As her cinematic presence spilled over into everyday life, Greta Garbo influenced the appearance of an entire generation. Glamour and style were tied in to this new idea of sex: the way she did her hair, the distinctive way she outlined her eyes – those deep, spiritual eyes that were supposed to be blue but always seemed much darker, shaded as they were under extraordinarily long lashes.

Seeking to imitate this took, false eyelashes would become a staple in women's makeup. Garbo's effect on fashion crossed over in subtle ways.

Part of “the look” would include sunglasses and certain hats, particularly berets and cloche hats. Both-had been around for some time, but Garbo would give them new life. Although her look was entirely natural, not all of the effects were unplanned. One movie “trick” involved the subtle highlights cameraman William Daniels brought out in her eyes and hair. The cinematographer had a small keylight mounted near the camera to illuminate what many acknowledged to be Garbo's most striking feature: her eyes.

Daniels claimed that her eyes photographed darkly because of her emotional nature – but it also helped to have black flats around her. In close-up shots, dark blue or black velvet positioned near the camera showed as a dark reflection in her eyes. She had the opposite problem with her hair, which was honey blond but appeared darker in black-and-white films without Daniels' help.