Oscar-Winning Costume Designer Phyllis Dalton Dies

Despite being a costume designer, Phyllis was not a small name in the Hollywood industry. During her 50-year-plus career, this costume designer received an Oscar and British Academy Television Awards (Bafta) nomination for Carol Reed's Victorian-era best picture winner Oliver! (1968). She won a Bafta for The Hireling (1973) which was set in post-World War One.

She later landed an Emmy for Clive Donner's 1982 telefilm The Scarlet Pimpernel. It takes place amid the French Revolution.

Phyllis's journey didn't start with the direct entry to pedestal opportunities. She had to work her way to success.

She started as a wardrobe assistant on Laurence Olivier's Henry V (1944) and got her first costume designer credit dressing Richard Todd and Glynis Johns on Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue (1953).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Phyllis aided the legendary Edith Head on Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956).

Dalton received praise for the swashbuckling costumes in Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride (1987), the neo-noir thriller Dead Again (1991) and the romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing (1993).

Dalton wasn't even nominated for her most recognisable work - the precision military costumes and Arab wear she designed for Lawrence of Arabia (1962).

The director of the film, David Lean later expressed his disappointment to Phyllis. According to The Hollywood Reporter, his note said, "In a letter, Lean wrote to her expressing his disappointment at the lack of recognition: "I blame Columbia and [producer] Sam [Spiegel] for not somehow getting you nominated for your wonderful job. You did it so beautifully that I think they failed to realise every costume was an original by you."

The film received 10 Oscar nominations and won the prizes for Best Picture, director, cinematographer (Freddie Young), Art Direction (John Box, John Stoll, Dario Simoni), sound (John Cox), editing (Anne V. Coates) and Score (Maurice Jarre).