Irene Dunne Expresses Herself on the Subjects of Fashions And Husbands

Hollywood which many style experts declare is a world style capital, calls Irene Dunne its most fashion-concious woman. Marian Young, a fashion expert herself, talked to Miss Dunne in Hollywood and not only observed why the star deserved her high sartorial rating, but also gleaned a few tips for husbands.

                                            by MARIAN YOUNG

                                            Home Page Editor

HOLLYWOOD -- Off the screen day in and day out lovely Irene Dunne is by far the most fashion-conscious woman in Hollywood. She wears smart clothes, she wears them well and she wears them all the time. In her home, on the street, playing golf, or lunching in the informal atmosphere of a studio commissary, nobody ever saw Miss Dunne looking anything except the epitome of chic.

 "I must admit," Irene Dunne laughed, "that there are times when I don´t feel particularly in the mood to dress carefully. But I have a husband who always showers, shaves and grooms himself in shiny fashion the minute he gets up in the morning. You just can´t go downstairs in a bathrobe and curlers to face a man who looks like the hero in a soap ad.

 "As a matter of fact," the attractive, light-brown haired Miss Dunne continued, "I think a husband has more to do with whether or not his wife is chic than either perhaps realizes. Show me a man who notices his wife´s clothes and discusses them with her or who draws her attention to what other women at a party are wearing and I´ll show you a woman who will become smarter and smarter as the years go on.

 "Furthermore, I think the young husband who refuses to take the slightest interest in his wife´s apperance has little cause for complaint years later when it becomes obvious that she hasn´t kept up."

 Miss Dunne thinks that it is impossible for any woman who never has taken time to analyze herself to be truly smart. Admitting to yourself what kind of woman you really are is step number one, she insists.

 "Are you honestly sports-minded or do you just say that? Ar you essentially feminine or, underneath your frills and bows, are you a fairly self-sufficient person? Are you domestic or aren´t you? Many are not, you know, regardless of what the copy books say about all women being little homemakers at heart. Whatever you are, admitting it to yourself will go a long way toward helping you choose the right clothes to suit your personality.

 "Take your figure defects and assets in consideration, too. The perfect clothes for any woman are those which dramatize her best points and conceal faulty ones.

 "And consider your setting. A sweater and skirt wardrobe is as wrong for the city women as a velvet-dress and sequin jacket wardrobe would be for the college girl. A small picturesque old town against a background of rugged mountains calls for tweed suits and bright dresses of pebbly-textured materials -- not twill suits, silver fox capes and suave black silk dresses. Slacks, however handsomely tailored, are as out of place in New York as afternoon clothes would be at a mountain resort.

 "Unless you have an unlimited amount of money to spend on clothes, Miss Dunne warns, select one basic color scheme for your wardrobe and stick to it. For instance, if you buy a navy coat and navy accessoires this spring, don´t get tempted to get the first smart little summer dress you see. Buy navy blue or some color which will go nicely with the navy coat and the shoes.

 "The simplest clothes always are the smartest," Miss Dunne contiuned, "Fall for one frilly, fluffy schoolgirl frock if you must, but don´t build your wardrobe around the school girl theme. Or, for that matter, around any other currently touted, flash-in-the-pan theme. Good sound styles do not go out of style very quickly. Tricky fashions do.

 "Incidentally, remember that you can get away with inexpensive, novel accessoiries only if the main costume of your ensemble is expensive and looks it. If the main costume does not look expensive, the best accessoiries you can afford are on order.

 "Don´t in your struggle to be chic," Miss Dunne concluded, "acquire a brittle, too crispy tailored, hard-looking kind of smartness. Men - and women,too - may ADMIRE chic, but they CARE about loveliness." 

(The Manitowoc Herald Times, July 10. 1940)