The Dame, The Designer and "The Gasp"

Our icon, Patron Saint and eternal role-model Dame Shirley Bassey celebrates her 85th birthday today, and we remain completely and utterly in awe of her as always...

However, by way of a tribute, let's concentrate on her frocks - one in particular - and the magnificently flamboyant old queen behind them all!

Apparently a favourite outfit, Dame Shirl has worn "The Cat Suit" on numerous occasions since the late 1960s - including her record-breaking run of performances at The Talk of the Town nightclub in April 1970, on several record sleeves including Something Else (1971), Diamonds Are Forever and The Shirley Bassey Collection (1972), and several times since, including at her 60th birthday concert in Althorp Park in July 1997. The intricately-beaded and sequinned suit and its accessories were modified a number of times over the years, notably the fact the legs were designed with wide flares trimmed with marabou and these were latterly straightened and the trims removed as fashions changed.

Back in August 2021, we were enthralled when - having been purchased by the V&A in London - its meticulous restoration for display was featured in the BBC "fly-on-the-wall" documentary Secrets of the Museum:

Secrets of the Museum- Dame Shirley Bassey - The restoring of the cat suit

This magnificent ensemble was the creation of the man who became the Dame's "go-to" frock designer for more than five decades, Douglas Darnell.

A precocious child, always fascinated by on-screen Hollywood outfits, when Douglas was seven his mother taught him to use a sewing machine, and by the age of 12 he was making fancy dress costumes for the floats in the local carnival. From humble beginnings as a window-dresser for C&A and various other department stores, he landed an apprenticeship with Royal couturier Norman Hartnell. However, when he was given a magnet to pick up pins from the floor, he told the grand old man that they could pick up the pins for themselves and promptly left the building. “That boy,” Hartnell reportedly commented, “will go far.” And he certainly did.

Fom his own premises - first in Soho, later in Mayfair - "Darnell of London" attracted myriad showbiz names of the 1950s and 60s including The Beverley Sisters, strongwoman Joan Rhodes, Diana Dors, Joan Collins, Zsa-Zsa Gabor, Dorothy Squires and drag queens including Ricky Renee and Danny LaRue.

From his obituary in 2012, his sister Linda paid tribute to the "great perfectionist":

"He never left the house unless everything was colour coordinated and matching - not a hair out of place and in his favourite jewellery.

"Doug enjoyed making women look gorgeous and glamorous."

When Dame Shirley decided to auction a selection of frocks Doug had designed for her for charity back in 2003, she personally thanked him from the stage, describing him as "not someone who makes gowns, but an architect and an engineer, he is just magic" - and she credited him for "the gasp" she always got from her audience when she first walked out on stage wearing his numbers, with their extravagant nicknames such as "The Diamond Gown", "The Mermaid Gown" and the "Tassel Gown", as well as the (notoriously skimpy) one that made worldwide headlines and became known as "the gownless evening-strap", and many more besides...

The highlight of the sale was a spectacular Darnell creation, a full-length gown encrusted with Swarovski crystals which fetched £35,000. Dame Shirley remarked that, in an age of convenient off-the-roll, pre-sequinned and beaded fabrics, she knew of no one else who would spend so much time sewing on thousands of individual stones. His workmanship and expertise, she added, were second to none.

A documentary featuring Shirley talking about her life and her frock collection, in which Douglas Darnell appears, is on "The Shirley Bassey Blog" here.

According to Doug's sister Linda again:

"...legend has it that one night in 1965, after sharing top billing with Shirley Bassey, Dusty Springfield sneaked into the dressing room to find out who had made her stunning outfits. The name on the label read 'Darnell of London', the fashion house was later contacted by Dusty - and the rest is history."

Indeed, Dusty became a regular customer, and developed a whole new "stage persona" as a result. On one famous occasion she said from the stage:"Do you like the frock? I've borrowed it from Dorothy Squires; only she has to have it back by midnight because she's hired the Vatican for a one-night stand!"

I very much doubt anything Dusty wore was ever quite as OTT as Dotty's...

click any pic to enlarge

But, of course, as it is her birthday after all, the last word must go to Dame Shirley Bassey herself - wearing "The Cat Suit", naturally...

Shirley Bassey - On A Wonderful Day Like Today’, I’ll Never Fall In Love Again, This Is My Life [Monte Carlo Sporting Club, 1970]

Many happy returns, Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey, DBE (born 8th January 1937)

RIP, Douglas Darnell (15th August 1933 - 25th April 2012)