Greta Garbo – working the ‘tude I ‘vant’ to be her. Ah, Garbo. The icon, the saucepot, the mystery, the wearer of dressing gowns and parasols … Silent-era Garbo worked the come-hither look like no one before or indeed since. Here in this still from The Flesh and the Devil (1926) she demonstrates how sitting on a rock can still be fashion-hot, if only you can raise an eyebrow, tilt your head and work your outfit properly. As she famously said, “Life would be so wonderful if only we knew what to do with it”

Photograph: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar