FASHION DICTATORS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 July 1940, Page 8

FASHION DICTATORS

NOT IN STYLE ANYWHERE. A HOLLYWOOD DECLARATION. In the Warner Bros film, “The Old Maid,” Bette Davis advises her little girl to sleep without a pillow so she will grow up to be lovely. Coincidentally. this is also one of the star’s secrets. It keeps her chin and throat-line firm and shoulders square. If one is accustomed to sleeping on a fat pillow it is Bette Davis’s suggestion to reach the pillowless stage by degrees, using progressively flatter ones. Eggs play a three-time role in Priscilla’ Lane's beauty routine. She drinks eggnogs, shampoos her hair with a beaten egg and lemon juice and uses the yolk of an egg for a weekly facial mask. Political dictators may be in the vogue abroad but fashion dictators arc not in style anywhere, declares Milo Anderson, of Warner Bros studio. Today's woman has a mind of her own and rejects or accepts styles as her fancy dictates. She is open to suggestion, not orders. The designer cites the ballerina skirt as an awkward style that can’t be put over. It is introduced each season and each season goes back to the ballerina. Likewise Milo Anderson warns women to be skeptical of talk of tiny handbags, dress shoes without heels and bulky fabrics. They arc always rejected. It is also smart to say “I doubt it" when a forecast comes through that squared shoulders, snug waistlines. Haired skirts, lingerie neckline touches. or boleros are on the wane, but they are so flattering that they will be good for many years.