Screenland (Oct 1923-Mar 1924)

loveliest models is of rose-colored chiffon with silver tissue brocade over meteor. It is without trimming, yet the lines and draperies are so exquisite that it gives an appearance of distinction. Many of the screen flappers are very badly dressed. Mary Miles Minter, for instance, thinks she knows clothes. But she doesn't. She has a baby face. And when she plays sophisticated roles she still dresses for the nursery. The young girl is always hard to dress in society or on the screen. Invariably she wants to look like a mature woman. It does not suit her. Ingenues should never wear heavy clothes. The tailored suit is correct for morning wear. For the afternoon charmeuse or some other soft fabric should be chosen. And for evening wear chiffon on simple lines. Elaborate ruffles are out of place. Mabel Normand is the smart young girl type. So are Constance Talmadge and Corinne Griffith. Romantic Garb and Modern Pumps N ever allow yourself to be burned at a fifteenth century stake while wearing black satin pumps of the latest model. You will deserve the flames if you do. And do not trip down to the beach in high -heeled patent leathers. Shoes and stockings are most important accessories. If I could afford only a twenty-nine dollar street dress I would have stockings of the sheerest silk and beautiful shoes. With black gowns nothing but black shoes should ever be worn. Patent leather and suede are correct for the street. Brown suede are very good with costumes other than black. The nude or flesh-colored stocking may be worn either during the day or in the evening. It is always smart. The woman of good taste who cannot afford the most expensive stocking will get the nearest thing to it permitted by her purse. Stockingless Fad Is Bad Taste T he stockingless fad was recently introduced to New York by Nita Naldi. Nothing is uglier than a woman's leg without stockings, either on the beach or on city streets. Even the most beautiful woman in the world must not dare to expose bare ankles. They should always be covered with the thinnest and loveliest of stockings. Some women prefer wool hosiery for sport wear. But even when golfing or playing tennis a fine lisle stocking is more suitable. Silver slippers with nude stockings are correct for [Continued on page 941 CI, Madame Frances is one of New York's best known authorities upon fashions. Consequently her comments upon the screen modes carry unusual significance. Madame Frances' Fourteen Fashion Commandments ®» Don't wear ear-rings with riding boots. d Don't play golf in knickerbockers or a batiste costume which has nothing under it but the silhouette, d Don't have anything flying in your face when you are trying to send off a golf ball. Golf is a game of concentration, d Don't throw an ermine wrap over a tennis outfit, d If you are burning at the stake in a fifteenth century production don't wear 1923 black satin pumps, d After all is lost in a film shipwreck do not appear in mid-ocean in a perfectly fitting sailor suit. <L Don't wear garden party hats and long white kid gloves with a sweater. d Never appear without stockings even on the bathing beach. Bare ankles are always ugly. Don't wear boudoir caps with your tea gowns, d A woman's body should be dressed for all occasions even though her back and shoulders are the most beautiful in the world, d Most men would run away from the screen-dressed vampire if they met her in real life. The dangerous siren is the one he can take home and introduce to his wife. d Don't wear three hundred dollars' worth of sables when playing a shop-girl accused of theft. The audience would know you didn't live on your salary. d A* wedding ring is the only ornament which may be worn with sport clothes, on the screen or off. d Diamond bar pins may be long enough to span the Hudson and still not bridge the distance between good and bad taste in dress. 29