Variety (Jan 1934)

Tu^esday, Januaiy 2, 1934 TO ¥HE LADIES VARIETY 125 How the Girls Wear Clothes By Ceceliet Ager pictures' fashion sburces for 1933, irst bracket—Ma6 West, Greta Garbo. Second group-^oan Crawford, Jean Harlow, Martene Pletrich, Third—Constance ' Bennett, plana ^ynyard, Kay^ Francis, Cax'ole "Lombard, Claudette Colbert, Kath- ftrinii Hepburn.; Fourth—Myrna lioy, Alice'. Brady, Ijilyan Tashhian,' Miriam HopWns, Irene i)uhne^ iNlarlon. Davies. Revl6Wlhfr the gals'Who've beffh th^ greatest style influiences in 1933, it turns out' that personal chic has nothing to' do With it, deai'ie. It's personality that creates a. mode. If a gta,r has that something that ' pulls the : f emmes In drbves, she can be dressed in period costumes and yet make.. thfeni of . more nation-wide fashion significartce than the latest from, Paris. Wit- ness Mae "West In 'She iDon^ Him Wrbiief;*^ Gteta , Garbo . lit 'iQueeri Christina/ Paris listens to the Grad« A AueenSj. dictates to the B's^ G's, .P's and the rest. In .1933 eveh the Olyhiplan Ion .magazineslooked down from their heights and admitted the ex- istence of Hollywood. . Mae West .went Paris , as 'Lrady Lou' and came back to New York thie toast of the'! bpvileyards,. whereupon the wary jgtyle mags discovered. she sprang from pictures. '.Queen Christina' beat the 19»33 curfew by a \veek, and is destined to remind the serious minded fashion com- mentators of Hollywood 6nce again The aristocratic style publications Would rather hot Contemplate Hoi lywood of their, own. accord, but if Paris insists upon noticing It- well. it's got . Paris's okay. Occa slonally they'll ruii photographs of picture stars In clotiies they'brought back from the great Parisian couturiefs, but as for giving their approval to fashions conceived in Hollywood-r-they feel it's wisest to "wait iand see what Paris, thinks about them. It's too great a. re- Bponsibillty, the results are to mo mentous, ■ they feel* for them .to ac- cept Hollywood originations all by themselves. Paris Less Seri Paris, however, does hot take Itself as sealously as the class American fashion magiizines. ' If the personality of a plct-ure star appeals to Paris, it likes to conipjlment her In Its own special way, to adapt her costumes, be ,tiiey. good or bad, for Its next season's .offerings. It cares not whether she herself is 'smart;' If it likes her, Paris will make her ismart. Which is why the Holly wood costume designers would rather create clothes for a person- ality, no matter how negligible the personal chic, tha,n for the second stringer with the best style sense In the world. The personality brings them the plaudits of Paris, and after all a costume deslgiier's souj must be fed to pay him for all his fitting room travail. Constance Bennett, for instance is technically the best dressed woman on the screen, yet she's Grade C In the listing, because that's the measure of her personality im portance. Her.clothes always show discriminating choice of the current mode;, she selects the best it offers, but she doesn't launch new modes Her costumes are an exact guide to the present, -jpan Crawford's and.Jean Harlow's raiment, on the other hand, ai'e . .Individual sign posts to the future, but sonietiiyies they're inaccurate and the femmes. who look them over for direction WUl. have to take a chance; They're more apt: to go wrong with Miss Harlow than with , Miss . Cravi-iord though^ .becaO.se Mlsfe ■ Harlow's.-flg ure is so, chic and hfer own vhative flair fpr^clothes $0 good that what eyfer she puts on seems to. be right It's easier to tell when. MlsS Gr Ibrd gives them, a wrong stoer, In 1933 Miss Crawford .and MIsk Harlow have to tholr credit the honor of introdiicing little, caps With a square peak, which Itelioux found so interesting, of also, fur thering, along with Mairihocher, a circlet of flowers aroiiiid tlie throat And Miss Crawford's tweed ress from 'Todny We Live' with the .