Her unfussy, clean-cut style was seen as typically American, and she was named to the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List in 1959.

In 1937, she was presented as a debutante and, in 1939, she was voted the "Glamor Girl of the Massachusetts North Shore in a beauty contest which prompted her to have a stint as a showgirl.

Other friends included Truman Capote, Sawai Man Singh II of Jaipur, Barbara Hutton, Diana Vreeland, Babe Paley and William S. Paley, Gloria Guinness and Thomas "Loel" Guinness, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who were the godparents of their children.

In 1986, she expanded her design work to include a limited line of sportswear sold under license, and, in 1990, she came out with a fragrant insect repellent and other garden merchandise.

[7] Guest died on November 8, 2003, in Old Westbury, New York, at the age of 83, as a friend was driving her to the hospital after she experienced breathing difficulties at home.