2019-06-01+Woman+and+Home

Istartedtoopenit. It wasthemorning
andmyhusbandandI werein thesame
room,andI kindofwent,“OhmyGod!
Ohno,ohno!”Andhesaid,“What’sthe
matter?’I said,“No,no,no,I thinkit’s
good.” Because it was such a surprise.

Theygiveyoua numbertocallbecause
it’sa lottotakeinandI wasn’t100%
surewhatit meant.I gotthisreally
niceladyonthephoneandI said,“Hello,
it’sTwiggyhere,”andshesaid,“Oh!
Congratulations!Areyoutogoingto
accept?”AndI replied,“Absolutely,
but is this right?” I couldn’t believe it.

It’sreallynicewhenI’moutand
peopletalktomeliketheyknowme,
especiallypeopleofmyage.Butthe
weirdthingis,whichis lovely,I getquite
a lotof fanmail,andmostof it is from
girlsaged16-25.They’reobsessedwith
the 60s and anything from that period.

In 1967 [celebratedfashioneditor]
DianaVreelandtookmeouttoAmerica,
andshewastheAnnaWintourofher
day– uberpowerfulin thefashionworld.
Onceshesaid,“Thisis thegirl,thisis
theface,”it wentglobal.Upuntilthen
I wasonlyknownin Englandbutthen
Dianagavemeherstampofapproval.
Youhavetogetit fromsomeone
powerful and she was that power.

Modellingwasjusta dreamforme.
Girlslikemedidn’tbecomemodels– I
didn’t have the look! It was only because

someonesawmeandpickedmeoutthat

it happened.Therehadn’tbeenanyone

wholookedlikemebutthat’sreallywhen

it happens. It has to be something new.

DuringmyfirsttriptoAmericaI

waswithBertStern,a wonderful

photographerwhoI workedwithfor

AmericanVogue.WhenI arrivedin New

York about two or three years after The

Beatles,it wasliketheBritishinvasion.

Bertcoveredthetripin a documentary

andthere’sa clipofmewalkingdown

FifthAvenueonEasterSunday.I’min a

minifauxfurcoat,withmyfunnylegsand

myshorthair,andtheykeepstopping

peopleandaskingif theyknowwhoI am.

Whentheystoppedonemiddle-aged

couple,himwithhisbrownraincoatand

trilbyhat,andherwitha littleEasterhat,

shesays,“It’sthatlittlegirlfromEngland,

thatTwiggy.Oh,she’ssocute!”And

thentheyaskhimwhathethinks,and

hesays,“Yeahshe’scute,she’lllasta

coupleofweeks.”It’sbrilliant.ButI could

have only lasted a couple of weeks.

Myfavouritestoryis whenI metmy

hero,FredAstaire.ThefirstfilmI did

wascalledTheBoyFriend, whichwas

a musical,andI hadtolearntosingand

danceforthat.SoI usedtowatchallthe

FredandGingermovies,andI became

obsessedwithFredAstaire.WhenThe

BoyFriendopenedin LosAngelesin 1971,

I wentovertheretodopublicity.I was

at MGMandtheyaskedmeif therewas

anyoneI’dliketomeetin Hollywood.I

said,“I’dlovetomeetFredAstaire!”And

it wentveryquietandtheysaid,“Mr

Astaireis veryprivate,he’sretiredand

he’squitea reclusesothat’snotgoingto

happen.”SoI replied,“Ohno,I wouldn’t

intrudeonhisprivacybutyouaskedme

who I’d like to meet and he’s my hero.”

I wentbacktothehotelandthephone

rang– it wastheMGMoffice.There

wasanolderladywho’doverheardthe

conversationandshehadworkedonall

theFredandGingerfilms,sosherang

FredandtoldhimthestoryandI got

aninvitationtotea!I wassoscared

buthewassowonderful.Hewas

themostbeautifulman,hewasso

modest,sogentlemanly...I was21,

hewas70-something.Hewascharm

personified.Wekeptin touch,and

I wentbacka fewmonthslaterandwe

arrangedtogooutfordinnerin Beverly

Hills.WewenttooneofthosePolynesian

restaurantswheretheyservethose

drinksin coconutswiththesparklers.

AndI wasn’ta drinker– I didn’tlikewine

then,I donow– butI couldseethese

drinksgoingbywiththesparklersand

I said,“I’llhaveone!”AndFred,who

didn’treallydrinkeither,hadonetoo.

Wecameoutandheactuallystartedto

tapdancedownthestreet.I thoughtI’d

diedandgonetoheaven.Hedida kind

of“tap,tap,tap”andthena pirouette

and said, “Hollywood, I love ya!”.

I pickandchoosewhatI donow

becausemygrandchildrenarehere.

They’reonlylittleforsucha short

amountoftimeandI’dhatetomiss

thatbecauseI’moffdoingthisandthat.

I trytodothingsthatwon’ttakeuplong

periods of time so I can be with the kids.

LeighandI havebeentogetherfor 34

yearsandhavebeenmarriedfor30.

He’sa goodman.Wewereluckyto

meet.He’smybestfriendandhe’s

reallyfunny.Humouris important.Love

changesbutwe’restillasin love now

as we were back then.

I’m 70 thisSeptember.Whata year!

WhenI say70,I think,“Ohmygoodness,

that’smad!”BecauseI don’tfeel70.

I feelthesamenowasI didin mymid-

tolate-thirties.There’snothingyoucan

doaboutit soyoushouldjustenjoy

it. I’mluckythatI’mstill here – long

may it last. w&h

DameTwiggyis a brandambassador

forMarks& SpencerandSpecsavers,

anda PatronoftheBritish Hedgehog

Preservation Society.

“Girls like me

didn’t become

models – I didn’t

have the look!”

phoToGrAphS

BrIAN

ArIS,

PA

ArCHIvE/PA

IMAGES,

PA

WIrE/PA

IMAGES

STyLInG

rACHEL

FANCONI

hAIr

MATTHEW

WADE

AT

CArOL

HAYES

MANAGEMENT

MAke-up

NICkY

TAvILLA

AT

TErrI

MANDUCA

USING

HOUrGLASS

preVIouS SpreAD

SUIT, BEATrICE B. SHIrT, THESHIrTCOMPANY.COM. SHOES, TrICkEr’S

ThIS SpreAD

SUIT, AMANDA WAkELEY. CAMISOLE, EILEEN FISHEr. TrAINErS, rUSSELL & BrOMLEY. EArrINGS, vAN PETErSON

Twiggycelebrates

herdamehood

with family