«iri gle< White pique faced lapel that =-zoomed=<>fE-=in'^a^-lM)i'nt-=ftom=hcfc shoulder may be the seed from which the streamllhc, airpiiino •indswopt. billK)\ictte, only now bo ing whispfM-ort nboiit in P'^'''" ^ Pchlaparplli's lato.st, li: ■' ■» rung, deitrich's Bi Whilo thp rorivTii-.ranfO of o?ir)cli fi-athors is nil Mnf> Wfsl's doinn-, ^riii-lisio ni-iii-ii)i . tlif* In-d.'ul- «l:r.iii(li'i'f(l la,«s who in lO.'Jii i"<^\ivi-rJ the coque^feather industry and in 933 I'estored the luxurious spell of Bird of Paradise. Lelohg agreed It was a, good idea. Kay Francis col- lared an evening wrap with Para- dise, but Marlehe beat her to it with iier black velvet 'Song of Songs' picture hat. As a matter of fact, the picture hat trend inay bend. one. of its knees to .'iMiiss Deitrlch, too, while its other knee,, of course^ remains firmly plahted iri Ma,e West's red plush carpet, - Claudeite Colbert, Cariole Lom- bard "and Kay Francis ought to take the .blame .for sequin iahd beaded evening sheaths.. Chanel liked just a little bit of their sequins. : Fingers should be . jpointed .at them, too, for the : breathless fitting across the derrlere'of^ their evening frocks..; So many dumpy maidehs are trying it; But the flat-acrOss-theTdlaphragm line, which they Sponsor, is young and fetching: Miss Lombard teaches blondes^ how to bei exotic^it's chiefly a matter of not curling their hair and making' their lips siiinyi Miss Colbert Introduced In "Torch. Singer' the garland of lai'ge zXtjf petals masised around a wide. shal-. low neckline as a substitute, thank heavens, for bulky arm-hole treat- ment, and Kay Francis gives h««M*t to-100% American brunette : sirens >yhQ Would look raylshinjs'without tiie .aid of any personal style coii-;' victibiis^ Marlon t>avles sticks firmly to fla;t rpi^nd collaris.. tied, with fltifty bows as a cPnstant reminder' tp woimen Who want to look like. little giris. Lllyan Tashnian remaihs helpful, as adylspi* of what to dp with aiccessoriis. Irene " Purine clings to leg o' mutton sleeiyes,' proof positive, thPugh .they've .dis- appeaife.d from the fashion scene, of her overwhelming. femininity^ Her persistence has kept them aliyie long past their usefulness, and it's {get- ting to be all Miss Punne's fault; Katharine Hepburn, indifferent to', her potentialities as a source of. fashion Ideas and news,, relegates iier clothes further and further toward the stereotyped with each hew picture. Starting, bravely In Bill of Pivorcement' with several excellent' conclusions as tp what the wid6-eyed( Jeune fille could wear, siie began to shpw signs of lack of lnt(6rest in. her wardrobe In . 'Chifls- tPpher Strong',' arid didri't care a,t all by the time she made 'Morning Glpry.' yrria Ley's Simplicrty Myrna Loy is heading toward the upper brackets by attending to sim- plicity, striking color' contrasts and arresting line, despite her handicap of sloping shoulders that normally hinder the best cooperative display of fashion predictions. Miriam Hopr kins. Plana Wynyard suffer the lack of-chic figures. In the modern Interpretation, to harig their well bred"'clothes upon. Alice Brady has a fine quota of personal style, but her stock ' dizzy characterizatlpn prevents the femmes from taking, her excellent costumes, and her .au thorltatiye way with them, seri ouslyi All Hollywood In 1933 gave strength to the revival of 1890-il916 as a pel'iod for contemporary fash- ion delving. From 'Rasputin* to 'Little Women,' from 'Cavalcade^ to 'Jennie Gerhardt,' Hollywood pored over period fashion plates, ferret- Did You Know That— , Jim.my McHugh, who writes songs- with. Pbrpthy Fields, gave h«r. a star sapphire fpr Xmas. ..Oria Munson.has been vi.sitlrig the Levys of Philadel- piii ... A' ijachelor. dinner was . given for ^erVyn. Lerpy on Thursday night'<no casualties) . .. r'They say that Helen Mor--. gan reaJly Will ha,ve that- baby .. .Bernlce Tishman Lashe Is due home from Australia fMs week 1.. The Claude BInyoris .sent the top laugh Xmas card r.'