Picturegoer (Jul-Dec 1936)

December 26. 1936 PICTUREGOER Weekly Daint, XUMAGE by Pauline STACK X-TERE are some hints from the stars that will help you solve that problem about fancy dress for those parties this Christmas. CHRISTMAS wouldn't really be Christmas without at least one fancy-dress party to our credit. Like holly and mistletoe, turkey, plum pudding and Christmas shopping, dressing up is part and parcel of the festive season. And though the event may not happen till well through January there's enchantment enough left over from Christmas to give us the excuse we seem to need to return for a brief while to the days of our childhood. At no other time of the year do we abandon ourselves so wholeheartedly to the joys of paper hats, balloons, crackers and the more serious business of dressing up. Old and young, it is inherent in all of us, this urge to forsake our conventional self for a spell and take on the guise of some favourite character, to fling restraint and convention to the wind, to be gay and irresponsible — ^in fact to forget that the gas meter is ticking over more than its normal number of bobs, that last winter's coat is only just getting-by this season, and that a first instalment is going to make inroads on our hardly earned savings. Christmas has a way of making us forg-t such trifles — and with the spirit wSliHj, the flesh can do much. The girl with more than the usual quota of ingenuity scores heavily just now. And that she has a slim purse is of Uttle account, for past experience has tanght as that a fancy dress can be created out of practically nothing — the materials that go to its making are cheap and most of the accessories just as inexpensive. The value lies in the novelty of its conception and the manner in which it accords with and enhances each individual personality. A keen appreciation of your fine points and as expert a knowledge of your weaker ones will do much to make your selection of a costume the success you hope for. And to the girl with ability enough to turn it to good account, the wide variety of novel costumes worn on the screen provides a wealth of inspiration. If you can wear trousers (that is figuratively speaking), the costume Ginger Rogers wears in Follow the Fleet weU deserves your attention. The trousers of her suit are of Mediterranean hiue satin, cut high above the waist-line and to a peak in the centre front. The tiny fitted blouse is of white satin, the sailor cc^ar and ablM^viated sleeves being bordered with blue stripes. A matching blue scarf is tucked into the V-sfaaped neck-Kne. With your partner dressed in a Fred Astaire sailor suit, you would {Mresent an attractive and matching pair. There are columbines and columbines. But if you are small and pretty, in short the type of which columbines are made, take a look at Steffi Duna as she will appear in Pagliacci. And if you can fashion a presentable version of it. don't be surprised if you get more than your fair share of masculine admirers and a prize into the bargain. Norma Shearer's Juliet costume is (rf an entirely diffwent order. Lovely and flowing, it is the essence of graciousness and charm and demands dignity and poise of its wearer. The long trailing over-dress, the full sleeves caught into the wrist and shirred on the shoulders, and the dainty Jnhet cap complete as captivating a costume as you'll find anywhere. For the boyish girl who likes a rough and tumble, Bergner's Ganymede costume in /I s You Like 7( is an ideal choice. Not only is it an attractive dress but more likely than most others to emerge in good trim at the end of a hilarious evening. As it is essentially a woodland suit it should be in a soft brown or green colour with long stockings, abbreviated shorts and laced jerkin of the same shade worn over a fullsleeved white blouse. Apart from the quaint boots, which could be hired for the occasions, this costume is as cheap as its effect is fascinating. Another equally attractive and easily made costume is that worn by Claudette Colbert as Cigarette in Under Two Flags. To this goes an ordinary open-necked shirt blouse with rolled-up sleeves and very foil trousers caught in below the knee. Tall boots, a gaily coloured cummer FoT the boyish girl, Elisabeth Bergner's Ganymede costitme in "As You Like It" is ideal. bund and cunning peaked hat from which depends a short sun veil complete the picture. But if you want to beat your next-door neighbour, add a long flowing cape. It'U make just that much diflerence. There's the lovely frock Myma Loy wears in The Great Ziegfeld, a bouffant affair of shaded silk with tight-fitting bodice and rosettes of the same shaded material sewn on the skirt. A pompadour hairdress and patches are the fitting and lovely accompaniment. If you possess the vibrant personality of a Hepburn, her Mary of Scotland costume should appeal to you. Full skirted with a close-fitting bodice and narrow peplum, the long, tight sleeves are gathered into extreme fullness at the shoulders and slashed to disclose a contrasting silk beneath. The small ruffle should be chinhigh, the tammy pulled Scots-wise over one eye. For the dark-eyed maiden I suggest a transformation into a Southern belle by way of Loretta Young's attractive lace costume in Ramona; or if you have a hankering for something really dramatic, that colourful, sharpshooting personality, Annie Oakley, might be the very inspiration for you. And as a final choice, for the slinky girl I recommend Jessie Matthews' lovely Eastern costume in It's Love Again with its slim lines and glowing colour contrasts. And for your kid sister who will doubtless be demanding a smaller edition of something for herself, here's Shirley Temple's suggestion for an adorable man-about-town — long satin trousers, cutaway satin coat with flying tails and satin covered topper. And now I commend you to the good offices of your ingenuity, your needle and your enthusiasm— -to do your bit towards making the scene a festival of gaiety and colour. And romance, too, for make no mistake a fancy-dress party is as potent as the moon over the sea on a summer's evening. A merry Christmastime my friends. And happy hunting ! 13