Evening star., 1956-12-30
FASHION NOTEBOOK
1856 Was the Yeur
Of'My Fdir Lady


back dresses. PHONY FUR
accents were bought in hand
bags, hats, and even shoes. -.
The new color in Borgana
coats. CHARCOAL. made a
big hit with the college miss.
Mink led the real fur
fashion parade but colored
beaver. river otter, and the
racoon revival also made
news. 1865 hairdo was
the BOUFFANT. Long or
short was the question asked
by many women Of their hair
dressers. If they spoke to
Michel of Helena Rubinstein
they were told firmly short
hair is here to stay" But the
more hair" look was a 1856
hairdo signature.
THE EMPIRE sheath line
was softened and matched
with fashionable catch-phrases
like the 1912 Edwardian
Look" 1.-The Monotone Mood"
Regency" Here in Wash
ington we got a chance to see
fashions ala "Auntie Name"
-. These spanned several style
decades. The most memorable
being the period of the 30s
when the chic Name came
through with fashion notes
of the time that included fab
ulous at-home lounging pa
jamas. pleated skirts lots
of furs. The 30s are destined
to get a fashion re-evaluation
come spring, we hear by the
fashion grapevine.
Nineteen hundred fifty-six
goes down as the fashion year
LEATHER went really high
fashion in color and styling.
The CAR COAT clicked
with women of all ages with its
crisp. cropped length. :. Hat
tie Carnegie, the woman who
stood for understated chic,
died during the summer and
the fashion world grieved her
loss.
Fashion notes that smacked
of 1856 also included
BLOUSED EFFECTS on
blouses, dresses and suit
jacket lines. The draw
string held together many a
dress. WANDERING
WAISTLINES got lost on
many dresses. Some were
found up as high as the bust
line. FUR HATS were
worn in abundance in 1856
and sable, ermine. white mink.
fox and many other animals
were used for chapeaux that
followed through In the Cos
sack look some spheres OF
fashion took on. One word
was used q lot by fashion
writer's In describing the re-
laxed approach to the subject
Of fashion. That was SOFT"
:. Soft drapery, soft colors.
soft sheaths, supple fabrics
all clung to the idea that
women yearn to be soft and
pretty. =.
THE ROSE was the flower
Of the year. Women wore
silk roses at their waistlines
:. on their jacket lapels
and all but placed them in
their teeth.
BIG FASHION EVENT Of
the year was the Kelly Rainier
wedding. Oh, my. how the
gals got decked out for that
happy Monaco fete. :. Under
stand the one designer who
had more of her dresses worn
there than any other was Cell
Chapman. From newspaper
women covering the event to
guests attending, there appar-
emily was q Cell Chapman
dress for all.
In october 1856, in New
York at the American Fashion
Critics shindig the winners for
top design included repeat
winner Norman Norell. named
to the Fashion Hall Of Fame;
James Galanos. another re-
peater; Sally Victor. Estevez,
and a mother and son team,
the Goldworms, whose knitted
fashions we're cited.
IN DALLAS Cecil Beaton
won a fashion oscar" for his
influence on design in Great
ing the MY Fair Lady Look"
The many talented Mr.. Beaton
deserved 1t! Mrs. Dwight
d. Eisenhower thought very
highly of American design
talent. The guest list at the
luncheon for Nehru's daughter
recently held at the White
House included Sally Victor,
Nettie Rosenstein, and Mollie
Parnis.
Nineteen hundred fifty-six
saw the Inauguration Of the
Venice international Fashion
Show-every bit as interesting.
we bet. as q fllm festival with
designers from all over the
world showing their finest ar
tistic achievements,