Carol Barber

Return of the Holding Gear

According to a British firm of lingerie manufacturers, the current trend points to the return of suspender belts. As skirt lengths drop to knee level, girls are beginning to wear stockings again, and the traditional holding gear is a must.

The trend is for frilly belts in startling colours, but black is still a favourite for slinky evening wear, as model CAROL BARBER illustrates.

Husbands are buying them for wives.

"What's this?" said Mrs. Newlywed to her adoring man when he presented her with a wicked red belt.

"To keep your nylons up," he said with a saucy grin.

"What's nylons ?" said the young lovely.

Debora Stewart

Deb's Delight

If you’re reading the latest James Bond thriller, put it down for a moment and concentrate on DEBORA STEWART, who is our idea of the girl James would most like to read to him while recovering in hospital from being blown up by a load of Persian dynamite.

All that aside, the delight of Deb at this particular moment is her new mini-dress.

If you must know, it delights us too. Debbie looks so enchanting in it that irrespective of whether we’d been blown up by Persian dynamite or a Molotov cocktail, we’d like to have her to read to us too. It would be joy personified to our tender ears and it wouldn’t strain our eyes, either.

Well, you can’t help going overboard for the modern girl when they look so indescribably gorgeous. To think there were times when girls wore bustles and dim people didn’t even know how many legs they’d got. You couldn’t even see their shoes.

Of course you couldn’t, because they wore elastic-sided boots.

Dear Debbie, can we be your Valentine?

Tina Ryatt

Tina

Beauty queen and film starlet is TINA RYATT, Welsh girl and just about as easy on the eye as a mink coat.

You can have your ton-up bikes, your first-night tickets, your new cooker, your fragile stomach.

Give us a mink coat.

If you could arrange for Tina to be wrapped up in it we’d be all over indescribable gratitude.

Maria Montez

Mexican Dream

All the way from Mexico came a dream.

After the excitement of the Olympic Games there, MARIA MONTEZ couldn't settle to her work in a dress shop in Mexico City, so she came to Europe to participate in the happenings.

She finished up in London. The happenings in Paris and Rome were extremely Continental. Being pinched all the time was blush-making.

"And by perfect strangers, no doubt," said Sir Harry.

"Perfect? Senor," she said, "how can you say perfect when you mean naughty?"

"Ah, a good question," said Sir Harry.

"I do not mind a pinch here and there," said Maria, "but not by naughty men."

"I used to be naughty. I've grown out of it now," said Sir Harry.

Caroline Ford

Ah Well, That’s, How It Is

It's neither amazing nor sensational now.

The topless look.

Girls are revelling in freedom from bras and corsets. Bosoms are out, like. But honestly, you don't know where to look at a party, do you? Be terrifying if the craze took on a blase, everyday phase. You know how one gets crammed up in a tube train. What on earth could you say to CAROLINE FORD if you found she had suddenly become your bosom friend on the rush hour Inner Circle line?

"What lovely weather. Miss Er—Um."

"I'm not Miss Er—Um, and would you mind not hanging your umbrella on me?"

"Oh, dreadfully sorry—"

"Now you've dropped something, you silly man."

"Oh, just my eyeballs."

Simply revelling in all that freedom is Caroline.

Jutta Srippipatana & Ingrid Stengert

Come and Join Me

The dark girl is JUTTA SRIPPIPATANA and the blonde who came to join her is INGRID STENGERT, and they’re both models in West Berlin.

Susan Douglas

How Do They Really Look?

Girl who wants to know how the modern equivalent of Amelia Bloomer’s reach-me-downs look on her is our inimitable SUSAN DOUGLAS.

We don’t want to publicise our own bias in the matter.

We leave it to you.

You say.

Helene Gibbs

Getting Away

No, it wasn't that HELENE GIBBS was taken with a desire to get away from the pressures of London life. She's doing very well as a model, thank you, and is enjoying herself.

It just happened that when she was modelling stockings and suspenders in an outdoor location, some entranced cowboy from Texas became riveted.

"Well, I ain't seen a better looking filly since Thanksgiving," he said to the cameraman, "I reckon I'd trade a ranch for her to come home and cook for me."

"Do me a favour, eh ?" said the cameraman. "Shove off, eh?"

Texas swiped him with his stetson. He was that keen not to have any interruptions. Seeing how keen he was Helene got lost in the undergrowth, getting away from the prospects of slaving over a hot stove in Texas.

"I don't even like cooking," she said to a gooseberry bush.

