Dorothy Tivis (1919–2010) was a pioneering American model, fashion executive, and trailblazing feminist. Born in Fargo, North Dakota, she started her career in journalism before being discovered on a New York subway and rising to prominence as one of the top high-fashion models of the mid-1940s and ’50s.
Tivis made history in 1951 by becoming the first major fashion model to appear in a lingerie advertisement, famously fronting the iconic Maidenform “I dreamed I won the election in my Maidenform bra” campaign. After retiring from modeling, she transitioned into the corporate world, becoming Vice President of Marketing at Genesco and producing groundbreaking runway shows.
A bold innovator, Tivis co-founded “The Forgotten Woman,” one of the first fashion brands dedicated to plus-size women, and remained an active voice in feminism, politics, arts, and animal welfare throughout her remarkable life. These vintage photos beautifully capture Dorothy Tivis at the height of her modeling career in the 1940s.
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| Dorothy Tivis photographed by Horst P. Horst, Vogue, September 1, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis in a gray square-cut double-breasted herringbone tweed suit by Kraus, accented with yellow scarf hat and gloves, photo by John Rawlings, Vogue, September 1, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis in black lace skirt and blue satin with black lace jacket by Hattie Carnegie, photo by Horst P. Horst, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis in black suit with yellow plaid trim on the jacket, photo by Horst P. Horst, Vogue November 15, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis in fitted double-breasted suit by Larry Aldrich, photo by John Rawlings, Vogue, September 1, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis in romantic ball dress of Rémond-Holland striped rayon-taffeta, photo by Irving Penn, Vogue, September 15, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis in sand colored suit with coin buttons by Sacony, photo by John Rawlings, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis in wool coat with lyre-shaped neckline and collar by Ben Reig, photo by John Rawlings, Vogue, September 1, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis wearing dark gray wool fitted suit from B.H. Wragge together with leopard hat and handbag, photo by John Rawlings, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis wearing steel blue draped rayon dinner dress from Trigere, photo by John Rawlings, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis, cover photo by Horst P. Horst, Vogue, September 1, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis in black Forstmann broadcloth suit with big collar wired to stand up and white handkerchief linen blouse that flares out of the V, black straw hat is coronet in reverse, by Hattie Carnegie, photo by Louise Dahl-Wolfe, April 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis in black Persian lamb coat, loose and unfitted until its close-about-the hips ending by Revillon Frères, beaver tri-corn by Lilly Daché, photo by Kay Bell, Vogue, December 1, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis in egg-nog beige wool cut-away hostess coat by Joseph Whitehead for Bergdorf Goodman, photo by Kay Bell, Vogue, December 1, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis in iron-gray wool-fleece tunic coat over chrome-gray wool dress scarfed high at the neck by Omar Kiam for Ben Reig, photo by John Rawlings, Vogue, September 1, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis wearing a brooch in gold, spun fine as tulle, sprinkled with diamonds, meshed into a butterfly bow from Van Cleef & Arpels, photo by Constantin Joffé, Vogue, October 1, 1946 |
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| Dorothy Tivis in a fine wool gabardine suit by Anthony Blotta, photo by Richard Avedon,m Vogue, January 15, 1947 |
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| Dorothy Tivis in stunning gown of hammered satin woven with Enka rayon by Suzanne-Augustine, mink from Bonwit Teller fur salon, photo by Baker-Vogue Studio, Harper's Bazaar, November 1947 |
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| Dorothy Tivis with ostrich opera pump, by Newton Elkin, along side her face, comparing it’s light brown color to that of her hair, photo by Erwin Blumenfeld, US Vogue, February 1, 1949 |
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| Dorothy Tivis with ostrich opera pump, by Newton Elkin, along side her face, comparing it’s light brown color to that of her hair, photo by Erwin Blumenfeld, US Vogue, February 1, 1949 |
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