In the 1950s, Lucille Ball was a pioneer in the world of television and fashion. She is best known for her role as a clumsy and goofy housewife in the hit series I Love Lucy. Ball did things on and off the set that made her what many considered a risk taker, but the end result was a loyal following of views for her show and the admiration of women everywhere. Even though she passed away two decades ago, Lucille Ball is still a much beloved icon and women everywhere like to dress like her.

When you think about dressing like Lucille Ball you can’t get away from her quirky character Lucy. Here is how to capture the essence of Ball:

•    Wear a shirtdress: A shirtdress buttons, like a shirt, from the collar to the waist. The garment flares out below the waistline in similar fashion to a poodle skirt. The waist is usually then covered with a belt. This is the classic outfit that Ball always wore on I Love Lucy. Remember that the show was on in a time where there was no color television and only black and white, so go with lighter colors or very dark colors when choosing solids. You can always spruce it up a bit and go for a shirtdress with polka dots as Ball sometimes did.
•    Pump it up: Lucille Ball made the look of pumps famous. Pumps are closed toed shoes that have a bit of a heel to them, but not too high. These types of shoes are the perfect complement to the shirtdress and the color should match the shirtdress. To get the full effect, wear pumps that have the toe come to a point rather that a rounded toe as Ball seemed to prefer this type.
•    Accessories: Like most women in those days, Ball went on the lighter side of jewelry. A simple yet elegant pair of earring and perhaps a small gold chin is about as risky as you want to go here. You can add scarves and even hair scarves that tie up your hair as Ball wore both quite often on the show.
•    Hair and make-up: Lucille Ball wore her hair up 98 percent of the time. Her natural curly hair made it look as though a red poodle was taking a nap on her head. That is probably why her style of hair cut is referred to as a ‘poodle cut.’ If you can, get a poodle cut and go for the complete look by coloring your hair a very bright red to match the fireyness of Ball. When applying your make-up, be sure to accentuate your cheekbones and use a bright red for your lipstick color as Ball did. She also had prominent eye lashes and eyebrows and you can replicate this look with an eye brow pencil and some false eye lashes.

Now that you are looking like Lucy, all you have to do is wait to hear those famous words, “Hey Lucy, I’m Home.”