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Phyllis Dalton, a British costume designer whose unflinching attention to detail earned her Oscars for \u201cDoctor Zhivago\u201d and \u201cHenry V\u201d and acclaim for her emotive, striking costumes in \u201cLawrence of Arabia,\u201d died on Jan. 9 at her home in Somerset, England. She was 99.<\/p>\n
The death was confirmed by her stepson, James Barton.<\/p>\n
Ms. Dalton\u2019s keen eye was most apparent in period dramas and historical epics. She was known for her subtlety, crafting clothing that blended seamlessly into each film\u2019s era.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone can make a smart frock,\u201d she said in a brochure that was handed out during a 2012 British Academy of Film and Television Arts tribute to her. \u201cIt\u2019s much more difficult to make people from the past who are wearing ordinary clothes look real.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phyllis Margaret Dalton was born on Oct. 16, 1925, in Chiswick, a suburb of London, to William John Tysoe Dalton, who worked for the Great Western Railway, and Elizabeth Marion (Mason) Dalton, who worked at a bank. Phyllis began studying costume design at Ealing Art College at 13 and later became a code breaker in the Women\u2019s Royal Naval Service at the facility at Bletchley Park, a role she once said she considered \u201cunbelievably boring.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
One of Ms. Dalton\u2019s earliest stints in wardrobe was on the 1950 crime melodrama \u201cEye Witness.\u201d She honed her skills working on costumes for Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s 1956 remake of \u201cThe Man Who Knew Too Much,\u201d Robert Rossen\u2019s \u201cIsland in the Sun\u201d (1957) and Carol Reed\u2019s \u201cOur Man in Havana\u201d (1959). In the 1960s, she completed two of her most renowned designs three years apart, dressing entire armies for \u201cLawrence of Arabia\u201d (1962) and \u201cDoctor Zhivago\u201d (1965).<\/p>\n
After 50 years of experience on more than 40 feature films, including \u201dThe Princess Bride\u201d (1987), she earned her last credit on Kenneth Branagh\u2019s adaptation of \u201cMuch Ado About Nothing\u201d in 1993.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look back at some of her most celebrated costumes:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n