.Eddie Parling is sUirig the' Jimmy Barrys. . . Phoebe Pia- mond (Four Piamonds) is very ill. , i Charlie . Morrison may lo- ' cate in.,Califbrnla..,Ruth Col- lier arrived from Hollywood and sailed for England the same da,y, all to straighten out a tarigle for Pavld Mariners over there... .Billy atnid Phylls Seeman have given Madelincl Cameron a'..Spaniel pujppy... Jean Sargent seldom goes wrong bii the market...Tu- kona Cimeron, witii' Tra- han,. is sp, namied becausie shei; was bpm -lit Pawsph;. City'..., Paul Muni, no .care .-about dough arid not Interested In. thpse persbriAl appearances... Mi's, Conrad Nagle arid Juris Collier look enough alike to be sisters..:Plentybf gags around about the Jeft McCarthys' out^ door Xmaa tree. And speaking of Xmas trees, the Bugs Baers had three in their apartment ...Corlnne Sales Is taking a rest on Long Islarid-. . The Ar- thur Fishers had a New Tears gathering at their new ho*"« in Miaiverne... T h o s e were magnificent baskets of fruit Pat Casey spread around town. for the holidays^ . .Jimmy Cpnr Hn has taken a house'iri Cali- fornia.. .iJarry Puck still looks collegiate.. Xouise Henry csm't make up her mind to visit Florida or the coast.. .Babe Ruth thrilled the youngsters by walking up Broadway in a manurioth leather coat.. .Tlllie Winslow's still crazy eibout the east..^Bob Chisholm's haying a Successful tp^ in Australia, irig out the best that was in them a,nd offering, by way of the screen, delightful tld'-blts spmetimes, full- sized trends at other times, for the year in fashions that stamped Hollywood at last as a fashion cien' ter to bei reckoned with, style source which finely made good on Its boasts. Mady Christians HI Pate of the premiere of 'Tialent' at the Royale; N. T, was not 'cer tain UP to Sunday (31) because of illness of Mady Christians. Suf ferihg With laryngitis she Was In and out of the show last week, when it was presented as a series of 'pre views'. Porothy Vernon played the per formances missed by Miss Chris tians. Going Places By Cecelia Ager Wigrriaker's Delight Sensible, young women, the Rp- man slave girls, not to have bpbhed their hair. Sort of felt, .ho . doubt, that one day they'd be. reoaptured for 'Roman Scandals' and sold in Its architecturally ^pebtacylar slave mart-^with only a 'wlsmaker to Worry about how they were. going to ■ keep their slirii selves Warm. Fore- runners to Lady Godlya, really, ievery one of them prou of her gleaming blond hdir, smiling shyly a,t Its lenifth and thlciiness^and 1 Tying riot to show reseritriient that nhe ' wlgmaker. did such a thoroiigh :ob :0f it. The wigmaker proved, too, the festhetio wisdom Of coiiffling an ^ tire prpduotipn number allk^> The mass effect ga.ins. In pictorial stirik- irigriesSi besides tiippirig^ofE the au- dience to the fact :that Wlren their hair Is, done uniforiniy,:..orie pretty girl's about as. good as. aripther. Perhaps this, shouldn't (ret aroun^, but there it Is, And to clinch the point, the wig- maker has devised a second batch of headpieces, this: time black; banged, shoulder length coiffures for the daribing sliaves; which fly about iztstfully In time to the mail^ den^ singularly modern , torso cata-r pultlrigs. The girls register uniform allure as. brunettes. Gloria Stuart may be easily dIe-< tlnguisbed frpm/the other blondes i>ecaus.e her hair Is dressed uniquely in two iie&vy long braids; Ruth Bttlrig sings. she's apart, and yeree Teaefdale w^ars breastplate and headdress fashioned frOm rows ojt camoes, so that niakes. her differ" ent. Eddie Cantor Wears , black ribbon around his head, which does ^weet things to his eyes, and a white velvet tpga, which reveals at last his dimpled kriees. stead of the arrangement i;t old bricks sho uses now. Pi'eaming of that stovCj >he washes, irons, hangs curtains, cooks, serves her lover,' •fiut even, if she couldn't have that stove her eyes woulid still .ishine with happiness In hier tasks, her hair W.buVd still curl as cleanly and crisply, about her