Patty Boyd - fashion icon of the 1960s (12 photos)

She became one of the most desirable women in the history of rock music. Patti was the first to put on a miniskirt and demonstrated the most defiant and bright trends of the hippie era, driving the idols of that time crazy.





In 1944, in the southwest of England, in the town of Taunton, Patricia Ann Boyd is born. The girl's father was a military man and the family often moved. From 1948 to 1953 the family lived in Kenya, and then returned to England, where Patti studied in closed schools at monasteries.

In 1962, after leaving school, Patricia moved to London and got a job as a shampoo girl at Elizabeth Arden's beauty salon: she washed clients' heads. Here, at the suggestion of one of the visitors to the salon, who worked in a fashion magazine, she decided to try to become a model.



Everything did not work out right away - Patty's non-standard appearance was not all appreciated. Angular girl, with protruding front teeth with diastema and chubby cheeks - photographers thought that she should not be model. One insultingly told her, "models shouldn't look like rabbits". But Patty was not embarrassed and she continued to try.

But at the same time, the 60s of the last century were a time of constant discoveries and standard ideals of beauty were increasingly replaced by original ones. And so Patty soon became interested in fashion photographers, keeping up with change. Already in the mid-60s, Patti became famous - she worked with designer Mary Quant and photographers Terence Donovan and David Bailey.



Patti was mostly known in England, but also worked in Paris and New York. She became an example of a stereotype about the ideal English girl in the 1960s. Slender big-eyed blonde with long feet. But at the same time, not frozen with a "model" expression, but alive, with smiles and a little awkwardness. Playful, ironic, open to the world. Pretty, but not overbearingly sexy. In general, a normal woman, in whose veins flow blood, not tanning oil.



Such a girl could easily put on funny glasses, a bright dress, fooling around in public and will not treat yourself and your appearance too seriously. Charming, stylish, with the manners of a real lady, without even being an aristocrat.

It was Patti Boyd who became one of the first to reflect this image in pop culture and Twiggy in a few years will be guided precisely on her.



Becoming a famous model, Patti starred for magazines such as Vogue, Tatler, Elle, Vanity Fair and worked with the best photographers. She is even wrote a column for the youth magazine 16 Magazine for a while and starred in television commercials. Patti dictated youth fashion 1960s and kept pace with the times.

Patti's style expresses the brightest trends of the era. It was Patti who became one of the first to wear a miniskirt, and later added style to high fashion hippies - loose light dresses with floral prints, vests, jeans, glasses of unusual shape, baubles. Freedom, experiment and self-expression.



Patti also became one of the first to appear on the pages of popular magazines. taught fans how to do hair and makeup like hers. Then this format became the norm for all fashion magazines.



But in the history of pop culture, Patti Boyd has remained not only a model. Same her popularity was added by relationships with the main musicians of that time - Eric Clapton and George Harrison.

Patty met Harrison in 1964 on the set of Evening have a hard day", where she played one of the schoolgirl fans of the Beatles.



Boyd said that one of the first things Harrison said to her was these: "Will you marry me? Well, if you don't marry me, Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

Patti initially refused because she had a small relationship with photographer, but a few days later she broke up and on the second Harrison's invitation has already been accepted. In 1966 George and Patty got married.



They lived together for several happy years, but inearly 1970s relationships began to fizzle out. Patty mentioned in passing that George was she was unfaithful, and also overdid it with alcohol and drugs.

She left him in 1974, and the couple officially divorced only three years later.



Patty soon began dating Eric Clapton, whom she married in 1979.

Patti and Eric had known each other for a long time, because the musician was one of Harrison's closest friends. Eric fell in love with Patty even then, but not made encroachments towards the wife of a better friend. He even dated her sister, but could not switch attention. Patty Clapton dedicated his songs by Layla and Bell Bottom Blues, published on the 1970 album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.



But, unfortunately, in 1987 this marriage broke up. The reason is, in general, was the same - Clapton achieved the love of a woman, about whom so long dreamed, but could not give up drugs, alcohol and women. The Patti-Eric couple officially divorced in 1989.



In general, Patti fascinated rock musicians. She was admitted to romantic feelings Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and Mick Jagger Tried to seduce Patty several times while she was still a wife Harrison, but without success.

Songs were dedicated to her, she was loved, she became a truly iconic figure in the history of pop culture, if not the world, but Europe for sure.