Saturday, June 17, 2023

Spring Blooms in Charlie Country

gorgeous Shelley in a promo pic
for Charlie perfume, 1981

Shelley was THE quintessential Charlie Girl and appeared in many, many ads for the brand around the world. She was THE Charlie Girl from 1976 to 1982; and she catapulted the brand (as well as herself) to iconic status. Ads (as well as many promotional materials) with her image appeared all over the world. Shelley's gorgeous, sexy and young (not to mention confident and independent) image was an inspiration to many women worldwide. She embodied the kind of woman women of that era aspired to be - liberated, approachable and beautiful.

Shelley in an advertisement/writeup
for Charlie by Revlon, 1981

In 1981, she appeared in an advertisement/writeup for Charlie's latest color and fragrance promotion called "Spring Blooms in Charlie Country." Energy, vitality, glowing good health, humor and intelligence were all the words that described THE Charlie Girl and the brand's latest colors embodied all those attributes. In fact, Charlie's latest collection could be called art because everything about it was based on a painting that LeRoy Neiman created especially for Charlie (Neiman was one of America's foremost artists who updated the Impressionist breakthrough with his depiction of TV/media celebrities and events in vibrant colors and spectacular imagery.) LeRoy Neiman's artwork became Charlie's new look for spring of 1981 - from color, to mood, to packaging, to bottle design and all. Of course, THE Charlie Girl Shelley was the inspiration for it.

LeRoy Neiman's painting for the Charlie brand
was the inspiration Charlie's new look for spring 1981
- color, mood, packaging, bottle and all -
as seen in Charlie's 1981 commercial
For more, check out: Springtime Charlie