PAGE TWO
THE MICMGAN DAILY
SRSDAI; MARCH 17, 1955
FORTUNES COME AND GO: u
..><.,
. , .
I
Garment Center Adapts Trends
EDITOR'S Note: Miss Lewis
has been closely associated with
the garment center. Her father
manufactures a national line
of sportswear.
By ARLINE LEWIS
In New York City, a few blocks
south of the dazzle of Broadway
theatres, the fashion America
wears is created, made and sold.
The garment center, as the mar-
ket is called, covers several square
miles in the heart of the city. It
consists of building after building
of wholesale showrooms where
anxious salesmen try to sell every-
thing from kitchen aprons to eve-
ning gowns.
The showrooms follow no set
pattern of decoration. They pro-
gress in size from swank, carpet-
ed semi-apartments, complete with
sepa'rate office and shipping rooms,
to bare single rooms.
Trends Adapted
Fashion trends are created in
Paris, but it is up to the American
designers to adapt unwearable
French styles to the tastes, figure
and budget of the average woman.
Trends may repeat styles of sev-
eral decades past, or, as in the
case of the bermuda skirt, origin-
ate in the whim of a Seventh
Avenue designer looking for a
novelty item.
After a style has been created,
sketches are transformed into a
pattern and then into a sample
by a well-paid master of needle
and thread, the sample maker.
Perfection Required
Because of the necessity of per-
fection in the sample, a garment
that sells for a wholesale price of
$20 may cost the manufacturer as
much as several hundred dollars
in labor.
The sample then goes to the
showroom WNhere it becomes part
of the "line." Salesmen and wom-
en attempt to sell the item to buy-
ers who flock to New York from
every state in the Union, Canada
and South America. These people
represent huge chain corporations,
as well as single specialty shops.
The buyer, usually a veteran
with several years of experience,
has the last word in what styles
will "hit" and what styles won't.
He always buys with the customers
in mind.
Classics Persist
Usually the tried and tested clas-
sic items are bought in quantity.
Iany a high-styled fashion which
put a gleam in the eye of a cloth-
ing manufacturer, as the possible
item which would "give him a
name," has ended up on a back-
room rack of discarded samples.
The market has glamour. It is a
world in itself second only to show
business.
Many people with luck and per-
sistence become fabulously weal-
thy. Others gamble their money
and dreams into several months
of high-pressure work, only to end
in failure.
Still most of the trades people
drift on, with their seasonal ups
and downs, always hoping that one
season, one style will put their
brand name on the lips of the
American public.
To blot lipstick, first allow it to
set about two minutes. Fold a tis-
sue, place it against the lips and
using a finger, press it against the
mouth with one full sweep. Repeat
on a clean fold of tissue, remove
this blotter, then moisten lips.
Fashion Art Work
Apparel was photographed -by Daily photogra-
phers with the courtesy of local stores.
Contributors to this issue are:
JOHN HIRTZEL, chief photographer
DICK GASKI LL
LYNN WALLAS
ESTHER GOUDSMIT
CORALYN FITZ, illustrator
MIRRORED MAGIC-Out of the two dresses shown, these lucky models will have four outfits. Bo-
lero jackets transform party dresses into daytime costumes in an instant. Joanne Robinson (left) is
wearing a tall but trim linen dress. Margot Binkow's linen bolero blends with the colors in her full
skirted print dress.
LACE EDGED-Lace collars and cuffs add a touch of 17th cen-
tury elegance to this long waisted navy silk dress worn by Debbie
Linett, '57. Attached petticoats give the dress its own fullness,
and the dress's owner a wedding ring waist.
New Spring Silhouette Stripped of Frills, Fussy Details
+s
it
Miss Adeline Ciavola, Delta Delta Delta,
is ready for Spring
and so are we at the Marilyn Shop
By ROSE PERLBERG
It's the long, lithe look, slim
and ultra-modern, that leads the
fashion parade this spring.
Completely stripped of frills and
fussy details, the dress of today's
Modern Miss is simple and stream-
lined, conforming to a lean sil-
houette.
With this slender torso, waist-
lines remain low, often supple-
mented with belts, bands or bows.
Blouses emphasizing the trend are
no longer tucked in, but are casu-
ally worn over skirts and cling
to the hips.
Middy Blouses
Going strong is the straight
middy, a remnant of the "Char-
leston age." The big collar blouse
pushes its way into the spotlight,
too. Higher and shallow necklines
add to the long look.
In keeping with these trends,
crinolines and petticoats, al-
though still in the picture, have
taken quite a tumble. Dior's long
jacketed suits are holding their
own. Man-tailored, they're often
set off with bows, string ties, crisp
cat's whiskers and taffeta poufs.
Tappered box jackets are playing
their role, too.
Tweed Important
As to materials, tweed is the big
story this year, in both suits and
coats. Wools or worsteds, these
colorful mixtures add that casual
yet dressy look to anyone's ward-
robe.
Silk, in all weaves, leads the
fashion parade. Second only to
tweed for suits, it's big news in
dresses and blouses. Experts hail
this the biggest silk print season
in the past decade.
Pure silks, the heavy Italian
variety, various silk tweeds and
rustic weaves are growing in pop-
ularity by leaps and bounds. More
and more people are realizing that
not only is silk luxurious, but it's
practical and comfortable in all
climates for year-'round wear.
Silk Blends
Silk blends are on their way up
too. Pure silk and wool are the
newest, giving an authentic tweed
weate that looks like pure silk.
