Mia Farrow is one of Hollywood’s most storied stars. Over the course of her decades-long career, it seems, Mia’s done it all. In 1968, she earned her scream queen stripes in horror classic Rosemary’s Baby. She dipped her toes into New York’s cinema verité with John & Mary. And she even took on one of the most iconic characters in 20th century literature as Daisy Buchanan in 1974’s The Great Gatsby.
But that’s not all! In the late 60s, Mia married Frank Sinatra in a secret, four minute-long ceremony. She was also one of the 540 guests to attend Truman Capote’s legendary Black and White Ball. She became a muse to the king of Mod, Pierre Cardin. She even once shared a car with Salvador Dalì (and took home his cane.)
With those credentials, it’s no surprise that Mia became the Hollywood face of 60s Mod. We’re talking Peter Pan collars, boxy shift dresses, itsy bitsy babydolls and a Vidal Sassoon pixie cut, to top it all off. Here, we take a look back at some of the iconic outfits that made the actress a 60s legend.
After her wedding to Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas, 1966
In 1966, Mia Farrow secretly wed singer Frank Sinatra in a four minute-long civil ceremony at Las Vegas’ Sands Hotel. Of course, the wedding wasn’t to be a secret for long. Here, press photograph Mia in her perfectly Mod wedding look: a pale pink silk two-piece trimmed with rhinestone buttons.
At Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball, 1966
Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball was the party of the century. In November of 1966, the author-slash-socialite threw what he called “a little masked ball” for 540 of his closest friends. It was the largest “private” party ever thrown, and invitees included Mia and Frank, along with a who’s who of New York’s upper echelon (Vanderbilts, Kennedys, Astors, et al.). Guests were asked to dress in black and white, and, of course, don a mask. Mia opted for a floor-length brocade gown and a sweet butterfly-shaped mask.
At the Odeon in London, 1967
Before making her big break with Rosemary’s Baby, Mia made her feature debut in 1968 spy flick A Dandy in Aspic. The film was costumed by king of Mod, Pierre Cardin, with Mia wearing an array of the decade’s youthful shift dresses and A-line frocks. It appears that Mia loved Pierre’s designs so much, she took some of them home with her. Here, not long after the movie wrapped, Mia wears one of her Dandy costumes — a fur-trimmed cape dress — to a film premiere in London.
At a Pierre Cardin presentation, 1967
Mia and Pierre Cardin, a match made in Mod heaven. After collaborating on A Dandy in Aspic, Mia became enamoured with the designer’s confections and, vice versa, the actress became one of Pierre’s muses. Here, Mia wears one of the designer’s Peter Pan collared looks to his 1967 presentation in Paris.
Filming Rosemary’s Baby, 1967
After spending much of her career on the small screen, Mia made her big Hollywood break in the 1968 horror Rosemary’s Baby. In addition to becoming a genre classic, the film has also made a place for itself in the annals of fashion, where Mia-as-Rosemary’s Mod wardrobe continues to influence designers and fashion fans alike. From floral shift dresses and quilted housecoats to bibbed babydolls and silk pantsuits, every look in this film is perfection. One of the standouts, however, appears just over halfway through, as Rosemary begins to unravel the mystery at the film’s core. The look, pictured above, has it all: Peter Pan collar, sheer sleeves, big box pleat, pork pie hat and a Chanel 2.55 for good measure.
Getting a hair cut on the set of Rosemary’s Baby, 1967
Did you know that celebrity hairdresser Vidal Sassoon didn’t actually give Mia her signature pixie cut? In 2012, the actress set straight decades of erroneous fashion history in a letter to The New York Times. “I had literally cut [my hair] myself earlier that year — with a pair of fingernail scissors,” wrote Mia. “This was long before I ever heard of Vidal Sassoon.” It turns out that the much-photographed haircut was actually a publicity stunt. Rosemary’s Baby author Ira Levin had dropped the famous hairdresser’s name in the film’s source text, and director Roman Polanski decided to keep the mention in the film’s script. Because of this — and likely due to Vidal’s celebrity status — Paramount Studios decided to invite the hairdresser to the film’s set to cut Mia’s hair in front of a flock of photographers. “Mr. Sassoon trimmed my 1 1/2-inch hair to 1 inch,” wrote Mia. “The whole event was taken in good spirits.”
As Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby, 1974
Mia brought one of literature’s most fashionable characters to life in the 1974 adaptation of The Great Gatsby. In the film, Mia’s Daisy Buchanan wears swathes and swathes of pastel chiffon: floating, feather-light gowns that come to embody the character’s naiveté as much as her Old Money pedigree. Daisy’s most memorable look arrives, however, the first time we see her attend one of Gatsby’s parties. This flashy, flapper-inspired ensemble sees Daisy step into the decadence of the decade’s New Money, and, man, is it iconic!