Style Icon: Vulnavia

by Tanya

The illustrious Vincent Price has left us with many cult gems of horror and suspense. One of his characters, and probably one of my favorite villains of classic horror ever, is Dr. Anton Phibes, a brilliant, reclusive man who set out on an elaborate revenge scheme in The Abominable Dr. Phibes. Executing his plan with theatrical grandeur and styling the murders after the Ten Plagues of Egypt, Phibes went about unleashing his vengeance on those he held responsible for his wife’s death. In his quest to right that terrible wrong, the Doctor is assisted by a silent, stunning assistant named Vulnavia, played by Virginia North. While I could go on and on about the movie, I’ll leave that for a more detailed post over on Cinema Midnight, a film blog I’m doing with Marie AKA Agent Lover. (We soft launched last fall, but then had to put it on the back burner for a while. It’s a work in progress.)Â Instead, straight and to the point, here are some photos of Vulnavia’s glorious outfits.

From towering headdresses and gilded capes, to fur hats and leather driving gloves, she set the bar pretty high for sidekicks, henchmen and nefarious assistants everywhere. She drove Phibes around, helped him stalk and kill his victims, and after they were done, they’d unwind by waltzing to the music performed by his animatronic band.