Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1963)

is difficult for her not to be tempting to men. I imagine that there are not many men on earth who would not think it a marvelous caprice to know Elizabeth Taylor! And Burton — as for him, I can’t see how a man who plays love scenes with her as they did for so many long months on “Cleopatra,” how he could not help losing his head over her. Why, those exquisite eyes of hers, that expression of magnetism — I think she could look at that wall and the wall would melt! “It seems to me inevitable that the affair with Burton came about. They worked on this long movie together. And she especially, the lead in the movie, the heroine— she worked so hard. And she was so exhausted when she got home. And the man with whom she bad shared her experiences of the day was no longer with her. And sometimes, two people, actors, who work together — they can be tighter than a husband and wife. And sometimes she must have gone back to that villa and to Fisher and found him a stranger. “I think Elizabeth has met a good man in Burton. In that he seems to dominate. As Todd dominated. Not to say that Fisher or the other husbands were necessarily weak. Fisher, especially — with him, I think that he was just so much in love with Elizabeth that he seemed to be weak. It was the same with Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller, for instance. Sometimes, I remember — on a Saturday — Marilyn would come here to the salon to shop. With Miller. And he would stand around, waiting, waiting, waiting for her to choose something. With patience. As many other men or husbands would not do. And I thought to myself: ‘It is not that the man is a weak man — it is just that he is so much in love with this woman that he will do anything for her!’ “And so it was with Elizabeth and Fisher, I think. At least, that’s how it seems. “But, of course, in the long run, this is an unnatural role for a man to play — and there was the split-up. With Elizabeth deciding that she wanted things differently. “And about this — when people say she does not care about what she does— -I think she does care. And that is why I am doing the veil over half the face. To me, you see, she is young. And inexperienced. She does these things without thinking. She is of an emotional disposition and a passionate nature. And that is my idea of the dress — the ingenuity that covers the sexy part. The demure plus the irresistible. The contrast. I repeat — the double entendre. “So that when Elizabeth stands still in this dress she looks pure, and other-worldly, much as some figure in a painting. “And then the change comes when she moves — a-ha! — she shows everything! !” Glamorous and sexy We spoke lastly to Anthony Pettoruto — hailed by many as the finest of New York’s young designers — who told us: “First of all, I would be completely opposed to Liz Taylor wearing anything traditional for her wedding to Burton. Not because it wouldn’t be ‘proper’ — I don’t go along with these people who claim she leads a wicked life; I mean, I have morals like everybody else — but I think Liz is just as ‘good’ and just as ‘bad’ as most other people. And not because I’m against seeing her in white — she’d look great in a white linen suit, say, or a white wool suit. But — well, I just don’t go for traditional or white in this case because Liz Taylor's Liz Taylor — and she should look as glamorous and sexy as possible, wedding or any other time. “That’s why I've created the Cleopatra wedding dress for her. “First, the name Cleopatra alone is sug LIZ TAYLOR WEDDING DRESS I THINK LIZ SHOULD WEAR (CHECK ONE) Any comments? Any other recommendations for Liz?. □ #1 by Sylvan Rich □ #2 by Lilly Dache □ #3 by Anthony Pettoruto Mail t6: LIZ TAYLOR WEDDING DRESS, P.O. Box 3462, Grand Central Station, New York 17, N. Y. gestive of glamour, sex. Second, the whole mood of Cleopatra is certainly very close to Liz’ heart right now; and, too, I think people would expect her to maintain some sort of Egyptian feeling for a while. Third — and most important — what better style to signify her love for Burton, the man she met and fell head over heels in love with while making the picture. “Color? I’d make it yellow. Yellow on yellow. I don’t know why. It’s just the first color that comes to mind for Liz. Though I must admit — for a moment there — 1 did think of pink first. But then I figured that was just a little bit too cliche. “Fabric? I’d use flocked chiffon — velvet woven into chiffon, that is — so that the effect is warm, yet transparent. “As for the headdress — I’m not a hat man myself. But I think that for her wedding, Liz should definitely have her head covered. Something Egyptian-styled, of course. And so here I’ve designed this — well, babushka with a wire band, I guess is the easiest way to describe it. Of the same material as the dress — and using a velvet band to match the flocking in the dress. “The dress itself, I thought at first, should be Empire in style. But then I thought no, Liz might be too heavy in the midriff for this. So let’s cut the Empire. Though let’s not cut the decollete. But instead keep it very very decollete. Because Liz’ bosom is, let’s face it. one of her great attributes. And something she’s constantly showing anyway. I mean, I haven’t seen her in an afternoon dress where there wasn’t half the bust exposed. And I think this is the way it should be in my dress for her. Chesty. Revealing. The kind of thing worn by a woman who enjoys upsetting men. The kind of thing Liz is always wearing. “One thing that I would want, however — is for the dress to be very uncluttered. And I hope Liz would go along with this, for a change. Because, let’s face it, she doesn’t have the best taste in clothes. At least, not to me she doesn’t. “I’ve liked Liz, admired her, ever since I was a kid, let it be said here. I’m only a few years older than she is and you might say we grew up together. I saw her in “National Velvet,” I remember — I was about sixteen, seventeen; she was about fourteen — and I was so impressed with her beauty that I actually wanted to sit down and write her a fan letter. “Also, despite what you hear about her — and who knows what to believe anymore?— I maintain that Liz is a sweet girl. I’ve seen her a few times, at pretty close range, and the sweet and even kind of serious expression on her face has always surprised me. I mean, I feel that if we were ever to meet, she’d be — well, she’d be nice — and there isn’t much more you you can ask from a person. “But to get back to that other issue — Liz and fashion — I think she’s sadly lacking here. To me — and I’ll be honest — she has emphasized her figure too much when she’s been overweight. And, overweight or not, she is generally careless in the way she dresses. Unkempt. Disheveled. Windblown-looking. And, sometimes, she even looks as if she’s slept in her clothes. And this just isn’t right for a girl in her position. In fact, it isn’t right for any girl. 96