Bridgette turned away with a flash of annoyance at this latest “what-if” on her friend’s roll of problems that could derail her entry from winning a highly competitive spot on Edith Head’s list of the five “Most Beautiful Designs.” The celebrated costume designer for Paramount Pictures was the main judge of the evening wear in tomorrow’s annual May fashion exhibition at Stephens College to showcase the talents of its seniors graduating with degrees in fashion design and illustration. Each student was required to exhibit a garment of their own creation in the runway event billed as a style show, but it was really a competition to catch the attention of talent scouts from some of the most prestigious clothes manufacturers in the industry.

However, at this year’s May event, the prime catwalk audience seats reserved for these fashion reconnoiters would be mostly empty. Bridgette had learned that few rooms had been booked for the judges at the Pennant Hotel, where they usually stayed. War rationing had hit the fashion industry especially hard as people were urged to “make do and mend” so that fabric manufacturers could focus on war-related textiles. The government needed wool for uniforms and silk for parachutes, maps, and bags for gunpowder. The military draft had drained factories of their workers, and transportation of goods had been hampered owing to the rationing of fuel and rubber tires. The contestants’ hopes for an internship centered mainly on Edith Head, but all understood she might have come merely to judge the style show as a favor to her longtime friend, the dean of the college’s School of Fashion Design.

Bridgette knew differently. The dean had confided to Bridgette that she had invited Edith Head to judge the style show primarily to see Bridgette’s work. “She won’t know what gown is yours,” the dean had told her. “That would be unfair to the other girls. That’s why I haven’t sent Edith your portfolio. Your entry will be your only chance to get your foot in the door with her. If she likes what she sees, then I will show her your drawings. Needless to say, this conversation remains between us.”

When Bridgette had tried to thank her, the dean had said, “I’m not doing this for you, Bridgette, but for the school. If Edith Head takes you on, you can understand the benefit of the publicity to Stephens.”