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Slim Aarons: Once Upon A Time
Slim Once Upon a Time is a luxurious photography book presenting the ultimate insider’s view of the lifestyles of the wealthy, privileged, and powerful.
Increasingly heralded for his influence, Slim Aarons has established his place in the pantheon of great postwar photographers. It was Aarons who perfected, if not invented, the environmental portrait while photographing the international elite in their exclusive playgrounds during the jet-set decades of the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, carrying out his self-described to document “attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places.”
Sexy women in tiny bikinis and handsome men dressed for dinner, fabulous homes and boats, and splendid pools and gardens are the playground of Slim Aarons’s world. You’ll find style and joy in visiting them in this rapturous coffee-table celebration of living well.
Join the Duke and Duchess of Windsor for dinner at the Waldorf Astoria. Visit novelist Elizabeth Bowen at Bowen’s Court, her ancestral home in County Cork, Ireland. Jump on a speedboat with actor George Hamilton and his beautiful friends. Pulitzer, Vanderbilt, Hearst, and Ford are just some of the bold-faced names who light up this Who’s Who of society.
Presenting Hollywood royalty, European aristocracy, the grandes dames of high society, captains of industry, media moguls, statesmen, and luminaries of various stripes, across a vast geography of opulent and glamorous settings, Slim Aarons’s photographs—some 250 of which are included here—define the legendary class known as the Beautiful People and document a lost era of style, grace, and grandeur.
Increasingly heralded for his influence, Slim Aarons has established his place in the pantheon of great postwar photographers. It was Aarons who perfected, if not invented, the environmental portrait while photographing the international elite in their exclusive playgrounds during the jet-set decades of the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, carrying out his self-described to document “attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places.”
Sexy women in tiny bikinis and handsome men dressed for dinner, fabulous homes and boats, and splendid pools and gardens are the playground of Slim Aarons’s world. You’ll find style and joy in visiting them in this rapturous coffee-table celebration of living well.
Join the Duke and Duchess of Windsor for dinner at the Waldorf Astoria. Visit novelist Elizabeth Bowen at Bowen’s Court, her ancestral home in County Cork, Ireland. Jump on a speedboat with actor George Hamilton and his beautiful friends. Pulitzer, Vanderbilt, Hearst, and Ford are just some of the bold-faced names who light up this Who’s Who of society.
Presenting Hollywood royalty, European aristocracy, the grandes dames of high society, captains of industry, media moguls, statesmen, and luminaries of various stripes, across a vast geography of opulent and glamorous settings, Slim Aarons’s photographs—some 250 of which are included here—define the legendary class known as the Beautiful People and document a lost era of style, grace, and grandeur.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2003
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519 people want to read
About the author
Slim Aarons
20 books30 followersSlim, one of the most influential photographers of his generation, started during World War II when he served as a combat photographer for Yank magazine in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. After the war he became a freelance photographer for many magazines including Holiday, Town & Country, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, Travel & Leisure, Look, and Life. Many of the pictures in this book were originally commissioned by the legendary Frank Zachary who for many years was editor-in-chief of Holiday and then Town & Country. In 1997, Getty Images signed on to represent the Slim Aarons collection and now serves as the primary curator of his work.
His editor and longtime friend Mr. Zachary wrote in his introduction to the book: “Slim has documented the life of the rich, the privileged, and the leisured for fifty years. Without animus or adulation, he has mirrored the changing countenance of society—face lifts and all. His sustained focus on this historically inaccessible segment of society is without parallel in the annals of photography and possibly even literature . . . Slim’s achievement stands alone. It is the only visual chronicle (and in living color, too) of the privileged class in our time ..."
His editor and longtime friend Mr. Zachary wrote in his introduction to the book: “Slim has documented the life of the rich, the privileged, and the leisured for fifty years. Without animus or adulation, he has mirrored the changing countenance of society—face lifts and all. His sustained focus on this historically inaccessible segment of society is without parallel in the annals of photography and possibly even literature . . . Slim’s achievement stands alone. It is the only visual chronicle (and in living color, too) of the privileged class in our time ..."
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 22, 2025
saw this book in a cute store and was so interested i almost spent $75 on it. then i remembered libraries exist. thank you, libraries.
some of the photos in this are extraordinarily good and some are just okay. i recommend to anyone who likes pretty stuff, rich people, and/or musing about the good old days.
for me, appreciating one of the three made me have an okay time.
bottom line: i like pretty stuff.
some of the photos in this are extraordinarily good and some are just okay. i recommend to anyone who likes pretty stuff, rich people, and/or musing about the good old days.
for me, appreciating one of the three made me have an okay time.
bottom line: i like pretty stuff.
June 11, 2018
Beautiful book. If like me you grew up in the sixties and seventies and are nostalgic about the technicolor and sunshine glamour of those days, when we could sunbathe, smoke and drink without knowing how bad it was for us! Days when tans were seen as exotic (the sign of a glamours lifestyle) not from fake bake tubes, and the summers seemed endless.
May 19, 2024
Lush photographs, trying without trying.
