Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1943)

30 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW October 9, 1943 The Well Dressed Woman . . . 1944 LATEST FASHIONS FOR THE SERVICE STAFF M anpower Shift Puts Accent On Uniforms With Feminine Touch As a result of the national manpower situation, women are rapidly filling the gaps left by the entrance of men into the armed forces and war production plants. This change in personnel has brought with it the problem of outfitting a home-front army of women in such a manner as to provide for a larger turnover of staff employes in the nation's theatres. Girls are replacing boys in theatres with long-standing policies of using young men exclusively in house staff positions, such as ushers, doormen and assistants. Even managers and janitors are being recruited from the feminine ranks. There are two distinct schools of thought concerning uniforms for the ladies. One, and logically more predominant : the practice of attempting to have the girls resemble the boys in appearance. Since the majority of theatre uniforms followed the semi-military line, and with patrons currently military-minded, this motif is largely setting the pace. It is to be expected that as more Wacs, Waves and Spars make their appearance the feminine military uniform will become more popular than ever. This is exerting increased influence on the uniforms of tomorrow. The other trend which seems to rate in the minority is to attire the girls in as frilly and feminine a manner as possible. This styling runs to the pleated skirt, blouse or Eton jacket and tam or flower piece for the head. Girls in evening gowns are also making service staff debuts as traflSc directors. Influenced By Theatre Decoration With the emphasis on the feminine line, greater effort is being made to uniform the girls attractively through the use of flattering colors which will blend well with the theatre's TICKET TAKER ^"^.f; CASHIER BLOUSES LADIES TUXEDO Reminders to the Ladies . . . No matter how neat or glamorous or attractive the uniform, posture is just as imp'rtant in creating a good impress on. Chewing gum or eating candy while on duty is an objectionab e habit so far as the patron is coacerned and reflects n:t cnly on the staff member but upon the management and theatre. Gan:;ing up in the foyer to exchange small talk while patrons hunt seats in the dark is most provoking to the customers. Managers often hesitate to reprimand an employe these days f r minor indiscretions due to the difficulty to get personnel ... so if you like your job and have the theatre's best interest at heart . . . don't embarrass the boss by doing wrong things. That's a new way of saying ... On your toes Ladies. particular decorative scheme. Two-tone combinations predominate, with kick pleats and stripes for the skirts. Colors most frequently selected ; maroon, grey, blue, French blue, brown and tan. Red remains popular for stripes and trim, with the brass buttons and a new addition, silver stars, carrying over into the ladies' styles. Cashiers Maintain Feminine Touch New creations for feminine ticket-takers hew to the traditional military lines with an effort to make the transition as inconspicuous as possible. This desire to play down the change stems, no doubt, from the belief that the woman on the door must preserve an air of authority and discipline which men reflect to a greater degree than women. Trousers have given way to skirts in the majority of cases. The cashiers, traditionally feminine since the nickelodeon days, will find little change in store for them in new uniform trends. The smock is widely accepted as standard accoutrement for the young ladies who punch out the tickets. The other style in favor is the blouse of velvet in attractive colors and pastel shades. These have been but slightly affected by the military trend, with pleating to create a slightly business-like touch and puffed shoulders to add a bit of glamor. Ushering Jobs for College Girls Many theatres located near schools of advanced learning are filling the ushering corps with college girls on a part-time basis. Some theatres are using girls for the matinee hours and boys at night. A direct result of the manpower crisis is a greater turnover of employes, and the uniform problem which this entails is being met by many theatres through the purchase of uniforms in stock sizes to eliminate constant fittings for new personnel. Janitors are being drawn from the older male groups, but in a number of cases colored women have been employed to fill the vacancies. As a rule, the latter have been uniformed in slacks or skirts of a material to match the outfits previously worn by men doing the same work. Uniform Executive Explains Trend Charles J. Robinson, general manager of Brooks Uniform Company in New York, reports that the unprecedented shift in theatre personnel from male to female has required a complete redesigning of their line. Created for women managing theatres : feminine tuxedos of all-black material with satin grograin facing, with skirts and in a few cases slacks of matching material with grograin stripes. These are, of course, created for evening wear, while for afternoon wear an oxford grey coat with striped skirt has been designed. This afternoon style has also been adopted for usherettes by Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Mr. Robinson reports that the change-over has been considerably reflected in recent orders from Warners, Loew's, Comerford and other smaller independent circuits. On Broadway the Brooks Company recently completed the change-over for the Capitol and Rivoli theatres. The sketches shown on this page are exclusively original designs by Brooks which show the trend for each department of operation.