PERSONALITY

Southland Times, Issue 23182, 24 April 1937, Page 16

PERSONALITY

DRESSING YOUR

“Above all things keep your personality flexible,” said Merle Oberon. “Don’t narrow down to being just a certain type and then stick in that rut. For everypersonality has so many different facets, and if you overlook one of them you will be failing to develop the best possibilities that are in you.”

“I try a new style of make-up and even a new perfume every week, just to see if I can’t discover a new side to myself,” she said. “And the same is true of my selection of clothes. I am very fond of tweeds and all sorts of tailored sports clothes. And they are becoming to me because I am comfortable and happy in them, for I love to do all the things one does in sports clothes—hiking, riding, fishing even. So it would be all too easy for me to settle down to being just a tailored sort of person. “But my personality is more complex than that. I also enjoy pleasant evenings, and meeting interesting new people. So I find that gracious dresses of soft chiffon are just as typical of me as tailored tweeds. I also enjoy wearing an occasional suave sophisticated costume—almost Oriental in its mood. You see I’ve spent so many years of my life in the Orient. And as soon as I discover that I have some new interest, I shall naturally tend to select new clothes that centre around that interest.”

Yet there is one underlying factor that is characteristic of everything Miss Oberon wears—they are all simple.

“An overdressed woman is my pet aversion,” she explained. “Never make clothes an end in themselves, for if you do you’ll miss all the spontaneous fun of wearing them. A dress should be as natural an expression of your feelings as your smile. “It is as important to leave things off as to put them on,” she said. “A

bracelet and a. clip that go well together is enough jewellery for one costume. Or a necklace and a ring. Or earrings and a clip. But never more than that. “If the neckline of your frock calls for a really handsome ornament, select something that is genuine. Let it be plain, but real. If you cannot afford it, don’t be tempted by a cheap makeshift. Instead, select a different dress with a neckline that is treated with soft lace. Never cheap, machine-made lace. One small touch of the real thing is all you will need. “Every costume that you wear should have that look of the genuine about it. If the trim of a dress is finished with great coarse machine stitching, rip the stitches out and handroll the edges yourself, if necessary. The material will fall more softly, and your whole effect will be more graceful and real. Details like that are so much more important than most people realize. In fact, one whole aspect of your personality may stand or fall by a single detail. “Never wear a dress with a wilted collar,” she continued. "It will only make you look a bit wilted yourself. So if the lingerie touches on your costume need freshening, put. the whole thing aside till you have time to freshen them. Meanwhile wear something else instead. “And remember,” she admonished, “keep your personality as limber as your muscles. For the chances are you’ll turn out to be even more of a person tomorrow.