I'm fascinated with the costuming...

in this movie and other classic or period piece films. Apparently, back in the day pantyhose weren't yet invented, so costume designers would sew silk stockings into the "panty" part of the costume. Real pantyhose weren't invented until 1959. Vera-Ellen was clearly wearing stockings in most of her dance numbers, especially when her costume was sort of a panty/short.

It appears to me that all of the costumes for Rosemary, like the infamous black dress and others that were low cut had fleshtone sheer fabric covering her chest, back and arms. It's very subtle, but it's noticeable to me - at least - as the sheer fabric casts a sheen to her skin that is not makeup or anything else. In some cases, she'll have a choker at the neck that covers the edge or heavy bracelets. In one scene - after the Sisters number - and the girls come out to meet the guys, Rosemary is wearing a lovely lavender dress with sort of a "shawl" draping around her arms. It's obvious to me that they've used this sheer fleshtone fabric. My point is, I wonder why they chose to do this? Rosemary is lovely and has a beautiful figure. Her arms are slim and she's really quite stunning. I just wonder if it was common during this time period to do this or were they trying to cover what they perceived was Rosemary chubby body (NOT!!) or a way to make her appear even trimmer than she was so as to not make her look chunky next to Vera-Ellen?

I'm a fan of both women - they were both stunners! I have to say, though that most of V-E's costumes had a belt that was pulled so tight that gave her already waif-like body a very weird and unnatural look. All I could think was that she looked like Mattel may have used her body to design the Barbie doll because she was so oddly proportioned. I understand at the time, she had one of the smallest waists in Hollywood. I felt like she looked more like the children ballet dancers at the end. The majority of the dancers in the "company" had more normal bodies than V-E.