Make A Dress That Pays Your Figure Compliments - 1956

"If everyone had a perfect figure, choosing clothes would be a snap--but most of us have a fault or two that we would like to minimize. It's especially important to know your figure type when buying patterns because you can't try on the dress. Here are new silhouettes - choose the right one for you and walk into spring."

"If your shoulders are quite narrow-
Advance Printed Pattern 7917 (sketched left below). The large collar gives width, balances your- bosom and hips (scoop necks are also good). This dress is particularly becoming to the older, fuller figure because of its easy lines. To wear under it we show Warner's side-zippered girdle with lace-edged front panel and a bra with underbust wiring, nylon lace cups by Exquisite Form."

"If you are slim and short-waisted-
Advance Printed Pattern 7918. Empire-waisted dress with back-buttoning bolero. Under it we suggest one of the all-in-ones that are sized for the short-waisted figure."

"If you have a young figure-
Advance Printed Pattern 7916 (sketched at top). An afternoon dress, sleek and slim through the torso with the fullness swept to the back (wonderful camouflage for a more than ample derriere). To wear beneath it (shown left) are the lightest possible foundation garments Simone's one-way-stretch girdle in cotton lace, Hollywood-Maxwell's satin and lace bra with new strap treatment."

"If you have large hip-
Advance Printed Pattern 7887. Two-piece tunic dress in a dark color. Under it we suggest a girdle with two-controlling panels."

How To Choose The Right Foundation For You - More 1956 Underwear!

"Build Your Own Best Silhouette"

"Today foundation garments are designed for individual figure types and fitted as never before-all the way from lightweights for juniors to garments with built-in corrective features. They take account of high, waists, low waists, wide hips and narrow, bust sizes from AA to D. It's all done to make sure that you can find the garments that are exactly right for your figure."

"Three-way bra of white opaque nylon taffeta, with a frosting of lace at the bosom. About $6. Pretty and light, a step-in girdle of nylon power net with shaped center panel of lace over satin. About $11. Jantzen."

"KNOW YOUR OWN MEASUREMENTS

Choosing the right foundation can be a pretty perplexing job. You can save some of the salesgirl's time and your own if you go into the store knowing whether you are short- or long-waisted and what your bust, waist and hip measures are. This is the way to take your measurements: 1. Bust size. Hold a tape measure directly below the bust, then add 5 inches for your true size. Cup sizes for your bra may best be determined by the fitter. 2. Hip size. Make sure that you measure the fullest part of the hip. This is usually about 8 inches below the waist. 3. Waist size. Take a loose measure for accuracy. 4. Short waist? Long waist? Measure from directly below the bust to the waist to find out if you're short (3-4 inches), medium (5-6 inches) or long (6 1/2-7 inches). 5. Girdle length. A measure from waist to directly below the fullest part of the thigh will give you the right length. (This is important - a too-short girdle will ride up, a too-long girdle bind.) This measurement has nothing to do with your height.

WHEN YOU ARE FITTED

1. Move about in the garment and sit down-your flesh expands when you move or are seated. 2. Do not buy a size too small - this creates new bulges. 3. If your flesh is firm, you'll need less control than you will if it tends toward flabbiness. You'll find this out as the middle years come on. 4. A well-fitted girdle should control without causing a bulge or roll and without riding up.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

Each type of foundation has a definite purpose. The all-in-one smooths away the bulges and gives a clean unbroken line that's especially good under slim dresses. High-waisted girdles paired off with long-line bras also give a smooth line and solve a special problem for women with full hips and small bust or large bust and average hip size (separates that suit your specific needs). For really firm control in the hip area there are lightweight garments with elastic panels at front, back and both sides. This eliminates the discomfort of heavy boning."

Build Your Own Best Silhouette 1956 Underwear!

"The way your dress fits depends on the foundation you wear and different types of clothes require different styles of underpinning. The all-in-one, for instance, gives the unbroken line you need under sheaths; a lightweight girdle and bra may he enough for fuller dresses. When you buy a dress, fit it over the right foundation, wear it that way for your best silhouette."

"The slim sheath - most important fashion of the year. This one, by Luis Estivez for Grenelle, has an intricate strapped neckline, is evening dress or sun dress, depending on its fabric. Perfection under it, a strapless long-line Warner corselette with waistline less indented than it would have been last year. And a nylon tricot sheath petticoat from Gracette.

The wide skirt-seen this year mostly in after-five dresses. Under this geranium-printed silk by Anne Klein for Junior Sophisticates, You wear one of the new petticoats that have body without stiffness, in nylon marquisette and lace, from Gracette; scalloped three-way bra, worn strapless, and two-way stretch panties, both from Gossard, are all the support needed."

"Middle-of-the-road fashion - the slender dress with moderately full skirt, in lightweight worsted, smart for a woman of any age. Leonard Arkin. Comfortable for anyone but especially useful to the woman whose flesh is beginning to soften, this all-in-one from Flexees, made of one-way-stretch leno elastic, with elastic satin panels at front, back and side for special hip control. The nylon tricot slip is cut on modified princess lines. Van Raalte."

"The high waistline-an incoming fashion, shown here in Adele Simpson's high-rising skirt with matching bolero and tiny blouse. This costume's long lines are good for the short-waisted young figure; underneath, it needs a light girdle like like one above with crisscross elastic sections to firm the hip, an embroidered bra, both from Peter Pan. Sleek, slit nylon tricot petticoat from Trillium."

The richness and splendor of the East - 1956 Fashions

This 1956 article from Woman's Home Companion is titled "A New Simplicity touches our lives today". They show the new influences in room decor and what you should be wearing in these rooms.
"This new simplicity all around us comes from many sources-one of the most important is our new awareness of the restraint and beauty in Eastern design. Each generation since Marco Polo has rediscovered the Orient in its own way, drawing from it the ideas and qualities which suited its needs and which cave sparkle to its life. Our own generation is no exception. For us, the discovery has been vibrant colors on the one hand, serene monotones on the other. We reach out for the restraint, the simplicity of line, the lightness of scale-for everything, in fact, that brings a sense of space or that seems uncluttered to our extremely cluttered lives.

The richness and splendor of the East, which have always appealed to earlier generations, are for us only implicit in the materials we choose. For instance, you may see an evening dress this season made of beautiful brocade but its effect usually depends entirely on its line-the material its only ornament.

How does all this affect you and me-in our homes, in our lives? Consciously or unconsciously, we find ourselves desiring certain things that stem from the East - light sliding screens to separate two rooms or throw them together, low light furniture, simple lighting fixtures, simple uninsistent backgrounds. In clothes, we admire the slim column-like line of a dress translated from the Chinese; in hairdos and makeup we try out an Oriental effect..."

"In the Eastern fashion, B. H. Wragge's beautiful interpretation of the slit Chinese robe, The tunic shirt of printed silk Honan shown here over a beige skirt of spun rayon, could also be worn over shorts."

"Claire McCardell's modest jersey suit in the pencil-slim but graceful Chinese silhouette. The suit jacket is lined to match the turquoise pull-over blouse, fastened along Chinese lines with small buttons and fabric loops."

"A Chinese dress of Pink Poppy silk damask, imported by Dynasty of Hong Kong. In the classical tradition it is sleeveless, with the standing collar and side-slit skirt. Its functional lines focus attention on the elegant woven pattern of the fabric."

"Another striking example of this year's Chinese trend is this dress and jacket ensemble of orange silk linen. Note the jacket's stand-away collar and sloping shoulders. This illustrates how the Chinese influence can be adapted in an essentially Western fashion. From Talmack."