The Leading Fashion Lines for Spring–Summer 1958, as Paris and London Have Shown Them

Special to The Woman's Voice

Even after his death, Christian Dior remains the greatest inspirer of women's fashions, not only in Paris but in every corner of the world. At the opening of each season, the fashion designers make their pilgrimage from the world's great capitals to pick up the new ideas and the newly devised lines shown by the houses of Christian Dior; these captivate woman's inclinations, and she submits to them willingly, however tyrannically they rule her and however strict the laws they impose upon her... And in Beirut there are a number of discerning ambassadors who journey to Paris at the start of every season and bring us back a rich artistic provision — among them Mr. Mansur Munsif, owner of the "Mun Ham" house of dressmaking and fashions.

What, then, does Christian Dior say of the fashions of spring–summer 1958?

This season's fashions center on the "Trapeze" line, which is simply a balance among the parts of the body — between the head and its set against the rest of the body and its dress — so that the whole takes the shape of a "trapeze," after the manner shown in the drawing.

There are, moreover, two important points for bringing out this new phenomenon: the first is that the new dress, with its spreading lines, rests upon the shoulders, and the widening of the second; the second is composed of two pieces, a narrow jacket and a cloche skirt. And it is noted that the length of the dress rises to just below the knee.

The favored colors: sand, sky blue, whitish gray and pink; and for the evening, jet black and pure white.

As for the fabrics, they are tweed, silk, mousseline, organza and lace.

These are the principal lines that the houses of Christian Dior have broadcast to the world; the world was persuaded and was stirred by their savor, and London was in the vanguard. The London magazine "Vogue" gathered the most important observations and comments the British capital recorded, as follows:

The fashions of spring–summer 1958 suggest ease and reassurance: there is nothing in them that presses upon the bust or the shoulders or the hips. This feeling shows itself in the tailleur jacket, which wraps gently about the waist, arranged back to the hip-bone, directing the greatest attention to the region just below the waist.

One notices in the "new look" a tendency toward fullness in the lower half of the body, and that the vertical line is rarely divided at the middle, which suggests height. The city's fashion houses agree that this season's clothes are comfortable and simple — in their shoulders alone, or in their sleeves developed from the heart, and in the moderation between wide and narrow... They likewise approve shortening the dress to below the knee.