Finding the Right Complement to Gown
Question: I have just inherited a long printed evening gown from the ‘40s. The dress is very Joan Crawford, and I love it, but I don’t feel that the matching stole is right for today. Please help me find the right cover-up. The dress has a V neck, long sleeves and follows my every curve as if it were made for me. The fabric is a black crepe printed with white leaves.--D.M.
Answer: You might steal a page from New York designer Carolina Herrera’s sketchbook and give your dress a cutaway bolero jacket appliqued with leaves you cut out of your stole. Make the bolero in yellow crepe or red crepe to give your ‘40s look an ‘80s attitude.
Q: I’m in the midst of a weight-loss program, but I’m going to have to buy some new clothes before reaching my final goal weight. What styles can be worn both at my present weight (I’m a 180-pound size 16 1/2) as well as my 135-pound, size-12 goal weight?--P.B.
A: No-waistline chemise dresses will be easiest to take in without disturbing the design. Blouses with raglan, dolman or kimono sleeves are ideal because you won’t have to worry about resetting set-in sleeves as the tops of your arms slim down. The best skirt for wearing now and later is the wrap. It can be lapped several inches as your waist and hips become smaller without ruining the line.
Q: I once read that the famous alligator on the Lacoste shirt is not an alligator at all but a crocodile and that it was named for Rene Lacoste, the famous French tennis player who was nicknamed Le Crocodile by the French press. Do you know the story behind the name mix-up?--C.S.
A: I do now. The people who make the Lacoste shirt say that Rene (Bad Boy) Lacoste was the Anne White of his day (1925 to 1928 were his glory years). Like White, who made headlines at Wimbledon this season by competing in a shiny white bodysuit, Lacoste shocked the tennis world in his day by appearing at a formal tennis tournament wearing what was considered improper tennis attire. Instead of the customary white shirt and jacket, he sported a short-sleeve knit shirt emblazoned with a crocodile. The shirt became known as an alligator, they say, “because the logo more nearly represented an alligator than a crocodile.” Lacoste retired from tennis in 1929 to become a shirt maker, but his “alligator” shirt did not reach the United States until 1951. Billy Talbert, the American Davis Cup player, brought the shirt, via a French colleague, to Vincent Draddy, chairman of the New York-based David Crystal women’s-wear firm. Draddy says he didn’t want to hurt Talbert’s feelings so he bought a couple of thousand shirts. “I couldn’t get rid of them,” he reveals, “so I figured since I was stuck with them anyway, I might as well give them away.” Draddy passed them out to such friends as Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Sam Snead, who wore them to tournaments. When President Eisenhower turned up in a Lacoste shirt to play a round of golf, the style was officially launched. The shirt is marketed today as Izod Lacoste.
Q: Where does the expression four-in-hand knot come from--as in a four-in-hand necktie?--H.H.
A: The four-in-hand knot was so named because it resembled the knot tied in the reins of a four-horse team driven with one hand.
Marylou Luther welcomes questions from readers. Mail to Clotheslines, Fashion85, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.
