How to Look Well in Clothes - For Stout Women

How to Look Well in Clothes - For Stout Women
From the advice of New York designer Edwina Patterson






No belts on coats

Dominant colors should be:

Navy

Black

Or

Neutral Shades

Flat fur coats ( like broadtail -  'the wavy, moirélike fur or pelt of a young or stillborn Karakul lamb'.[Source: Dictionary.com] )

Broadtail fur from the 1940s

No doll or pillbox hats.

*Bummer, because I love pillbox hats.  I didn't realize they were so popular in the 1940s.  When I think pillbox hat, I think Jackie O

Jackie O. Impersonators 1961

Wear off-side berets

Susan Peters 1943

Wear medium-size off to the side hats

Zasu Pitts, Paula Laurence & Celeste Holm

No peplums or tiered rulles, dirndl skirts, wide belts, and unpressed pleats

*Basically anything that adds volume








[Source:   Quick Steps to Beauty and Charm.  Dorothy Cocks.  White's Book Company.  Westfield, Massachusetts.  1948.]

Blondes: Colors That Flatter

Here are the last of tips for blondes. It again comes courtesy of Ruth Murrin in 1940s issues of Good Housekeeping, and has to do with the all important wardrobe. With stunning angelic looks, what clothes could possible compliment this?

A blonde's main problem in choosing costume colors is to avoid anything that will overwhelm her. The girl with bright golden hair, sky-blue eyes, and pink cheeks is vivid enough to hold her own against almost any color. But the average blonde must avoid bright shades because they pale her skin and eyes and dim her personality. Soft pastels or grayed shades of blue, rose, orchid, green and very soft brick are her stand-bys.

Black, excellent for the blonde with a flushed, high-colored complexion, is treacherous for others. In velvet it must be stunning, but in dull crepe it often makes a fair girl look washed out.

Tan, beige, wheat, and similar neutral shades are tricky, too. Combined with brown, these colors are flattering to the brown-eyed blonde or to the type whose light hair and dark cream or golden skin make a lovely monotone. But they may emphasize a skin that is not too good or make a pale blonde look faded, so for these colors make-up must be planned with unusual care.

Next up, those lovely Brunettes (if I can find my papers :)