STARS AND STRIPES

Stripes have always caught the eye, in garments as in nature. Their use in clothing has ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous, and they have appeared on garments at opposite ends of the social strata - from chain-gang garb to the very expensive mitered suits designed by Adrian and Irene, and from homey pajamas to suits made from the striped woven woolens of Pola Stout. Stripes can be simple or bold, colorful or muted, vertical, horizontal and diagonal. In the hands of Adrian and Irene especially, stripes were combined into such marvelous angles that not only were they wonderful to look at, but the silhouette itself was emphasized into the designer's total look. Expert tailoring was needed of course, which skill they both had at MGM and at their own fashion houses. Such expert handiwork is now an endangered skill in this country. One would be hard-pressed to replicate some of the striped and mitered vintage Irene and Adrian label suits. Matching small stripes and angles at sleeves, shoulders,collars, pocket flaps, and tailored waists is no easy feat.

Stripes are also wonderful to behold on other garments. There is nothing like a cheefully- colored striped shirt or blouse to shout summer. While rare to see today, boldly striped, full dresses and gowns can be amazingly beautiful. Stripes draw attention, but their versatility make them ideal to use in a variety of settings. From lounging to glamming - stripes fit the bill.  That's why the Hollywood costume designers loved to put stars in stripes.

The beauty pictured above is Loretta Young in Bedtime Story (1941) in a suit designed by Irene Lentz Gibbons, the designer known simply as Irene.

Adrian designed this costume for Greta Garbo to wear in The Single Standard in 1929. It was a lounging pajama outfit, a style  made popular in 1929-1930, especially after Garbo was seen wearing them in this movie. The pants were striped also.

This gown was designed by Bernard Newman and is worn by a fashion model in the film Roberta (1935). Newman was the costume designer for RKO for a few years in the mid 1930s. He had been a fashion designer in New York and later free-lanced as a costume designer for several studios. Roberta made a big splash with its fashion-show sequence and its stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Irene Dunne, and another fashion model, Lucille Ball. Adrian later designed the costumes for a re-make called  Lovely to Look At in 1952.

                 

                                                      

   

 Loretta Young models another striking striped dress in Doctor Takes a Wife (1940). No designer is credited for the costume, although Irene frequently designed Loretta Young's film and personal wardrobe in this period.

Rosalind Russell wears this eye-catching suit designed by Edith Head at the Paramount Studios in 1942. After 1940, women started wearing their hats strait, not slanted, as had been the style in the 1930s. Wide-brimmed hats were popular at this time. Here Ros holds hands with the statue of a giant ground sloth, no doubt in Hancock Park in Los Angeles, home of the famous tar pits.

Getty Images

The cheerfullness of this simple striped blouse amplifies the sunny smile of Rita Hayworth, circa 1942. Rita was one of the pin-up girls of World War II. Her long full hair, seen in movies just before, during, and after WW II, became the craze for teenage girls and young women tired of wearing their hair up. Rita also shows the natural combination of stars and stipes.