A Saturday Afternoon with Edith Head, Delta Zeta

This past weekend, I  had the opportunity to attend a P.E.O. event in the Chicago area. It was the Q Suburban Round Table luncheon. The name of the group comes from the railroad line, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy suburban train, which once connected the chapters in the round table. Representatives from the chapters in the round table meet several times a year. (P.E.O.s note that Illinois round tables are what other state, provincial and district chapters know as reciprocities.)

When I first saw the invitation, I was intrigued by the guest speaker. Although initially I had no plans on being at an event in the northern part of the state, I found myself in the Chicago area and was able to attend at the last minute. I am glad it worked out.

Martina Mathisen was Edith Head in a truly wonderful program. And although Head’s Delta Zeta connection wasn’t mentioned, I told a few of my table mates about it.

Fashion designer Edith Head was born on October 28, 1897. She was Delta Zeta’s 1960 Convention initiate as a member of Mu Chapter at the University of California-Berkeley. Head was a Berkeley graduate and had a master’s degree from Stanford University. She started as a teacher, took a few art courses so she could teach art, and by happenstance, applied for a job at one of the studios. Her hard work and perseverance paid off.

In 1968, she was Delta Zeta’s Woman of the Year. She had an unprecedented 35 Oscar nominations, of which she won eight. Moreover, she had 400 film credits over the course of her 50-year career. She was the first female head of a movie studio costume design department.

She lent her many talents to the Southern California Council of  Delta Zeta for their Lamplighters’ Flame Fantasy fashion show and luncheon during the 1960s and 1970s. The February 1968  show took place in the Century Plaza Hotel. More than a 1,000 alumnae and their friends attended the show. According to pre-event publicity, “Delta Zeta’s own Edith Head, Academy Award winning costume designer and noted author, will commentate the couturier show which will feature original California designs.”

Palos Verdes Peninsula News, February 16, 1978

Betty Davis called her “one of Hollywood’s greatest designers. She was an amazing woman in a field dominated by men in the 1930s and 1940s. While other designers were busy starring their clothes in a film, Edith was making clothes to suit a character; for her, the character always came first.”

Delta Zeta’s Foundation awards a scholarship in her name. Members studying fashion design or a related field are eligible. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6504 Hollywood Blvd.

Head died in 1981, four days shy  of her 84th birthday.