Christian Dior, father of the New Look, nearly instigated a fashion riot during a 1954 Paris exhibition showcasing his latest style, the "H" look. Dior's boyish models looked like flappers of the 1920s as they strutted among the buyers and fashion critics in straight, flat dresses that de-emphasizcd'the breasts and lowered the waistline to the hips. The word was soon out that Dior had "abolished bosoms," and outraged U.S. fashion editors accustomed to shapliness in Dior design cried foul. Hollywood slaves to fashion also seemed on the verge of revolt: "I am not built for any kind of boy's fashions," curvy Marilyn Monroe flatly claimed, "so why should I wear them?" Television's busty Dagmar added, "Frankly, honey, the instrument hasn't been made that can flatten me out." When asked to comment on Dior's lowering of the waistline, tough...