Glamour Girl
This article appeared in the November 1956 issue of American Girl Magazine

How cool is cool? That depends. Cool is the shade of an old walnut tree. It is the blue-green that Corot painted in his landscapes. And "cool" in its most contemporary sense in a word that might have been coined especially for one of America's dazzling new teen-age models, Sandra Dee.
Who is Sandra Dee? She's a teen-ager who had a dream and made it come true---a dream that you and every other teen-ager has at times--that of being truly glamorous. And today, anyone looking at Sandy would say, "She's a smoothie!" And how did she get to be such a smoothie? The story goes back about two years. It was on a late fall afternoon that an eager schoolgirl walked into the offices of the AMERICAN GIRL magazine. She looked about twelve or thirteen and had big brown eyes that seemed to smile.
Sandra was pursuing the ambition of becoming a model---but without success. Those who had interviewed her in the big agencies shook their heads. Pretty--yes! But too unsophisticated. Pretty--but not glamorous. Just a nice, wholesome American girl.
It so happened, however, that the day Sandra came in the AMERICAN GIRL'S art department was looking for a model the agencies couldn't seem to turn up--one who must not have the look of being a "pro"; a typical teenager with the "well-scrubbed look." Teen-age fashion models had flocked in and been turned down for this assignment. When the art director's assistant saw this young applicant, she exclaimed, "Here's our girl!"
Result: Sandra, rosy-checked as an apple, appeared on the April, 1955, cover of the AMERICAN GIRL, childishly elated over a batch of cookies. Wind-blown, casual, and of course photogenic, she was just right as the embodiment of "every American teen-ager"--a bit careless in her grooming, perhaps, but wholesome, natural--possessed of those very qualities that had made the model experts shake their heads.
If the story ended here, there would be no real story. But once a teen-ager has seen herself on the cover of her favorite magazine, the end of the rainbow seems close at hand. Sandra was no exception to that rule. By day and night she dreamed of acquiring glamour. When the art director assured her she was not in the running as an AMERICAN GIRL fashion model, she very nearly shed tears.
Instead, she applied herself to acquiring the secrets of the "glamour girls." Was her posture less than elegant? She'd learn to walk smoothly, hold herself more gracefully, her head up with pride. Was her waistline a bit thick? Perhaps she ought to give up sweets. Her hair was lovely, but it didn't have the burnished look that comes from incessant brushing. Her bands were well-shaped-but could stand more attention---cream, careful manicures. Her choice of clothes, too, would stand examination-better lines, more simplicity, careful pressing. As for bobby socks and sneakers--definitely they must go.
For a time, Sandra's great attention to all these things had the reverse effect of the one she had expected. She wasn't quite glamorous, and she wasn't the typical teenager she had been before. After a few general assignments for the magazine, she entered a period when she was no longer usable as a model for general articles, not quite usable for the fashion pages. It was terribly disappointing, but Sandra wasn't the girl to give up. For a while, she was unheard from. Then, one day, she came walking in--well, it almost seemed she was another girl! Sleek, perfectly groomed, lovely in the ultimate sense-the teen-age fashion model to perfection. Sandra began to appear on the fashion pages. A battle had been won, and a "pro" had been born!
"It was mostly self-discipline that did the trick," Sandy smilingly confided to the beauty editor. "I was too chubby. I used to practically live on chocolate eclairs--did I love them! But when I decided to do something about my looks, I began to eat more sensibly. From then on, I didn't take even one bite of an eclair."
"That must have been a terrible sacrifice! But I'm sure you felt better with a well-balanced diet instead of trying to exist on sweets."
Sandy's mother, who looks almost young enough to be her big sister, had been listening in--and here she interrupted. "Sometimes Sandy's eating isn't too orthodox even now," she said. "But I'll say this for her: she does make sure to get her daily ration of vitamins and minerals."
Sandy laughed. "Mother's referring to the fact that I like broiled steak for breakfast. It seems to start the day off right. If I eat meat in the morning, then I have fruit salad and milk for lunch. By evening I'm ready for a full-sized meal, with chicken, or chops, or shrimps--I love shrimps!--and with a buttered green vegetable. For in-between snacks I stick to fruit. And, of course, every day I polish off a head of lettuce."
