Gaumont British News

Synopsis: Newsreel footage shows the latest fashions from America for women, cats and dogs.

Reality Cats: After the segment showing off women’s fashions, the narrator explains that all this talk about fur is rather looked down on by those who wear their own fur coats and attend their own fashion shows, too. A lovely cream Persian is shown.

A grey cat wearing a wedding dress is the first model. “What about this for a perfect feline society bride?” the narrator asks.

The same grey cat is next shown wearing a fairy princess costume. “And for the fancy dress ball, Princess Charming.”

After demonstrating ear bibs and jackets for dogs, the same cat is shown wearing a straw hat with a cigarette in his mouth. “Look out girls, here I come,” the narrator says for the cat.

After poodle boots, a white Persian cat dressed as Santa Claus is seen poking out of a small chimney. The narrator finishes with “Just a little late for the Christmas cheer, Santa Puss may not know much about chimneys but he knows all about style.”

Several shots of the cats in costumes from this footage was used in the 1951 educational short Alphabet Antics. Wisely the shot of the cat with a cigarette in its mouth was not included. The grey cat was famous in her own right. Her name was Princess Mickey and she was owned by Joseph Olano of New York City who dressed her up for various cat shows.

Final Mewsings: Cats would prefer to show off their own beautiful natural selves.

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