HOLLYWOOD’S OLD CLOTHES

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12622, 6 December 1926, Page 2

HOLLYWOOD’S OLD CLOTHES

WHERE THEY GO TO ! Beyond a pleasurable thrill of feminine envy, the knowledge that it ‘ costs over £25,000 a year to maintain Gloria Swanson’s reputation for being “the best-dressed woman on the screen/’ and that the number of gowns worn by Agnes Ayres work out at the rate of a new dress every four days, is hardly likely to mean much in the life of the average woman. But while the majority of us will never be called upon to expend fantastic sums on our wardrobes, or exercise sufficient ingenuity to select a different gown every few days, there is at least one problem common to the stars and ourselves—how to dispose of our old clothes. Thus, as soon as the gorgeous Gloria has finished with a gown in a picture, it goes into the studio stock, from which it may later emerge on the back of an “extra.” Upon completion of a recent film, no fewer than fourteen outfits worn by Miss Swanson is that one picture were relegated to the general wardrobe of the studio.

Twice a year tlie Paramount organisation to which Gloria Swanson, Agnes Ayres and a host of other famous stars belong, holds a salo of the wonderful garments worn in its productions. The bargains thus offered are most eagerly sought after. It is said that Po!n Negri lias no Presses to discard when her pictures

are finished, owing to the emotional wear and tear to which thev and their wearer are exposed while production is in progress. A few stars, for sentimental reasons, like to keep something they have worn in each of their pictures—and one—Viola Dana—has retained all the garments she has worn throughout the ten years she has been on the screen. It might be supposed that Hollywood is the paradise of dealers in “cast-offs,” but such is by no means tho case. A number of stars own quite frankly that they havo plenty of relatives who are glad to receive their dot*cs—as indeed they may well be, since film actresses’ garments are often several months in advance of the fashions. Then, again, most screen stars know a good many professionals less fortunate than themselves, with, perhaps, one here and there who has befriended them in their lean years, and these are never forgotten.