’50s eveningwear: “Separates” are your best buy
by Margaret Parker Gary, Fashion Editor
You can buy a full skirt or one slim as a sheath; ankle length, or short. The top may be a camisole, halter, blouse, maillot, or even a little jacket. You just vary the uppers, so you can be as casual or formal as you please.
Toni Owen, designer of the unusual coordinates shown here, thinks the “separates formula” is perfect if you like to dress for evening dates without overdressing.
We’re all for the scheme, too, because these changeabouts are practical — and they’re fun to wear. We like the many possibilities they offer for choosing your own color and fabric combinations. Fascinating new brocades and glittery gold-surfaced fabrics are completely at home this fall with wool jersey, velveteen, satin, taffeta, and cotton lace. The more dramatic the outfit, the more unorthodox you can be with fabric texture and color.
Mix and match ’50s eveningwear
The sketches scattered on these pages illustrate more Toni Owen suggestions for scrambling and wearing her little tops. We hope they will give you ideas for some ingenious matchmaking of your own. Be guided by your own imagination and good taste, and you’ll find separates just as practical for evening as they are for daytime.
A short jacket to wear with its collar high, sleeves pushed up; under $18.00
For dinnertime combinations, a softly tailored blue satin that is under $9.00
For striking elegance, for the important sheath look… combine one decollete camisole, under $7.00; one wrap skirt, under $16.00. Choose red, red velveteen; add a bit of glittering jewelry
’50s eveningwear: A whole season of combinations
With one lovely skirt and a variety of little tops, you get a whole season of changes. Here are four pages of ready-to-wear combinations by Toni Owen.
Dramatic partner for the formal skirt — the ribbed jersey maillot; under $6.00
Black velveteen blouse, for day or evening; scoop neck, tiny cap sleeves; under $12.00
One long, festive gown of glittering brocade and rich gray satin is the surprising effect from a two-piece combination. Full, ankle-length skirt is under $25.00; halter, with snug-fitting cummerbund to set off tiny waist; under $8.00