The results are imperfectly perfect: no models, no lighting specialists, no set designers; only Slim's amazing eye and timing with his subject(s) in the breathtaking architectural, historical, some ancient, settings of those who live well from the beach to the castle.
Mostly, life, as it's happening, with luxe shots, indoors and out. Admittedly, I'm a sucker for anything Royal or aristocratic and Slim covers a variety: English, Irish, Spanish, Belgian, Austrian, German, French, Italian, and Monégasque.
What he learned from American artist Man Ray is my favorite quote, "He taught me so many tricks that I still use-most important, keep it simple."
Highly recommended for all artists and art/architecture lovers.
The results are imperfectly perfect: no models, no lighting specialists, no set designers; only Slim's amazing eye and timing with his subject(s) in the breathtaking architectural, historical, some ancient, settings of those who live well from the beach to the castle.
Mostly, life, as it's happening, with luxe shots, indoors and out. Admittedly, I'm a sucker for anything Royal or aristocratic and Slim covers a variety: English, Irish, Spanish, Belgian, Austrian, German, French, Italian, and Monégasque.
What he learned from American artist Man Ray is my favorite quote, "He taught me so many tricks that I still use-most important, keep it simple."
Highly recommended for all artists and art/architecture lovers.
August 19, 2011
Considered the quintessential WASP photography book, Once Upon a Time, does not disappoint. I love the crisp, frank photography of Aarons, especially evident in his Palm Beach shots.
May 6, 2024
Essentially just pretty pictures of rich people doing rich people things. It was quite enjoyable.
April 11, 2021
Very weird and interesting. I usually don't add photography books to my feed, but this was an exception as it sparked so many thoughts.
On these pages we see a collection of people who are very wealthy and very powerful.
As all good photography, this peeks behind a curtain and shows something that isn't usually seen. It contains over-the-top lavish wealth and very tasteless imagery, for example a woman posing on a great bengal tiger that has been turned into a mat.
The gaze is neutral: it doesn't judge. Or maybe: it's not neutral, because it doesn't judge.
As I was going through these pages, I got a sense of restlessness. Most of these people, sitting on piles of money had no idea how to spend it. You can see it in their taste (or the lack of it) and their overall uselessness that reeks from these pages.
When I stumbled upon a picture of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, I had another revelation: there's people who have earned their money. They are nietzschean übermensch: they are exceptionally talented and are thus paid by everyone who want to see their talent (such as actors, musicians...) or they have been working their way to the top via inventions, be it building a new industry or coming up with something that doesn't exist. Nobody should be rich, but it's a bit more acceptable when it happens through the elevation of the self and thus the whole mankind.
But all of the rich people who are sitting on old money or who have just hacked/rigged the financial game or whatever it is that have caused them to gain such wealth and power (that wouldn't exist without the wealth) should hang their heads in shame and give their money away.
On these pages we see a collection of people who are very wealthy and very powerful.
As all good photography, this peeks behind a curtain and shows something that isn't usually seen. It contains over-the-top lavish wealth and very tasteless imagery, for example a woman posing on a great bengal tiger that has been turned into a mat.
The gaze is neutral: it doesn't judge. Or maybe: it's not neutral, because it doesn't judge.
As I was going through these pages, I got a sense of restlessness. Most of these people, sitting on piles of money had no idea how to spend it. You can see it in their taste (or the lack of it) and their overall uselessness that reeks from these pages.
When I stumbled upon a picture of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, I had another revelation: there's people who have earned their money. They are nietzschean übermensch: they are exceptionally talented and are thus paid by everyone who want to see their talent (such as actors, musicians...) or they have been working their way to the top via inventions, be it building a new industry or coming up with something that doesn't exist. Nobody should be rich, but it's a bit more acceptable when it happens through the elevation of the self and thus the whole mankind.
But all of the rich people who are sitting on old money or who have just hacked/rigged the financial game or whatever it is that have caused them to gain such wealth and power (that wouldn't exist without the wealth) should hang their heads in shame and give their money away.
September 21, 2020
Wonderful pictures from around the world from Aaron's early years. Just beautiful.
March 14, 2022
A fascinating inside look at the glamourous life of the elite. Beautiful pictures of beautiful places and beautiful people Slim's trademark.
February 17, 2023
My job has a lot of art books around "for show/display" and I read this one day when it was slow. It's absolutely gorgeous and reminiscent of "the good ole days". Highly recommended!
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November 9, 2018
I'm kinda getting addicted to this Slim Aarons now. This is such a gorgeous big coffee table book!
This is my second book by him and I enjoy reading how he came to be a photographer of the rich, famous and privileged. His photographs are history itself, what with film stars, royalty, presidents, etc... being captured on film. The photos are still just as beautiful and colorful and have lost none of their luster over the years. Timeless!
This is my second book by him and I enjoy reading how he came to be a photographer of the rich, famous and privileged. His photographs are history itself, what with film stars, royalty, presidents, etc... being captured on film. The photos are still just as beautiful and colorful and have lost none of their luster over the years. Timeless!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews