Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-12
THE PSYCHOLOGY
OF STAGE CLOTHES

A uyri,er in the Theatre Magazine In
sists that very few American actresses
have acquired the art OF dressing parl
properly. that is to say, they do not un-
derstand the psychology OF stage clothes
The writer, herself a woman. says;
I'm real life women of different types
have certain characteristics ways OF dress
ing, which, II properly understooa' usu
ally prove to be the keynotes OF their re-
snecfive personaIities. An actress OF
artistic temperament and Intuition viii
tell you that to design gowns and wear
them as would their counterparts In reai
life, is half the secret of character I'M
personation Consequently, In choosing
toilets an actress should select those
that will most forciDly aceentuate the
psychology of the character she Is to en-
act. while at the same time they VIII
emphasize the.salient and distinctive per-
sonality of the woman she intends 10 por-
tray. While lunehing one day with Liz
zie Hudson Collier, she reminiscently con-
fded to the writer that Madame Janaus-
chek found it impossible TO faithfully and
artistically portray the character of Nance
Oldaeld unless she wore, as she always
did in playing the part. coarse, un-
bledched muslin undergarments. Ihls ap-
probation of the psychology of clothes,
while it may seem so. Is not extreme. LIZ,
as many women will acknowledge, GER
tain of their gowns will plunge them into
appropriate moods, how true 1t must be
that the correct toilet will put tenn
peramentally sensitive acti ess psycholog-
ically ell rapport with the role she is in
terpreting. For instance, Katherine Grey
in Business Is Business" played the
daughter Of an extreme type of parvenu
not in Redfern's latest walking gowns
nor Worth S dernier cri in evening toll
let's but in the clothes of sincere. unas-
suning type of thoughtful girl who has
tasted the bitterness of poverty, and upon
whose mind her fathers method of ac-
ouiring his wealth had preyed to the
verge of morbidness. The gowns she wore
were simple in make, even more quiet IN
color, and the absence of elaborate TRIM
ming and intricate design, which would
have suggested an expensive dressmaker.
proclaimed at once to the audience
phase of the hidden psychology of the
character which Miss Grey so subtly por-
trayed.
'rWhy are Nine. Reiane and Olga Meth
ersole the leading exponents of dress on
the modern stage? Simply because they
intuitively understand the psychology of
clothes and design their gowns accord
ingly. AS famous dressmakers first study
the precise type of customer before de-
signing a gown lndls wall illL oIllA III 4lC'
physically, but will also
psychologically clothe her Interpretation
OF the role she Is creating out of her soul
and imagination. No dressmaker, how
ever skillful, can accurately design
gown for a part when only the actress
herself understands it's subtle personality
as she Intends enacting II on the stage.
"Why is 1T that We wiseacres smile In
polite derision at the mustached villain
7 ottia (sttfpnharpr evening tORS
when he intends numbering the hero. nd
vet weep syrnpathetically with the hero
inc who returns from London, with or
without the 'chi-i-i-ld" and begs forgive-
ness of her father, squeezed to the point
of suffocation In a black or brown prtn-
cess dress? Is 1t because We jealous wo-
men envy her fit. her figure or the tyran-
ny cf her tears2
.sIn "A Modern Magdalen' Amelia Bing-
ham impersonated the elder daughter OF
a poor family, living In the rear OF a
fourth class tenement. She worked as
shop girl, while her mother took In wash
ing to support tippling debauehe OF
husband Miss Bingham made her first
entrance into this curious menage pur-
sued by the villain, because forsooth she
was diked out in the aforementioned
handy with their needles. sometimes but
the vast majority have to make the most
of ready-to-wears. and It is only pearl
among dressmakers who can make a
prineess gown fit so that men will look
at 1t twice and that particular princess!
Her Expensive Corset
'sFor the sake of argument one might
even concede that the girl In the play
made her own gown, but even tyro at
dress would never have suspected her Of
manufacturing the corset that she wore
underneath. The amount that the Mod
ern Magdalen paid her corsetiere for that
particular pair Of stays would have kept