-wide pool surrounded by dozens of Jayne Mansfield Hot Water Bottles, a novelty item introduced in 1957. She demanded “a heart-shaped house with a heart-shaped pool” as a precondition for her marriage to Mickey Hargitay.

source: architectural digest and weheartit

“I’ve been through it all, baby, I’m mother courage.”-Elizabeth Taylor

Sharon Tate has one of the most gorgeous faces on the screen. Those eyes and that smile also led to her appearing regularly in fashion magazines as a model and cover girl. Unfortunately the story of her death sometimes overshadows her career but in the 1960′s she was hailed as one of Hollywood’s promising newcomers. Sharon was even nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in Valley of the Dolls, a movie I have no problem watching over and over again. Her look is the epitome of a California girl.

Brigitte Bardot always comes to mind when someone utters the word pinup or sex symbol. Men lusted after her womanly figure while women lusted after and tried to copy her 50′s pinup girl style. Her large kohl rimmed eyes and pale pink lips were her fashion trademarks. Bardot was also a rebel who resisted the claustrophobic mores of the 50′s with her relaxed way of dressing.

“She is every man’s idea of the girl he’d like to meet in Paris” said the film-critic Ivon Addams in 1955. She often wore her blonde hair in a wild pony tail or sometimes pigtails in a look that today is thought of as the perfect bedhead look. Her pink gingham wedding dress designed by Jacques Esterel became a sensation in 1956. Also, in 1956 Brigitte starred in the film And God Created Woman which was an international success. For more Brigitte visit the Style Guide at Night Owl Vintage.