Singer, actress, dancer, voice actress, comedienne, activist, author, and songwriter Eartha Kitt had style in spades. Just like the songs she was most remembered for (“C’est si bon” and “Santa Baby”) her sense of fashion was wholly original. That’s why, on her birthday especially, we’ll always remember style icon Eartha Kitt.
Eartha Kitt began her career in 1942, but she worked all the way up into the early 2000s before she passed away in 2008. In fact, some people may also know her for her work with Disney – for The Emperor’s New Groove (2000), she voiced the villainous Yzma, and she worked on Holes (2003) too.
Yet as a style icon, she’s most memorable for her distinct point of view as well as the risks she took. She often took things to extremes, with full leopard-print outfits inclusive of gowns, coats and the matching animal by her side. She donned plenty of lush furs, sometimes just a shawl worn as a mini dress. She made tight leggings and bodysuits look cool and she never avoided a bright and boldly colored turban, nor an embellished sequin bodysuit. Designer Zac Posen famously named a handbag after the style icon Eartha Kitt, whom he often has cited as one of his biggest fashion inspirations.
One thing I especially love about Eartha Kitt’s style is her devotion to all things cats. Of course, there’s the ample leopard print, but she also loved a good cat fashion moment regardless. In one of our favorite videos, for “I want to be evil,” she dramatically sings, hand motions and all, next to a leopard with a wide-open mouth. Critics even described her voice as cat-like, with purs, and of course her name itself (she was born Eartha Mae Keith) has the uncanny resemblance to the word “kitten”. But she took things a step further even, as she took on the role of Catwoman on the TV series Batman in the 1960s. She embodied all the glamour of a cool cat lover and more.
All hail Eartha Kitt Style Icon and cat lady.
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