'She asked the fashion designer Ret Turner to style her dress, cautioning "Remember, I don't have that thirty-four-inch waist anymore." From six sketches she selected a high-necked, long-sleeved black dress covered with bugle beads and imitation diamonds that was slit straight up the side to her panty line. The morning of her fitting, she showed up at Ret's salon very much a tired and ailing old lady in her zippered robe, accompanied by her treasured poodle, Tinker Bell. "I didn't see any reason to get dressed and undressed," she told him, and hauled on the gown. Its weight surprised her. "Get away from here, Tink," she advised her dog. "If this dress falls on you it will kill you." ' —The Life of Lucille Ball. #lucilleball #retturner #fashiondesigner #poodle #academyawards #classichollywood #littledogs https://www.instagram.com/p/B2UN8ySHOWW/?igshid=9jqr4n8jsnef