"When do those snacks come in?" "Well--sometimes when I'm watching television. For instance, last night, I raided the refrigerator for a piece of cantaloupe." "That sounds good enough! And now, Sandy--what do you do for exercise? Or do you get enough of that just running around on your model assignments?" Sandy smiled. "That keeps me busy. I've had as many as six fashion bookings in one day! And the agencies tell me just how I must appear---one-inch heels, black slacks, hair curled neatly--they never omit one detail! But modeling isn't exercise. It's chiefly standing on your feet." "Standing is often more tiring than walking."
"Well, it has taught me to be good to my feet. I sprinkle foot powder directly into my shoes. It keeps me comfortable all day long." "And for real exercise, Sandy?" Sandy pointed to her toy Pomeranian. "Ask Pumpkin. I walk him every day. He insists on it! Besides, I go horseback riding, and skating in the park in winter. When my schedule isn't too heavy, I try to get out in the fresh air for a couple of hours every day."
"One more question. Our readers will want to know what a teen-age model thinks about make-up for teen-agers." Sandy shot her answer back fast. "I don't like it. Foundation, rouge, face powder, and eye stuff--well, they have their place. But it isn't on teen-agers every day! A smooth skin with a bit of shine on it looks so alive--why cover it up? On school days I use a touch of lipstick--nothing else. For the camera--or when I want to look special--I use a small amount of liquid powder and a pale rouge. One thing I can't stand to see, you can tell the girls, is a batch of pimples coated with a layer of make-up. It makes me shiver!"
"You're so right!" the beauty editor agreed. "It's worse than ugly--it can really aggravate a skin disorder. But, Sandy, you mentioned looking special. Just how would you go about getting ready for a party or a special date?" Sandy paused to think that one over. "Well, I don't go on many real dates," she confessed. "That is, not really big dates. There was one, though--the school get-acquainted dance this autumn. The boy who took me was sixteen and very nice. I was so excited!"
"You must have been! And getting ready must have been fun, too. More than for your modeling." "Oh, yes! Goodness, I started getting ready for that date two days before. I went to the beauty parlor and had my hair shaped. Right now I'm growing it so I can wear my own pony tail. But I wanted it to look perfect. That was the start.
"The dance was Saturday--no school, just the whole day to be lazy and prepare for the fun. In the morning I washed my hair and set it in a loose page boy with curly bangs in front. I always use rubber curlers--they give the not-too-curly effect I like.
"In the afternoon I read for awhile, walked with Pumpkin, and talked with friends until it was time for an early supper, and then a half-hour nap. By about six thirty I was having a long bath, just soaking and trying to think of things that would make good conversation at the dance."
"That always seems to be a problem with teen-agers. You seem to be no exception." "Yes, it is a problem sometimes. But this time it wasn't too hard. Jack is rather shy, but I knew he was crazy about sports. I fished around in my memory for names and events we'd both know about, and that would get the ball rolling."
"A good idea, Sandra. If you can get a boy talking about something that interests him, he'll soon forget about shyness. That's part of preparation for a big date that girls sometimes forget. And now-- where were we--just ready to dress for the date?"
Sandra laughed. "Yes, you have me hopping out of the bath. Let's see--after I'm dry the first thing I always do is apply deodorant. Then I'm ready to get into the clean underthings I've laid out. But I'll tell you a funny quirk of mine: I always like to get into my shoes as quickly as possible. When my feet are in shoes I feel as if I'm nearly ready. "With my shoes and underthings on, I spent five minutes brushing my hair. My dress went on next--a blue organdy--blue's my favorite color. Then I draped one of those plastic capes about my shoulders to protect my dress from make-up. First a drop of liquid powder, smoothed thinly over my face and neck-practically invisible; a dab of rouge, a light touch of lipstick, and a smitch of my mother's good perfume on my wrists and neck, and I was ready. At least I thought I was. But even while I was checking in the full-length mirror, I remembered a good trick I've learned as a fashion model. Quickly, I dashed to the bathroom and with a wet towel, I lightly patted my face. This does absolute miracles--it takes off whatever excess make-up there may be and at the same time gives your face a radiant glow."
"And did you have fun that night?"
"Well, my toes must have been a bit far forward--Jack kept treading on them. But I didn't mind . . . It was so wonderful."
Sandra Dee--fashion model on today's AMERICAN GIRL--looked up, her dark eyes shining. "I guess you could say it was 'cool'-- just plain cool!"

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