Brenda North & Jane Rennie

The Modern and the Married

For the traditional modern look, which is a kind of lovingly irreverent regard for sartorial non-conformity whatever that may mean we recommend BRENDA NORTH. She’s long-legged, black-sweatered, rain-coated and really as sweet as you can wish.

For the happily-married look, which is a kind of I’m-tickled-to-death-I-did-it look, who is a better example to set before you than JANE RENNIE who was wedded some months ago and still thinks everything’s absolutely divine? She may seem more interested in her long underwear, but strictly on the level her main hobby now is hubby.

Brenda has no thoughts of getting married herself yet. Well, at just eighteen everything, even time, is on her side, and there is the world to discover and all its excitements to explore. Who wants to get married? (It’s absolutely stinking the way that boy next door dives under his car whenever he sees me, he knows I’d love to help him change his tyre).

For that hap-hap-happy look, how about Jane, our dimpled delight.

Roz Barnwell

There's Always Time For a Chat

Like any housewife, ROZ BARNWELL can always find time for a chat on the phone. It's nice to have friends who ring you up.

Roz is a pretty busy housewife, and a young mother too. Not only does she look after home, hubby and infant, she also holds down a secretarial job. And about once a week she does a modelling assignment. That just about makes her so versatile that she's almost a lovely miracle.

Other wives might buckle at the knees and start growing wrinkles and grey hairs, but Roz remains not just young but a delight to have around. She still likes the glamour of wearing stockings and suspenders, and if it weren't for the fact that the milkman has all his empties to look after he'd like to deliver four times a day to Roz's house. It's just joy to the eyes when she opens the door to take in her daily pint.

Sacha Michaelides

From Cyprus

Ah, Cyprus. Island of rich wine and hot sun, sparkling jewel of Ancient Greece set in the wine-dark sea of Homer.

Of course, it's changed a bit since all those heroic Greeks chased the maidens from coast to coast.

The maidens are still enchanting but they get chased by tourists now.

Lovely SACHA MICHAELIDES used to work as a receptionist in a Cyprus hotel. There she took a great liking to tourists from Britain, especially the young and crazy buckeroos, and in the end decided to come to London. Now she's working in the offices of Cyprus sherry importers and has made the place intoxicating for the male staff.

It's no wonder those Ancient Greek heroes were always leaving Athens and rowing to Cyprus.

Lynn Palmer

Call For Miss Palmer

It was nice and quiet until the phone rang in the conservatory. It was a call for LYNN PALMER. There was a loud voice at the other end wanting to know what had happened to the fish, had it been shot to death and when Lynn, a window-dresser, had no idea what the idiot was on about and said so.

'Look here' said the idiot. "you're not trying to tell me you're dead ignorant about fish are you? You're Mavis Palmer, known as Underwater Lulu aren't you? You catch fish and sell them, don't you? Well, come round to my place and look at this skate you sold me. It's gone green."

"You've got the wrong person. I'm Lynn Palmer and I've never caught a fish in my life."

"Oh. really?" said the nut. "Well, stay there. I'll be right round and we'll go angling together

Jane Miller

Game for a Game

In a sort of slinky gym vest and black tights JANE MILLER went out for a gambol with her jump-ball.

Very sporty bird is Jane. Loves games and all that. Along came a walking-stick case, an old gent with gout. He took one look at Jane, a secretary in Kingston, Surrey, threw away his walking-stick and galloped gamely towards her.

Inevitably he fell flat on his face.

Jane picked him up, gave him back his stick and helped him into a wheelbarrow. As the gamekeeper wheeled him away she said farewell with a smile and a wave. It cheered him up no end.

Kirsten Veta

Shy Swede

Nobody ever thought there was such a phenomenon as a shy Swede, but we found one in London last summer. KIRSTEN VETA.

She was over from Stockholm and was staying in Hampstead, where our photographer buttonholed her in his endearing way and persuaded her to leave some charming mementoes of herself before she went back home. Mementoes in the form of photographs.

Kirsten giggled, turned pink, turned around, turned pinker and so on. And there you are.

Ann Williams

On a Highland Fling

Young and golden secretary ANN WILLIAMS was on a Highland fling, staying in a cottage with a view of a wide, green glen.

She was getting lots of fresh air and making friends with Highland steers. There was one called Angus. Solid as a house he was and as gentle as a baby calf as long as you didn't ride a motorbike all over his pasture. Ann wanted to take him home with her.

So she rang her mother. Her mother said well, you'll have to keep him in the garden, they couldn't possibly have him indoors. So she went out and measured the garden and Ann went out and measured Angus.

Then they returned to the phone and compared measurements and found that Angus was twice as big as the garden.

So Ann brought home a mini-kilt instead.