Evening star., 1960-10-13
Famous
Designer
Is Visitor
BY ELEM
Star Fashion Writer

LOT CIle IlIleSC IN couture de-
sign.
The distinguished designer
was an honor guest at the
Salvation Army Auxiliary's
luncheon-fashion show bene-
fit held yesterday in the ball.
room Of the Sheraton-Park.
A show entitled Americana
on Parade" was presented by
Julius Garfinckel g. Co. with
several Irene styles shown.
This visit to Washington
was the first one for the West
Coast designer. After an abb
sence of 10 years from screen
designing she has returned to
do the screen wardrobe for
Doris Day in Midnight Lace"
for Universal International.
The film opens November Sd
here at the Ontario. Irene
few in for yesterdays show
and then few back to New
York for the films premiere
in the evening.
I'D like to do about two
or three pictures a year now
that film producers are re-
turning to the idea of having
their stars looking glamorous
again." She has created
clothes for such actresses as
Joan Crawford, Loretta
Young, Claudette Colbert, the
late Carole Lombard, and
Rosalind Russell. She says
they were chic and they are
still"
New color film techniques
fascinate her. When she was
designing for MGM years ago
using black was out. you
used midnight blue. For white
there was an ugly techni-
color white that was a dirty
washed-out gray. Now white
is white and black is black
and undreamed-of colors can
be used" she says.
Setting trends in film
clothes is hard to do. Pic
ture clothes must be dateless
and almost ageless.
II saw a rerun of Barbara
Stanwyck's picture, "B. F.'s
Daughter" and it surprised
me to see how we'll the clothes
I had designed so many years
ago looked. Some could be
worn today" she told us.
Irene claims to be the only
designer who hasn't written
a book on fashion. What is
there to be said that hasn't
been said?" she asks in her
lovely. dignified manner.
Noted for simple, elegant,
well-thought-out, not eccen-
trio designs. particularly her
tailored suits and chiffon eve
ming dresses, Irene adores the
woman who confesses to hav-
ing IAN Irene suit from which
she'd never part"
The woman who absolutely
floored her, however, was one
in Dallas whose home she
visited and found had rs of
her suits in her closet. "She
ought to be shot for hoard
ing" she laughed.
Anot her .unforgettable
fashion character the de-
signer hasn't yet gotten over
was a customer of hers in
California. "Everytime she'd
order something each season
she'd say to make two of
them. She had a complete
wardrobe in Los Angeles and
an exact wardrobe in Mary
land where she raised horses.
That included fur coats,
suits, shoes, and handbags.
Two of each. When she'd
fly home she'd just take her
jewel box.
Irene admires the French
woman's way of shopping.
She shops twice a year and
is not as prone to occasion
buying as is an American
woman. Good clothes are
lasting and should be worn
over and over. They are
part of a person and make
for more elegant dressing on
the part of the woman, who
isn't constantly changing her
hairstyle, her hemlines and
her silhouettes.
To Irene fashion is evolu-
tionary. A serious student
of it, she says designer de-
velops a sixth sense regard
ing it. You see what in
fashion is not good, and you
push in another direction.
Take short skirts. I like
women to look graceful so I
never make them too short.
All the wrong people wear
real short skirts. Knees just
aren't attractive except on