What glamour girl doesn't want the fairest skin she can get? That's not to say that warmer tones are unattractive, but pale skin is essential to a vintage look.
There are various ways to achieve a lily complexion. When I informed my sister I would be washing with buttermilk, the tart answered, "K, you don't have a mammy!"
If only.
Lightening methods include, obviously, avoiding the sun, coating the skin with SPF, washing with buttermilk, applying lemon juice, and using facial lightening creams. I have done the latter two with minimal success, but I'm already fairly pale. If I didn't have such strong undertones of pink, I'd be set.
Most glamour girls have to rely on makeup. Dita von Teese achieves her lily complexion through heavy foundation and powder.
The Muse has a great blog entry on how she achieves a whiter shade of pale: http://www.musingsofamuse.com/2008/04/beauty-secrets-whitening-your-skin-how.html
(This just in: a mixture of yogurt and lemon juice applied to the face overnight may lighten skin tone. It is also said that olive oil will lighten the skin)
There are tanning salons everywhere, but what's more lovely and pure than white skin? Just don't start envying tuberculosis victims.