neck, her fresh little, calico frocks fit as trimly.v Love kieeps. her going, arid .it doeisn'tv have to be In any cottage,, either. Olenda Farrell, tprcii. singer Who would not be isatlsfled with ioye. In a cottage even, so wicked . Is shei is dressed An a two piece gown made all of glittering crystal beads. . ThPugh Its bodice'is . cut high at the neck a-rid cpveVs. her shoulders, arid there's a long train tp boot, when she t\irns round everyorio can see it Is .quite' back- less—which only goes to ishow the depths, of her abandonment , and her utter fitness to serve as contrast to good, slini, faithf^ul and pro]p- erly under-^riiade-upi MlsS TTourig. Marjorle Rambeau Is supppsed to be a gin-soiaked derelict with, courM, a gbod heai*t, . so she dutlr fully tptters arpurid. Among the Women By THE SKIRT Hepburn Opens Katharine IJcpburn comes to New York in a play called 'The Lake* but she doesn't conquer. But this young woman is going far. This Jed Harris production at the Btartin Beck theatre was. beautifully .'directed .and m'6.unted but; the-story is ho thin nothing can save it. In no. .film has Miss Hepburn looked so. l()vely^^^ in the last act wlien'she wears a long trailing gowri of grey orepie. The first act jodpura of tah and the second found Miss Heplmrn an adorable bride in White satin trimmed with .real lace and a veil of the lace. Her going away costume was pddiy chosen for a bride: It-consisted of a red dress.cov- ered completely with a long blaick velvet, coat trances Starr looked lovely, in. ia powder blue. v.elvet hostess gown and again in a pule bUie lace afternoon droj--s and hat. A-mourning,, dress of solid, black with .small hat.. ianche Bates was .a real'English matron in tweeiis. State Vaude On the sta.i;e at the State this week is Janet iiay on the ri'ngSv Her very short c<>stume consit^Led of a pink three ruffled skirt edged with silver while th<i brassiorci wns of silver syxiuins. Jean Sargent, was in a was 'well off. Ille. shoulrferj; and long sic ove.s added an odd tovrch. Miss Bloi k. of Block utkI Sully, wap in a.supphlre blue .olivet outfit. The crope skirt c.-irricd a salin top v ii )i. yoke, of white trimmf-d with brilliant buttons. Hlippfi iii;itcl\ecl..whi)'.: rin- .s't^all hat 'wa,s white. B«'nny Davis hfi.s four iris with him, one in ;.«'ll'^w satin/panta. trimmed in green ruffles, 'rht-re wa« onf dres.sed in n iwoVplece suit, .the fikirt being blue with a f,'rfy top amV anothM- combinaiion was White skirt with red t(.]). A tr.ni-p.-ncnt rf-.-uUno Was of b]-; .-liiffoh pants trimmod with yo'l'iii)!.'-:. Ape* and Petticoats Nice i^irl, Helen Mack* When she meets up all of a sudden 'with lit- tle Kongi a baby giant ape no more than 25 feet high, she gasps .isllght- ly, then remembers that 11 you speak geritly to animals you're bound to win their affection. She does not, honest, fortrlght yourie woman, scream. Remembering Fay Wray's shrieks Iri a similar situa- tion. Miss Mack stariips herself a soothing, restful little diear. But charming though Miss Mack ls> .no human being in 'Spri of ICong' can riatch the c.harm, the appeal, the irresistible wistfulness of little Kong himself. Cub of King iCong, just a babe of a cpuple of thousand ton-Weight, Uttle Kong despite his youth and paltry ..size shows per sonality and resourcefulness fa,r beyond that of his illustrious father Little Kong is Just like a beloved Teddy Bear; except be thiriks, talks, arid gallumphs. lie puts his finger to his mouth like any little child when he's bewildered, he scratches his head In thought He peeks coyly around mouritaln tops at the lovers just like the chprus' In a; mu- sical comedy, and h© has inmimer able little touching ways and per- fectly sweet expressions that would make any little child long to own him. Little boys particularly would want him, If only for the skill of his wrassllng and his Rover Boy ability to conquer arty bully of dinosaur twice his size. No wonddr Miss Mack looks at him kindly, feels