Farley, Lillian T. (April 14th 1896-September 7th 1987)
Dates
- Existence: April 14th 1896 - September 7th 1987
Parallel Names
- Clive, Petra (stage name)
- Dinarzade (model pseudonym)
- Farley, Mrs. Frank (name by second marriage)
- Fischer, Lillian (name by first marriage)
- Mulligan, Lillian Toffelmire (maiden name)
Biography
Lillian Farley was born Lillian Mulligan in Knoxville, Tennessee, on April 14, 1896. Her father worked as a superintendent at a local woolen mill, and her mother was a teacher at Maryville College. Following the closure of the woolen mills in the region, her father transitioned to a career as a motor mechanic, which resulted in the family relocating multiple times to seek employment. Their residences included Newport, Kentucky; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Cincinnati, Ohio. In Cincinnati, Lillian attended Woodward High School. She was later accepted into the Cincinnati School of Expression, where she financed her education by working as a secretary. During this period, at approximately age 16 around 1912, she gained acting experience through unpaid stage performances at Cincinnati’s Orpheum Theater. It was at this venue that she met her future husband, Frank Farley, who was touring with the Mantell Theater Company; however, their marriage would not take place for quite some time.
Her family eventually arranged to move to New York City to support her aspiration of becoming an actress, settling in an apartment on West 41st Street. While auditioning for acting roles, Lillian also pursued opportunities as a dress model, or mannequin, to showcase new fashion designs. Additionally, she began performing as a singer in Vaudeville acts, sometimes performing alongside her sister, Hildred. Around 1918, when she was 22 years old, she was hired as a mannequin for the renowned fashion house Lucile, Ltd. Madame Lucile assigned her the pseudonym "Dinarzade," she became one of Lucile’s "Golden Girls," and Dinarzade became the name she was largely known as. This position provided a substantial income and eventually became her primary occupation, though she continued to engage in various performance acts. In 1925, she participated in a prominent engagement with the House of Patou, which brought a group of American mannequins to Paris to better serve its American clientele. After a year, Lillian returned to the United States, however she soon secured a role as a representative for Bergdorf Goodman back in Paris and later became Main Bocher’s assistant at Paris Vogue. She subsequently joined the Paris editorial staff of Vogue and later became the Paris fashion editor for Harper's Bazaar. She then returned to America, establishing herself as a fashion writer and consultant in Hollywood.
While working for Lucile in New York, Lillian had married Max Fischer, an officer in the Navy. The marriage did not last long, however the two did not divorce for some time. Published photographs and articles name her Lillian Fischer or Dinarzade. She tried using the pseudonym Petra Clive for stage work, however it did not stick. In the late 1930s, she reconnected with and married Frank Farley.
During World War II, between 1939 and 1944, Frank and Lillian moved to London where Frank served as managing director of British Paramount Films. During this period, Lillian volunteered with the British Civilian Relief and Mobile Canteens. She also led the Escort Bureau for the Committee for the Evacuation of Children to the United States and Canada and served as the director of the 7th Aeroclub at Membury in Berkshire. Lillian returned to New York at some point, however it is unclear whether she did so before or after Frank's death in 1951. From 1956 to 1962, she worked for Bergdorf Goodman in New York City as a sales associate on the Fashion Floor. Subsequently, she served as Deputy Manager for Whiting India Guilds, Inc., a nonprofit organization that funded teachers’ salaries for home-industry education in India, until the age of 72. Lillian passed away on September 7, 1987, at the age of 91.