20 TRAJES 20 VESTITS 20 DESIGNS

34
CARLOS FUENTES
Los años con Laura Díaz
/... La verdad es que no gastaba demasiado. Leía. Iba a
conciertos y museos sola, al cine y a comer con Elizabeth. La
situación que la separó de su marido era para ella un duelo.
Había de por medio una delación, una muerte —una muerta—.
Pero el perfume Chanel, el sombrerito Schiaparelli, el traje
sastre de Balenciaga... Había cambiado tanto, en tan poco
tiempo, la moda —cómo iba a mostrarse Laura con falda corta
de flapper, bailarina de charleston y corte de pelo a lo Clara
Bow—, cuando había que vestirse como las nuevas estrellas
de Hollywood. Bajaron las faldas, se onduló la cabellera, los
bustos se engalantaron con grandes solapas de piqué, las que
se atrevían usaban trajes de noche de seda entallada al cuerpo,
como Jean Harlow la rubia platino, y un sombrero a la moda
era indispensable. Una mujer sólo se quitaba el sombrero para
dormir o jugar tenis. Hasta en la piscina, la gorrita de hule se
imponía, había que proteger el ondulado Marcel.../
The years with Laura Díaz
/... The truth is that she wasn’t spending very much money. She
read. She went to concerts and museums alone, to the movies
and to dinner with Elizabeth. The situation that separated
her from her husband was for her a period of mourning.
Between them was a betrayal, a death –a dead woman. But
the Chanel perfume, the little Schiaparelli hat, the suit tailored
by Balenciaga... So much had changed so quickly. Fashion:
how was Laura going to appear in public wearing a flapper’s
short skirt like a Charleston dancer and Clara Bow hair when
everyone had to dress like the new Hollywood stars? Skirts
were longer, hair was wavier, busts were decked out with
huge piqué lapels, those who dared wore silk evening dresses
sculpted to the shape of the body, like the platinum blonde
Jean Harlow, and a fashionable hat was indispensable. A woman
took off her hat only to sleep or play tennis. A rubber bathing
cap was called for even in the swimming pool –marcelled hair
had to be protected.../