By Ellena Sweet | Campus News Editor
It was in the early 1960s that a young Caterine Milinaire took a train from north of England to London. On this train, she encountered four, young English musicians who she recalls as being “a lot of fun.” After talking and laughing together for the duration of their trip, Milinaire informed the group that she was a youth fashion editor for the UK based magazine Queen and extended an invitation for them to pose for the publication.
Soon after, Milinaire approached her editor about putting together a fashion shoot featuring the musicians. Thinking the band’s name ridiculous, the editor ultimately rejected her vision. In case you’ve pieced things together: yes, the four Englishmen that Milinaire met on the train formed the Beatles, and it was just six months after this encounter that the legendary group first exploded in the UK and beyond.
A ten-minute conversation with Milinaire might yield any number of stories such as this; stories of far away places, famous faces and, above all else, adventure. In her lifetime, Milinaire has been associated with such renowned publications as Queen, New York Magazine, Interview and Vogue. She has traveled around the world more than once and has photographed nearly every moment. She has written four books, including the massively successful “fashion Bible,” Cheap Chic. Co-written with Carol Troy, the book was recently rereleased in honor of its 40th anniversary. As her many accomplishments demonstrate, Milinaire’s life has been enchanting, to say the least.
Caterine Milinaire was born in Paris, France in 1942. After giving birth to four children, Milinaire’s mother, who married at the age of seventeen, concluded that life as a housewife was tedious. Thereby, she took off to pursue a career in film and soon became one of the first female producers of her time. To this day, Milinaire remembers her mother returning from America with the most incredible stories of big, open spaces and even bigger stars (Robert Mitchum and Frank Sinatra, just to name two).
Evidently, when sharing her own life story, Milinaire places great emphasis on that of her mother. For her, her mother’s boldness was instrumental in giving her a sense of the world beyond her French, bourgeois family. “She had an incredible, adventurous spirit,” Milinaire says. “I think it’s sort of informed me that there is more to life than just being married and producing kids.”
After spending much of her youth in boarding school, Milinaire ventured off to England with her mother, where she spent her summers modeling. At the age of eighteen, Milinaire began working for the British publication Queen magazine (after being sold in 1968, the magazine transformed into what is now known as Harper’s Bazaar). As Milinaire recalls, it was the early 1960s and London was exploding with youth fashion. It was in light of this that Queen set out to develop a new image that would appeal to younger audiences. Milinaire proved to be just the girl Queen needed to make that happen.
Later, in 1964, while out scouting spring fashion, Milinaire set her sights on an “exotic” looking woman across the room from her. “I remember thinking, this woman is really fascinating,” Milinaire says. The exotic woman was none other than Diana Vreeland, then editor-in-chief of Vogue. Milinaire approached Vreeland to discuss the state of American Vogue, which featured only couture at the time. According to Milinaire, the magazine was in dire need of youth fashion content. Ultimately, Milinaire convinced Vreeland of the same and, after returning to America, Vreeland phoned Milinaire to invite her to New York. “And there started, in 1965, my American life,” Milinaire says.
To this day, what Milinaire loves most about America is its energy. “Anybody with ideas, anybody with energy to put their ideas across, has a chance,” says Milinaire. As the story of her own life proves, it is this vision of the American spirit that Milinaire evokes; she’s a woman full of ideas and driven by the energy needed to bring them to fruition.
During her time at Vogue, Milinaire worked alongside the best photographers of the time, such as Richard Avedon, Irving Penn and Helmut Newton. In watching these masterminds at work, she realized that their job seemed far more interesting than hers, and thus her passion for photography began. Milinaire found a way to apply this passion to her work at Vogue by producing “Boutique Pages,” which featured photographs of ordinary people on the street who had their own way of pulling themselves together. Within these pages, the prototype of street fashion in Vogue was born.
Soon, Milinaire was itching to travel the world. “I was more interested in adventure,” Milinaire says. So, she set off with her boyfriend, Maurice, who worked in the art department at Vogue. The pair’s six-month journey around the world began in Portland, Oregon and carried them all the way to Milinaire’s native country, France. Together, they took photos every step of the way. “That was my lucky time,” says Milinaire.
It was after the birth of her daughter some years later that Milinaire decided to write her first book, Birth. Having had an incredible experience bringing her own child into the world, Milinaire envisioned a book written by a parent, for parents. “It talks to you like your mother or midwife would talk to you,” Milinaire says. Successfully striking a nerve among readers, Birth sold over half a million copies.
Soon after, Milinaire’s publisher was eager to know what her next book would be. “I said okay, first you’re born, you’re naked, what’s next? They wrap you up in some sort of cloth, right?” And just like that, Milinaire came up with the idea for Cheap Chic, a book about putting yourself together on any budget.
Having maintained success for 40 years now, the book covers a range of basics that evidently remain relevant today. “The book has lasted because we’re dealing with the basics that last,” Milinaire says. She finds the book especially relevant for college students, as it offers a wide range of styles, teaching what is classic, what is quality, all while maintaining a sense of whimsy. “It’s a sort of guideline of what’s beyond school; there’s that next step between university and the world, and the book bridges it somehow,” Milinaire says.
Above all, Milinaire encourages students to think beyond their studies, to think about how they can shape their lives with their dreams. “What I’d say to your readers is don’t be afraid of following your intuitions,” Milinaire says. “Don’t be afraid see where your ideas lead you.”
Cheap Chic is available at Isherwood and Company, located on Bowen’s Wharf in Newport.
If your interested in hearing more about the life of Caterine Milinaire, catch her talk with Dr. Joan Johnson-Freeze at the Newport Public Library on November 5th, from 6-7pm, organized by the Women’s Resource Center of Newport.