Silk and miracle fibers are well
established with silk-and-orlon in
number one place. Such examples
as silk-and-orlon shantung, avail-
able in solids and prints, rate high
on the popularity list for their
rustic quality.
Silk-look cottons lead the cot-
ton parade. Cotton and nylon, one
of the newest blends, also promises
to be a favorite. It has already
been used in suit blouses and styl-
ized shirts.
Cotton Mixtures
The latest news in blouses is a
cotton and rayon mixture which
manufacturers tag "cotton-forti-
san." Fortisan is claimed to be the
strongest of all man-made fibers
except glass and is unusually light.
Polished cotton and high luster
broadcloths are stepping into the
limelight for all types of feminine
prints and stylized shirts. Sheer
cotton is developing strongly for
women, just as it did for men.
Pure linen is an annual "favor-
ite with its pseudo sisters, the lin-
en-look rayons.
Miracle Fibers
Of course, the 100 per cent
miracle fibers, so practical for
travel, are in demand.
Spring promises to be a very
colorful season, not only in na-
ture, but in clothes too. Pastels,
especially yellow, are the newest
fashion rave. Lilacs, blues and
Fashion Designer Creates Many Firsts;
Bonnie Cashin Serves as Free Lancer
greens in varying shades are step-
ping smartly behind. Navy and
black play a more important role
than ever as costume contrasts,
while gray remains a classic for
all suit designs.
Keeping one eye on Paris col-
lections and the other on the bud-
get, today's fashion conscious fe-
male has ample choice of styles,
colors and materials.
By ARLINE LEWIS
Bonnie Cashin, well-known Hol-
lywood and New York designer, has
her finger in every fashion pie.
She has worked in all phases of
the clothing industry but all her
designs--coats, dresses, sports-
wear"-have been especially aimed
at her "kind of girl."
Miss Cashin's girl is of no defi-
nite age, she may go to school, or
run a home, but she has a crav-
ing for an exciting kind of fashion
ordinarily priced above her means.
Produced for Pin Money
"So," as the famous designer
puts it, "my plan involves small
groups of clothing which add up
to a rounded wardrobe. Some of
my things are produced for spin
money."
Free lancing has given Miss
Cashin the chance to work in
many different parts of the in-
dustry.
Her clothing is distinctive, high-
fashioned, yet priced-right and
wearable. She, perhaps could be
called a custom designer for a
vast market; for the description of
"her kind of girl" fits a good por-
tion of America's fashion-minded
women.
Initiates Many Firsts
The. Bonnie Cashin label has
graced many firsts. The monk-
collared alpaca-lined storm coat,
which one fashion editor calls "the
Ford of recent years," is one of
her designs.
Thick tweedy knitted coats and
dresses, which revitalized the knit-
wear industry; the versatile coolie
shirt, seen everywhere from beach
to cocktail parties and the striped
sleep shirt with matching shorts,
are all Cashin originals.
Her special interest for this
spring has been leather. Formerly
used only for gloves and shoes,
leather has moved into every con-
ceivable part of the clothing in-
dustry.
"Suede Plus"
Bonnie calls her leather group,
"Suede Plus." It
coats, pullover tops
pink, blue, cream
black.
Includes slim
and shorts in
natural and
The coats are lined in silk for
an added touch of elegance. Rib-
bed wool forms the deep cowl neck
and push up sleeves of the pull-
over. The shorts are precisely tail-
ored and look as wonderful as they
feel.s
"Design comes out of the needs
of our lives," the famous designer
said. "The needs are often my own
and I've found that they are often
those of other women too."
"Little-Coat Suits"
Suity-suits are unheard of, rath-
er they're "little coats with skirts,
far more comfortable for sitting in
trains. Her skirts have an abun-
dance of pockets, a traveler's ne-
cessity.
Bonnie Cashin clothes go all
over. They can be found in bus
terminals and night clubs. "I love
fashion," the New York designer
said.
That love has been communicat-
ed to everything she creates, in the
form of wearability, good looks
and a very distinctive elegance.
...:::....:::u"tYthi1':6u:'i* ' L .ur.u.i.... .. . . . . . . . . . _
.""":.n . .."d:p":.*lf.;";";":" . . . . . . . . . . . ..":::}'. ."':::"".}."..r{.5:'~~f~:i~~:::':":S;:"~r;r.;{.::.."".v""." v-.rr,..,
,r"' %}i: ~?$"'~ >"::4P~ire"^"4"::'i}:ia'.4:::sS;:"}:"':.':""%.:W.":"":>b::::.'"""7i::r: : vtC.::,'"";i *WCI °; ..
This Is The Flat Look
0
Flatteri
to
your shoe wa
They're
and gay a
light on yo
Priced to ow
than c
$4
ng flats
perk-up
ardrobe!
colorful
ind oh so
ur feet.
wn more
ne pair,
$695
i
dublin denim
wrap n button..,
new version of smoothy . . .designed by
Justin McCarty .. . skirt short and flar-
ed to button over shorts for a neat, trim
look . . . green or blue with white trim
t.
j#7,
i
:.:.
i ,<
< n
THE SKIRT - Cluster pleated with 'matching
straw belt . . . Bates disciplined cotton in
ten beautiful colors . , . sizes 10-16 at $7.95
THE SHORT SLEEVE SHIRT - by Lady Manhattan ... doll sleeve
m . nisses sizes . .*0
::: .
, :.:
t
I
in the casual shop
12.95
k
I" PI