Evening star., 1956-12-30
By ELEM


was a year of fashion fire.
works.
my FAIR LADY" was not
only a musical hit in New York
it was a fashion look that
swept the country. Even
Bermuda shorts got the treat
ment and had lace appliques.
IT. accounted for a more
dressed-up appearance on the
part of American women who
departed a bit from their
casual fashion consciousness
to more sophistication.
Even men pulled out their
white tie and tails to be a part
of this more formal" outlook
on fashion.
THE BLACK CREPE dress
came back as did CAPES in
all fabrics and in furs.
POINTED TOE shoes with
their delicately balanced ta-
pered high heels clicked mer-
rily along with the women in
1856. -.
CHIFFON was the fabric
choice of designers from coast
to coast who again became
enamored of the soft. floating.
feminine attitude the fabric
takes on when it is draped, or
used in mass yardage for
graceful motion skirts.
HATLESSNESS was drum
med out of the fashion corps
and replaced by hats wear
ing women" as one wag sum-
med UP the big hat situation.
Flowers bloomed by the
buckets and some hat shapes
were practically that. Sally
Victor was given an Ameri-
can Fashion Critics Award
for her design impact that
centered around the big
blooming chapeaux copied in
just about every hat price
line in the country.
WASHINGTON VISITORS
from the style world this year
included Cell Chapman; Es-
tevez, who won an American
Fashion Critics Award for his
sure, fine taste In fashions
American women can afford:
Oleg Cassini; and David
Evins, the shoe designer who
showed Washington women in
his cruise and resort designs
two weeks ago the prophetic
''bootie" shoe he thinks will
come in 1857. =.
IN CALIFORNIA they
launched q sunny hat style
the Belafonte sailor-this Mo-
vember that will sit atop many
q feminine head while sun
ming on the beach. The Ca
lypso-inspired hat we think
will also be seen with sum-
mer cottons, it's 30 darn
cute. >.
This was the year Claire
McCardell wrote q coherent
fashion book called What
Shall I Wear" that many
women read and applauded
for its good common sense re-
garding clothes.
Personally, I won't forget
the Garflnckel Imports Show
ing staged at the Shoreham
Hotel in September. 1856, on
the Terrace. / froze not
at the fashions brought in
from Paris and Italy, but
with the temperatures that
dropped along with the Dior
and Jacques Helm hemlines
shown to an audience whose
teeth were chattering an ac-
compartment to BarneeS
music.
DIOR LOWERED hemlines
again and women didn't panic
as they did with the New Look
80. Said Dior after the head
line capturing had been done
last August, II meant the
ankle-length day dresses for
"after-five" wear. American
manufacturers found the idea
feasible for cocktail dresses
and dinner clothes.
WASHINGTON'S FASH
ION PULSE quickened at
campaign time with interest
centering around fun fashions
that clearly stated the wear
er's political fancies
Felt skirts, aprons, hats all got
the partisan treatment
CONVENTION WARD
ROBES Of prominent women
found Fashion Editors show
ing interest Chic San
Francisco was Republican
fashion parade for the women
who trotted out their best
looking clothes to meet the
stiff competition Of the local
women's best-dressed reputa-
ton Chicago's Cow Palace
found Democratic women SOL
Idly behind the fashion plank
Of the sheath dress with q
teamed-to-match sweater TO
keep them from developing an
- A4AtAA .t4k1H