Photoplay (Jan - Jun 1922)

Life in the Films The individual dress creations of the film's socially elect need not detain us; but the general styles are worthy o note, due to their extraordinary diverg ency from the current modes. For ex ample, the evening clothes of the mal aristocrat are adorned with miles of tap> an inch or more in width. Not only does the trimming cover the outside trouser seams, but it encircles th coat cuffs and terminates in a large fleur-de-lis figure extending nearly to the elbow. This tape likewise follows the line of the coat-collar. and plays a conspicuous decorative part in the configuration of the lapels, doing snappy figures-of-eight about the marble-shaped satincovered buttons beneath. In short, wherever tape is usable, i used. THESE evening clothes of the film gentlemen are almost skin-tight; an the coat is cut so short in front that the white brocaded waistcoat (drawn in until it wrinkles across the midriff) is visible four inches below. Then there is the evening shirt with its pleats and selffigures; the black onyx buttons on the waistcoat; the wristlet-cuffs showing a full six inches; the bulging silk handkerchief in the outside breast pocket; the pendant fob with the huge scrolled monogram of gold, hanging down the right trouser leg; the metal suitcase for cigarettes protruding from the lower waistcoat pocket ; and the wide black ribbon encircling the neck and flapping athwart the shirt bosom. They ne with one arly always fall in love of God s own noblemen Chucking the author of her being under the chin for the purpose of wheedling some tavor from him Moreover, special mention must be made of the white kid gloves which accompany thi» nocturnal attire. All male members of fashionable film society invariably wear w h i t e glovc> with formal dl no matter what the occasion— at their clubs and cabarets, at private and intimate gatherings, at soirees and dances and dinners. A cinema gentleman would positively feci naked without his white gloves after sundown. They are his mark of distinction, his badge of position. his social sine-qua-non. AS for the ladies of film society, — it would appear that their sartorial motto is: "Life is short — why not skirts?" For when it comes to public anatomical exposure, they leave little to the imagination. If one were to judge the dress of society women by the dramas of the screen, the ineluctable conclusion would be that the feminine aristocrat — 'the woman of blue blood and distinction — goes about in the evenings practically in a state of nudity. There is something downright clinical about her attire. Her gown is little more than a diaphanous drapery, a mere concession, as it were, to the Occidental custom of physical decoration. BUT no matter how scant or abbreviated may be the wearing apparel of the fashionable screen lady, there is always a orgnette in evidence. "'High Society" and lorgnettes are indissolubly associated in the average director's mind, with the result that the social life of the films is one long succession of these optical appliances. A lorgnette to a motion picture matron is what puttees are to the director himself, what a bamboo cane is to Mr. Chaplin. what hair-pants are to the "movie" cowboy. The lorgnette, in the society dramas of the screen, is used exclusively for the purpose of inspecting persons who have just arrived upon the scene; for one of the dominating characteristics of feminine aristocrats of the films is their studied and •aggressive hauteur. They gaze contemptuously at all Strang with elevated brows and sneering nostrils; and whenever anyone is presented to them i even in their own homes) they hoist the lorgnette, and coolly, slowly, and with infinite disdain, inspect the person from he.nl to foot and back again before acknowledging the introduction. And we find this same arrogant and glacial condescension (Continued on pi^c 1x3)