Mirror, Mirror: Not a fashion plate, but a dynamite style-setter

Before reality television dames were dripped in diamonds, draped in furs, and devoted to their dogs, there was the beautiful, raven-haired, violet-eyed fashion and lifestyle icon Elizabeth Taylor.

From the time Taylor began her film career in Lassie Come Home at the tender age of 10, women and young girls have been coveting her on-screen style choices, from those jodhpur pants in National Velvet to the lace and silk white slip she favored in 1958's sultry Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

"She wasn't a fashion person, but her images in whatever role she was playing . . . would be picked up by everyone," said Jane Likens, associate professor of fashion design at Philadelphia University. "One of the most important roles I remember her in was Cleopatra. . . . I mean everyone had that eye. It had such a very strong influence in fashion."

Taylor's natural beauty also played a role in her image, from her alabaster skin to her bouffant hair to her ruby-red, heart-shaped lips and teeny, tiny waistline. Decades before implants became the Hollywood norm, Taylor boasted natural breasts once described as "apocalyptic." Like many beauties who battle the bulge, her ups and downs with weight made her relatable to everyday women.

And those who didn't look like Taylor could revel in her scent. When she was in her mid-50s, Taylor introduced her first perfume, Passion. White Diamonds, another she launched with Elizabeth Arden, followed in 1991, and remains the best-selling celebrity perfume of all time.

"She was the first celebrity to put her name on a fragrance that was accessible to many," said Lori Zelenko on behalf of the New York-based Fragrance Foundation. Zelenko shared the stage with Taylor in 1988 when Passion won the organization's top honor.

"She came down off the silver screen into the lives of American women. They thought they could be part of her glamorous life."

And therein lies Taylor's charm.

1944 12-year-old Elizabeth Taylor appears in National Velvet. Taylor's apple cheeks give her a natural blush, but it's those knickers that make little girls want to learn how to sew.

1950 It becomes apparent from the costumes in Father of the Bride that Taylor's waist will be one of her greatest fashion accessories.

1951 Famed costume designer Edith Head designs her strapless white dress in A Place in the Sun that highlights her décolletage. The hourglass shape is complete - and the dress knockoff sells 32,000 copies, making it one of the most popular dresses ever.

1958 The white slip Taylor wears in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is the precursor to underwear as outerwear. Decades later, we will see starlets with exposed bras and lacy chemises under jackets. "This look was not only very glamorous," Likens said, "it was very controversial."

1959 The white bathing suit Taylor wears in Suddenly, Last Summer gives thousands of women a mission to find the same suit.

1960 Not only does Taylor win an Academy Award for Butterfield 8, the film also helps her establish her signature coif - as it does for many other women. This big hair stays with Taylor through the 1980s.

1963 For Cleopatra, makeup artist Alberto De Rossi paints exotic eyes on Taylor, bringing those violet orbs to life and giving her a look that women will mimic throughout the '60s. Taylor will wear this look into the '80s, too.

1968 Richard Burton's first big jewelry purchase for Taylor is the Asscher-cut Krupp Diamond. 

1980s Taylor is so well-known for wearing furs, she becomes the spokeswoman for Blackglama. 

1983 Taylor acts as a fashion accessory of sorts to Michael Jackson and his pet chimpanzee, Bubbles. She begins gaining and losing weight.

1987 Taylor introduces Passion perfume, becoming the first celebrity whose name is behind a fragrance. That sets off a ubiquitous trend; everyone from J.Lo to Rihanna later develops a scent.

1991 The follow-up fragrance White Diamonds debuts. This will become the best-selling celebrity perfume of all time.

1997 On the eve of her 65th birthday, Taylor is named godmother to Jackson's son Prince. Jackson said he had his chin resculpted to resemble Taylor's.