Mona Bismarck once earned the title Best Dressed Woman in the World, an honor that hasn't been bestowed on anyone else since. Such was her devotion to style and fashion that the legendary Diana Vreeland had said that Bismarck, upon hearing of the closure of Cristobal Balenziaga's atelier, did not leave her room for three days. In the photos in this post, you can see just how incredibly stylish Bismarck was.

The photographs were taken by Cecil Beaton who was as fascinated by fashion as he was by interiors. And you can see in these portraits just how Bismarck's...