When I lived in Los Angeles in the 1950s, I signed up for a modeling course with the John Robert Powers modeling agency, and although I did not complete that course, I learned enough about grooming and fashion sense to be able to state my case today.
What on Earth do some of today's women hope to accomplish by disfiguring themselves with tattoos, multicolored, wild hair styles, nose and lip rings, outrageous makeup, and costumes unfit for decent company? You know what I mean. Everywhere I look, I see women dressed appropriately for freak shows. Have they no pride in their appearance? Have they no fashion sense? Apparently not; they seem content to follow the trends that change from year to year.
It was my husband's idea for me to take the course. I did not aspire to be an actress or model; I was satisfied to be a bank bookkeeper for many years. However, I'm grateful for the opportunity the modeling course gave me to improve my appearance, my wardrobe, my walk, makeup and articulation (though they failed to change my Missouri accent, so I'm stuck with a southern twang!).
Fashions have indeed changed, and not always for the better. Women will still buy clothes the designers tell them to buy. For example, one year they may feature a certain color or style, say the color red. Many items they come out with that year will be red (or another shade of red). But the following year, the featured color may be orange, yellow, or green. These are known as fad colors, and if you're not careful, you may end up with nothing that goes with those colors. Your closet may resemble a paintbox full of colors you can't combine.
So here's the way modeling students at JRP agency were taught to dress when I was there. (They may have changed their rules since then.) You can ignore this if you don't go anywhere; you can run around naked in your own home or dress like a circus clown. Nobody will see you. But if you go to a dressy business affair, you'd better dress like you know what you're doing!
Here are some basic lessons I was taught that I'd like to pass on, before humans end up wearing animal skins or simply their "birthday suits," which is possibly the worst thing they can do in this day and age. So many people around us are already very close to reverting to prehistoric garments, even wearing them to formal events. Have they no shame?
1. John Robert Powers on wearing cosmetics when I was there: We weren't going to apply makeup, we were going to "make down," which meant our faces were going to look lovely but natural when we're done, instead of thick layers of the wrong shade on your skin. To find your perfect base color, dab a bit of foundation on the inside of a wrist; it should match that color. You don't want your face to resemble a peach if you're not a peach. Always use a light touch when applying makeup and blend it well.
2. Buy the best you can afford in these basic colors and fabrics that will last for years: Black, Brown, Gray, Navy. Say, a nice wool winter coat in one of the basic colors, and maybe a gray or camel dress coat for warm weather; a suit or nice business dress or pants in another basic color (I chose black). So you think you'll get tired of those plain colors? Nope. This is where those annual "fad" colors come in that designers are counting on you splurging on. When you accessorize your basic ensemble with those fad colors, you can end up with a completely new look! Accessorize with bright scarves, jewelry, purses, hats, gloves, whatever. But buy the best you can afford of the basic items, because you're going to wear them for years! Don't waste your money on fad items that won't go with anything else.
3. SHOES: I was taught to buy a very good brand of black suede dress pumps (or flats if you can't wear heels), because they go with anything. No ribbons, bows, or other ornaments on these dress shoes. But for very formal affairs, you can choose a fancier shoe to go with your gown if you like, though it'll probably be hidden by the dress.
4. Here are things to keep in mind when buying dresses, blouses, shoes, etc:
Vertical lines are slimming; horizontal lines are fattening (unless you're a beanpole).
Seriously, if you're short and on the hefty side, do not buy clothes with WIDE horizontal stripes or large patterns (flowers, squares, circles, etc.).
Also, do not wear wide belts, ribbons or chokers on your neck because you'll look like your head is cut off. The same goes for ankle-strap shoes. Ankle-straps will cut your feet off and make you look shorter. Tall, slim women can get by with this; many others can't.
The message to take home from this is simple: vertical lines give the illusion of height; horizontal lines make you wide. If you're already wide, why would you want to look wider?
I left the classes before we got to hair and hair styles. Nearly any color is fine for your hair, depending on skin tones. But for God's sake, please ditch the nursery-school, paint-box colors, the florescent, spiky comic-book colors, purple or pink stripes . . . unless you work in a carnival.
Namaste!
