how to dress for halloween

venice bal besteigui photographed by robert doisneau, september 3, 1951

marisa berenson dressed as marchesa luisa casati at le bal proust photographed by cecil beaton, 1971

a group of elves with an elf king, 1909

gala & salvador dali’s “night in a surrealist forest” dinner party, 1941

oscar de la renta (left) and baron alexis de rede (right) at de rede's bal oriental, 5 december 1969

marquise mahaut de chabannes in cléopatra costume for  marchesa casati’s “fete of ancient splendour," at her rose palace photographed by george hoyningen-huene,  ca. 1927 

senhora espírito santo and the duke and duchess of cadaval at the surrealiste ball, 1972

suzy beryl wearing an erté costume in coeurs en folie (la revue des folies bergère), 1924

venice bal besteigui photographed by robert doisneau, 3 september 1951

costume party, ca. 1920s

bal des masques organized by baron de redé at the hôtel lambert, (possibly bal des têtes) photographed by andré ostier, 1956 

 jacques fath as "charles IV", madame fath as "elizabeth of austria" and christian bérard as "henry VIII" atthe bal des rois et reines, paris, 1949

marquisa luisa casati wearing "queen of the night" costume designed by léon bakst, 1922 

mrs. robert l. stevens dressed as greta garbo for the masquerade ball given by muriel maxwell in the crystal room at the ritz, photographed by edward steichen, paris,  9 december, 1929

kids in halloween costumes photographed by arthur tress, ca. 1960s

okay, okay, so most of these are not from halloween....but really, aren't these costumes so much more interesting than a slutty nurse or slutty slut?

the story-tellers, part 41

lee miller's eye, photograph by man ray, 1932.

eye, ass, photograph by ralph gibson, 1975.

eye and beach montage, photograph by maurice tabard, 1949.

eyeball, photograph by daido moriyama, 1986.

donyale luna with earrings, photograph by charlotte march, 1966.

james joyce after eye surgery, photograph by berenice abbott.

countess castiglione, photograph by pierre-louis pierson, 1860.

eye watch by salvador dali, 1950.

mary jane russell, photograph by clifford coffin, 1950.

Emilie vient à moi en rêve, collage by jindřich Štyrský, 1933.

joan crawford

icon - lee miller

à l'heure de l'observatoire les amoureux, 1934 (lips from lee miller) by salvador dali

photograph by george hoyningen-huene, 1932

photograph by man ray, 1932

photograph by arnold genthe, 1927

in sweden taken by her father, 1930

photograph by man ray, 1929

in a black satin gown by jeanne lanvin & boucheron jewels for vogue, photograph by edward steichen, may 1931

with husband roland penrose, ca. 1940s

 in hitler's tub, photograph by david schermer, 1945

with pablo picasso, liberation of paris, 1944

women firewatchers london, photograph by lee miller, 1940

lee miller was born in poughkeepsie, new york in 1907. in 1927 she was discovered by condé nast) when he pulled the 20 year old miller from the path of an oncoming car. she would have a short but successful career as a vogue cover girl over the next 2 years, being photographed by edward steichen, arnold genthe & nikolas muray among others. her career was ended when a photograph taken by steichen was used for a kotex ad causing quite a sensation.
in 1929 she traveled to paris with a letter of introduction from steichen to meet man ray. she became his protege, collaborator & lover for the next 3 years. together with man ray, she discovered the photographic technique of solarisation when a mouse ran over her foot & she accidentally exposed the dark room to light.
she was an active participant in the surrealist movement, counting among her circle of friends pablo picasso, paul éluard, max ernst, joan miró &  jean cocteau. she appeared as a statue in cocteau's the blood of a poet in 1930 & was painted several times by picasso - she was even rumored to have been a lover of charles chaplin.  photojournalist john phillips called her "an american free spirit wrapped in the body of a greek goddess."
she set up her own photographic studio & during world war II she documented the london blitz for vogue & worked as a correspondent for the u.s. army, shooting the siege of saint-malo & the liberations of buchenwald, dachau & paris.
a year or so after the end of the war, miller returned to london. she was depressed, exhausted & drinking heavily. her life had been consumed with war for the past seven years, & like many war veterans, she seemed unable to make the transition to peace. during this time she divorced her first husband, egyptian millionaire & art patron aziz eloui bey (they had married in 1934). she reunited with her lover, artist & art historian roland penrose & became pregnant with their son antony.
she stopped taking photographs in the early 1950s & refused to allow any of her photographs to be shown & rejected all attempts to interview her.  she devoted the rest of her life to collecting cooking recipes & remained withdrawn, depressed & drinking heavily until her death in 1977.