The Goalen

Mini-Bio Series, Models, Social Media Content

Photo: John French

Barbara Goalen was a 24 year-old widow with two babies when she took up modeling. She had been an aspiring artist; with the onset of war, she gave that up and became an ambulance driver. When her husband was killed, she had to look at a serious career and modeling came up. She tried it, liked it and accepted all bookings, earning what every model did in 1947—5 guineas an hour (about £5 pounds in today's money). One thing she had going for her was her figure; her measurements were 33-18-31. More importantly, she looked haughty and posh—she had what Vogue called the “mink and diamonds” look, which was much-needed for the post-war New Look, which would lift women out of the dreary greyness of post-war life.

 “The Goalen”, as she came to be known, quickly became the favourite of the three men who would make her career: Christian Dior, and photographers Clifford Coffin and John French. For Dior, the appeal is obvious. Coffin, the ‘wild man’ who spent 10 years masterfully shooting fashion for Vogue but loathed editors, enjoyed mentoring models because, he felt that they contributed as much to the finished piece as the dress or the photographer. Goalen’s look and attitude were, for him, perfection (sadly, most of the photos he took of her were lost in a fire).

But it was John French who made Goalen the most photographed woman in Britain. In the late 1940s, newspapers weren’t interested in covering fashion—there were more important things going on and images didn’t translate well. French created a method of using natural lighting to produce images that would reproduce well in newsprint. And Goalen, with her very white skin and raven hair, was perfect for this type of photography. As her exposure expanded to newspaper readers, she became a household name and was sent around the world to promote all things British.

Saying she didn’t want to “slide down the slippery slope”, Goalen retired from modeling in 1954, by which time she was one of the highest-paid models in the world. She re-married, had children, became a designer of children’s clothing, did charity work, wrote about fashion and campaigned against parking meters. To the end, she was impeccably coiffed, manicured and gloved. She never divulged her age, so neither will I. She died in 2002.