Why did Jovanka Broz never change her hairstyle, and how did her style mark a particular era? A story about fashion, attitude, and the personal choices of the First Lady of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).
When you think of Jovanka Broz, what comes to mind is the image of a woman who justified her status as Yugoslavia’s First Lady on a daily basis.
The wife of Josip Broz Tito followed the trends of her time while simultaneously setting them, thus building a recognisable style, glamorous and simple at the same time. She mostly wore dresses with V-necks and a defined waist, high-quality leather handbags, pearl necklaces, and always, exclusively, a high, round bun.
During her party days, she had a wavy, slicked-back pageboy hairstyle, but when she became First Lady, she began shaping her thick, intensely black hair into a voluminous bun, slicked back to give it an even fuller appearance.
As her dressmaker, Zuzi Jelinek once revealed, Jovanka Broz was not so loyal to this hairstyle by chance.
“She really was beautiful, with curves, lovely breasts, and teeth; it was a real pleasure to look at her. The only thing I didn’t like about her was that she always had the same hairstyle,” Zuzi once said.
As she recalled, she tried to convince her to try something different, but Jovanka refused because she did not want to adapt to anyone else’s taste.
“Once I told her: ‘Comrade Jovanka, change your hairstyle, we women must constantly change, because men like to see us differently.’ And she shouted: ‘No! I have my own hairstyle, which I’m used to, and let the men get used to it,'” the dressmaker recounted about Jovanka Broz.
Zuzi also shared that it was important to the Marshal that Jovanka make a good impression with her style: “Tito was very committed to her always looking nice and often told me to sew the best I could for her.”
The unforgettable style of Jovanka Broz
The former First Lady of the SFRY is also remembered as a woman who made a significant contribution to the development of the fashion industry in our region, then part of greater Yugoslavia.
She regularly attended fashion shows from the front row – both those featuring foreign designers and those presenting domestic designers.
Her favourite was Aleksandar Joksimovic, a man who shaped and defined the Yugoslav fashion scene for more than three and a half decades. In addition to cultivating a sophisticated style and wearing elegant clothing, she often supported the knitting and crocheting industry from Sirogojno and encouraged interest in handicrafts,
N1 writes.