sorry; tor . his poop hurt, tree trunk of a ;flnger, tears her petti coats tp. make 'a bandage, for. it, She's got to be a nlca Iri—she wears a pettlcbait. Cottage Cheese ., Those young ladies who make a great to-do about their splendid Willingness to essay love in. a cot- tage can just go hopping off wh"Pre they belong, the deceitful little gold diggers, Loretta Youngs in 'Man's Castle,' has come to town, Sp they'U be big about a cottage! A cottage is a.palace to IVIlss,Young. She hopesi she yearns, she lives in tremulous, longing .only that she may be granted leave^tb lay. her. pretty head on a bit of a bed in a miserable shack In a squatters'^ col- ony-T'and she. darc.«i a.sk that for only a night, a week, a month at. riiost. Sho stays a couple of jnontlVs -.iiTpcna=^hiS'B=^3tatic=with-gravi^^ Such, young ladiesj is triie humil- ity, niftokness and' content. IJut, though'her. heart brinih Ocvor at hf'r good fortune, It doosrt't kf-p her from steady, cfifcc'r,. working. Oh, she has her dreams of gran* deur: all. right—they're all ;iT>f)ut if only Homo beautif'iil day slu; mi;;bt ^ have a real etoyo to co<jk on,. In-J The Current Sarah Wedged betweeiri an adagio danc« ing act on the one h4nd and a family of acrobats bri the. other, It i^ clearly up to thei current Jack McLallen's. Sarah to do the the- atre'e duty by its fenrune following and offer the Palace ladlcis sortie little thiniB: to think oyer In the way of the glittering, glamorous clothes of . the stage. When first Sarah cpki^es ori» it looks as If maybe .the ladles weren't going to have their treat after ail,, for Sa,rah's Wearing what can only, be B, comedy costum©—since It looks it, with its skirt cut way up abbVo her knees in front, though Its vari- colored chiffon ruffles touch the floor in back, and besides, it U- lu$trates a gag. But it isn't long biefore Sarah comes back, and tbla' tiriie she glitters Jdl right, she glit- ters. Iri a long white crepe dresS with a hip length straight peplum, toppedi by a deep Bertha .collar achived by wide bands of gold .se- qulns—which glitter. The current Jack McLallen's Sarah is pretty and coojperiEitlve. Karre, LeBaron and Company, the dancing end of the bill, produce a little blonde arid a bigger one. Tb» bigger one pan do toe tttps sitting on her heels, and does them, too, in white pyjamas outlined at the neck and armholes with red ruching. The little blonde submits, willingly to adagio throwings-around, encour- ages them even, in a sheer red crepe high-waigted froPk with white coque feathers. Swirling whfere sleeves Were m^nt to be^ The three girls of the Honey Family are mighty proud of their stalwart, muscular legs. They don't want to.conceal them,• not even In stockings. But people needn't think that just because .they're so strong, they're not delicately feminine, too. See their little pink silk skirts edged with gold, their beaded bodices, their beaded pink satin hel*- mets—and the little capelet boleros they slip over their shoulders every time the men of the family chose the ladles' shoulders as likely places to stand upon, and frequently to leap upon besides. Cleveland Graop Tries Play on Wynekoop Case Cleyeliand, Pec. 31. ■ Murder on Ojperating Table' tile of - first play based onithe 'Wyne- koop murder case, and written by local playwright. iece will be tried out by Acad- emy Guild, which plans to capitaliste pri eensatiorialism of case by pre- senting it Jairi; 4. Coincldentally, that Is the: same date that Pr. "\Vynekbop*s trial is sciieduled to come up in Chicago. Author of the riiystery shocker is Will Hcadle, Clovelartd radio writer and dramatist, who is also penning another thriller Jjased on career of local bootlegging ozar, who Wis re- Tr*nTtlyT>W"Ti^^'lnd=Tire^b^ SHE'S NOW LTYA JOY Iliiilvwood, Pec .31. .Ji.y;!f;llf, dancr, id changing h.fjr naj/iO:-to.'L-iya Joy, .'ind .Is.gofng out .'iftfT di-aniatlc T'fi''^^'- Juyit }inlH}if<l (l.'irrclng and dra- matic bit in Fox's 'PlsiHusioried.'