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Bi) Anne Rittenhouse
Copyright 1923 by The McClure Newspaper Syndicate, m
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Long Sleeves, Straight-Line Skirts, Near-Normal Waists Mark the New Clothes
WHAT are we going to wear
this autumn? It we Intend
to be In the fashion, we will
wear many things we do not like
while we keep a weather eye on the
shifting winds of fashion, which are
apt to bring In a new scheme of
clothes after the Christmas tree has
been taken from the parlor windows.
There is too much kinship between
the new and the .old styles to let us
rest in peace. The French are not a
whit better in this lack of original
ity than the American clothes mak
ers. Every sailor watches a calm air
and ocean with suspicion. So does
the dress expert.
• What is Offered Us.
Here are the things that are re
peated from chifTon into velvet, from
gingham into cloth: The Spanish
flounce on frocks and coats; the
beltless sheath gown, the farthingale
hoop below the waist; the tight-flt
ting bodice above the wide ruffled
skirt; horizontal decoration: the flat
back or front on skirts; the short
Jacket; Oriental embroidery or print
ing; the boat-shaped neckline; the
ankle-length evening skirt; godets
at both sides of a skirt; sleeveless
bodices; the Victorian skirt for
young girls. Bias tiers across the
front of frocks.
That's quite a formidable list of
repetitions for two continents to
make at the beginning of an impor
tant season. For Just this reason the
experts are suspicious. They believe
that some will come later in the
year, possible before the new year
breaks.
Here are the things that are re
vived, or reinstated, which gives to
the season sufficient motion to keep
it from being stagnant:
Chinese sleeves, long and wide,
brilliantly lined and furred; a most
normal waistline; the insistence that
skirts should preserve a straight line
regardless of fulness; the long tight
sleeve for day hours, the deep square
decolletage for evening; the wrin
kled sleeve that extends to the
knuckles, also the leg o' lamb sleeve;
a revival of the Victorian tulle skirt
whose ruffles sweep the floor at sides
and hack; short skirts for day and
often for evening; three-quarter
jackets in preference to the jumper
kind; the revival of the three-piece
frock as a rival to the chemise slip.
Here are some important omis
sions: The ornate hip girdle, wide
and glittering; garlands of flowers
at the side; drapery at one or both
sides; the elbow sleeve; the sleeve
less bodice for day; the high decol
letage for evening; the long shoul
der line that covers the top of arm
in formal frocks; the surplice Jacket,
except in knitted sport clothes; the
stitched and printed Jacket and short
overblouse; the plaited skirt, except
for sports or porch; the colored kid
slippers.
Fabrics Stimulate the Mind.
In fabrics there’s more to reckon
with as novelty, such as the em
broidered woolens taken from Hin
du and Persian documentary de
signs;' the emphasis upon velvet and
the ingenuity shoWn by its weavers.
It is embossed, embroidered, striped,
applied in Italian designs to chiffon
or crepe. It is in colors that Venice
and Bagdad approved, such as Doges
red, Adriatic blue, ashes of rose, Pek
ing blue, orchid, topaz yellow, terra
cotta, also black, pale brown, beige.
There’s a host of woolen fabrics
under several trade names. The
popular kind have ribs running
through a soft surface, pliable and
easy to hang in the commendable
way, which Is against the figure.
Afternoon or evening gown, xcfth
the accepfed wide skirt, which pre
* serves a straight line on the figure.
There are godets at each .side to give
waist is slightly below normal, there are no sleeves, the
V-shaped. The 8panlsh hat of Hack velvet is’run with
to match bodice of frock.
rti-.O ' O'’ A
Broadcloth la revived. Satin and
satin crepe are again on the shelves
of shope. Brocades are. so sumptu
ous one feels that black and be
turbaned slaves should unroll their
lengths on marble floors for inspec
tion. Whatever the Duchess of
Milan thought beautiful, that have
we. Whatever Haroun al Raschid
could get to put Into a girdled tunic,
At right—Evening gown try Jmn
Patou in velvet, elaborately em
broidered in pastel colors. There is
slight drapery at the waistline to
mark the normal break, no sleeves
and. a curious decolletage. The train
is one of the fashion features that
French dressmakers are persuading
women to adopt.
/
> - "
Above—Street coat for winter from
Jean Patou, of Paris, In a new wool
brocade fabric, which has the effect
of being embroidered. There Is the
circular flounce of last spring with
godets on each side, a beltless sil
houette from, n6ck to ankle, wide
Chinese sleeves, and immense collar
and cuffs of red fox.
we also have. What was considered
lit for royalty In the Ming dynasty,
the girl on Main Street can buy If
she has the price. There’s the rub
—the price. But America seem* to
be able to pay whati these fabrics
cost. If not, the trade loses a for
tune.
Mettallc tissues of the ancient
Bast are faithfully , copied. They
slip through a bracelet. Metal laces
are abundant; peltry Is so lavishly
shown and worn that one has a sink
ing feeling that everything that
went on all fours has been killed to
make women’s raiment for a winter.
Fashionable furs are mole, kolin
sky, white rabbit and its luxurious
cousin, ermine. