Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-10

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ding to Pierre Galante, a sort
of French Henry Luce. was a
truly French affair. Since a
close friend of the groom is
the Mayor of a town in the
Loire Valley. they were mar
ried there so that he could per-
form the ceremony. Immedi-
ately afterward his honor
presented the couple with the
official family book" given
all newlyweds and containing
space for twelve babies; then
they called on the village priest
and afterward every one went
of to the wedding feast. The
bride, whose surprising witness
was Fleur Cowles, wore a soft
gray suit by Dior and a sensa-
tional hat that looked like half
an eggshell. In typical French
fashion they are honeymooning
in Italy. On the way back
they'll make a pilgrimage to
the Cannes film festival, the
'53 version Of which brought
them together.
X \ 4 X
Elsa Maxwell is leaving Paris
''to stay in Rome until the
end of April" What no? This
must mean she has no inten-
ton of appearing at the April
in Paris ball" in New York on
the 14th. which almost guar
antees the presence of the
Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Yvonne, Lady Mendl, the AZ
year-old successor to the in
credible Elsie, returned from a
holiday in the Belgian Congo
and a week later fell dreadfully
i'll with some ailment her fam
lily refuses to disclose. All
they'll say is that she has had
three operations in Switzer-
land. faces two or three more
and won't be back on the scene
for at least eight months. Sir
Charles is still in Paris and,
according to Yvonne's 24-year-
old daughter, Hes pepper
than ever" Asked how old he
is she replied: when I met
him four years ago he told me
he was 81. I asked him last
week and he said So!
X y \ Il
When in France recently
Prince Philip, as he now styles
himself officially, was decidedly
unpopular because of an obvi-
Gus annoyance with the con-
slant press. Attention came to
him as an adult and he's never
acquired the tolerance of the
rest of the royal family. He
used to lap it up like cream.
now his manner is constrained,
so unlike his former self. But
word has it that he was more
than slightly irritated to re-
turn to England during the
newspaper strike. His arrival
was as unheralded and unsung
as any tourists.
r 4 X ~
American popularity in
France has scared in the last
couple of years but the job is
incomplete. Why leave it there
when it would be so easy to
smooth off the rough edges Of
visual missiles daily wounding
the natives?
Let's start by launching a
campaign to improve the CT
sartorial situation. Free to put
on civvies the minute they're
off duty, IS per cent Of the
male military adorn them
selves so badly and so much
alike that they appear in pub
lie in what is rapidly becoming
known as "the national Amer
lean peasant costume"
Summer and winter the get
up is the same. Fabrics are
light in weight and color. which
runs from a slatelike, baby blue
to a sort of pink that bears no
relation to summer "pinks."
Giving no sign of being cold,
they look as If they ought to
be freezing and the mere sight
Of them gives onlookers chill
blains. The lack of ties, ex-
cept under duress, and the de-
votion to unsupported white
cotton socks give them a boy
ishness that is out of place so
far away from high school in
experience as well as distance.
There Is an addiction for
jacket-like shirts and shirt
like jackets. Neither is one nor
the other. Every item Of q
CT wardrobe seems to have
been carefully planned ito go
with everything; consequently
nothing goes with anything.
Reasonably, they want versatile
civilian clothes because they
can't store or pack many items
of clothing, but there's a cry
ing need for advice about how
to do 1t.
As a suggestion for remain
ing perfectly American while
not offending their European
hosts. why not start with we'll
cut, good-quality. dark gray
Stacks, white shirts. quiet ties.
= xxn,.,xt..z ,.k l. -I~~4 80 H..