Vikki Dougan: The provocative model who was once known as “The Back” of Hollywood, 1950s-1960s

 

Can the world ever forget model Vicky Dougan, once known as "The Back" of Hollywood? Vicky was a provocateur who turned heads during her prime, and decades later, those who saw her in her acts and those who only heard about her still talk about the model's influence, Which operates through her famous backless dress.

Vicky Dougan was born Edith Tucker in 1929 in Brooklyn, New York, and soon her mother sent her to live at a boarding school in upstate New York.

As a teenager, she began winning beauty pageants including Miss Coney Island and the eighth annual New York Skate Queen pageant, leading to a lucrative modeling career.

Her agent recommended her to change her name and she took the first name Vicky, after actress Vicki Lester, and began using her mother's maiden name, Dougan, as her last name.

In 1956, publicity-man Milton Weiss got the idea to promote Vicky by using a backless dress to gain publicity. Clothes just weren't backless. His line was cut to the crack of the bum.

The idea was to achieve a contrast with the fashion for models and actresses with large breasts, such as Jane Mansfield. Like every walk of life, sexism did well in the film industry.

Milton even nicknamed Dougan "The Back" to make the commotion even greater. He fixed her to attend parties and events in her bright clothes. Soon, photographers noticed.

In 1953, photographer Ralph Crane photographed Dougan for Life magazine, and their October 26 edition featured Dougan on the cover. The photos became iconic.