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1940's Fashion Advice

From Showbiz Legend Kitty Carlisle

Most Americans remember Kitty Carlisle as the glamorous panelist on the game show “To Tell the Truth.”

But her show business career actually began in the 1930s, and included singing and acting on Broadway and in Hollywood films, before moving to television.

She passed away in April 2007, one of the last of the grand dames of New York society. Known for her graciousness, elegance and keen sense of fashion, she was inducted into the International Best Dressed List in 1994 and Vanity Fair Magazines’s Best Dressed Hall of Fame in 2007.

The excerpts below are taken from an article in the October 1946 issue of “Beautify your Life, a Guide to Beauty, Youth and Fashion”, in which Ms. Carlisle offers her very frank fashion advice for the American woman. It’s an interesting take on proper dressing from the perspective of a famous style maven. Some of the clothing tips are quite amusing, while many others are as appropriate for today as they were back then.

"It never fails, everytime I'm interviewed for the women's pages of newspapers and magazines, the very first question which reporters shoot at me is “what is your favorite beauty secret, Miss Carlisle?” They don’t catch me unawares, though, for I have my answer ready. My favorite beauty secret is clothes.”

I think there’s no one thing which does as much for a woman’s body as proper dress. That’s particularly true in the figure department.

A good figure can be made to seem better, a bad figure good, through proper dress. And the fundamentals of dressing properly, to my mind, should be right up on top of every woman’s list of beauty tips.

Whatever your budget, it isn’t difficult to dress properly. Furthermore—and I say this with conviction, for I've lived abroad as well as in this country---American women have, by and large, the best figures in the world. The tragedy is, though, that too many of us don’t know how to dress to bring out the best in those figures. French women, on the other hand, aren’t always so well favored by Mother Nature. But some of our Gallic sisters dress so beautifully---some I said, not all---that the general effect, good figure, or not so good figure, is definitely ooh la la.

What can American women do to improve their dress and consequently, their figures? Lots of things.

First, there’s the matter of line. Some of us, I’m afraid, completely overlook line---or perspective, in choosing I believe that every woman should own a full-length mirror and spend plenty of time looking into it---for practicability’s sake, not vanity’s. If you’re short and a bit stubby, it stands to reason that football player shoulders aren’t going to make you look any taller or more graceful. If you’re the stringbean type, you definitely are not going to be at your best in a little number with vertical stripes and skimpy shoulders. Choose your clothes to camouflage your own lines, if those lines are not exactly what they should be, or to accentuate them, if they deserve it.

Item number two is color. It’s human to like bright colors, but the effect of brilliant reds and wild prints on certain types of figures is definitely inhuman to the observer. I’ll probably be rapped soundly across the knuckles by some of my male friends for the statement I’m about to make, but here goes anyway. Don’t take your beau’s or your hubby’s word about what colors look well on you. Men, I’ve discovered, like any color---as long as it’s red! In general, choose colors that look well in daylight with your eyes, your hair, your skin and your figure. If you’re heavy, be extra careful in choosing prints. Remember that the eye is invariably drawn to bright colors and eccentric designs. See that it’s not drawn to the places that can’t afford to be emphasized!

Another basic rule for the well dressed woman is simplicity. Too many of us are prone to hang ourselves with pounds of costume jewelry, sequin gewgaws and lackadaisical flounces. The smartest clothes, are always the simplest. Spend your money on good materials and lines, not on fancy trimmings. Never, never buy a dress or a bit of costume jewelry just because it’s stylish---or because it looked well on your favorite movie star in her most recent film. Few of us resemble Lana Turner or Ingrid Bergman and we frequently forget that movie stars have to look startling; that the clothes they wear on the screen are not so much street clothes as costumes in a play. You wouldn’t walk around the street in a clown suit just because you’d seen one at the circus, and you shouldn’t be any more ready to wear a striking-but slightly weird-dress just because it appeared in a movie. And, incidentally, do not buy high style clothes just because they appear in the smart magazines. Stylish or no, those clothes frequently break the basic rules of fashion. Remember-you have to master those rules before you can afford to break them!

Another important influence on your clothes should be your physical type and---yes, it has to be said---your age. If you’re not a sub-deb, don’t try to look like one—the only effect you will make, by contrast with your girly girl clothes, will be to look even older than you are. I’m afraid that I’m a walking example of such a mistake.

I’m from the south, and for awhile, I blush to confess, I pictured myself as the Southern belle type and used to sweep out onto stage in fluffy, bouffant numbers that made me look like a slightly limp magnolia. A few years ago I set my teeth, and looking neither to the left nor right, marched into the atelier of one of New York’s best fashion designers. “Make me,” I challenged “look like an adult.” She did. She put me into straight line skirts, low cut necklines, sophisticated fabrics. I’ve felt much better since.

I can hear the loud chorus of voices as I write this, challenging. “well these rules are all very well for a girl who has money---but what about the average American woman who doesn’t have a fortune to spend on clothes? My answer to that is simple. I say that these rules have nothing to do with the amount of money you have to spend. I say that it’s not only possible, but downright easy to dress well on a small budget.

You can do it by planning your clothes budget, just as you plan your household budget. Personally, I shop exactly twice a year. Cross my heart! It’s awfully hard, I confess, keeping out of the tempting dress shops between times, but it has to be done---in the interest of good clothes sense as well as economy. So only twice a year, spring and fall, I venture out to buy clothes for the entire year. I look ahead and figure out what I’ll be doing in the intervening months and then buy accordingly. Last year I was busy touring, singing at theatres and night clubs, so I bought only travelling clothes, simple afternoon dresses to wear between shows and evening gowns for my work. This spring I won’t be gadding around quite so much, so I can luxuriate around my apartment in hostess gowns, and even indulge in a cocktail dress or two.

Keep the colors of your clothes and accessories basic. Personally, I prefer black and brown for winter, navy, white and red for spring. If you don’t go hod wild on color, fashion fads, or exaggerated lines, you’ll find yourself saving a great deal of money, for the simple reason that your clothes will last years longer---and will still be in style when more exaggerated numbers have gone with the wind. A woman with a well planned wardrobe always has a large backlog of perfectly wearable and smart clothes, left over from previous years.

I’ve left the final, and most important rule of clothes sense for the last. That is to develop good taste.

How? The only answer I know is I’m afraid, rather trite. Go to museums and see the masterpieces in painting. Listen to good music. Good taste is an elusive quality, but it can be caught---if you keep trying long enough. There’s no woman in this world, I believe, who can’t master the gift of garb---if she really wants to.”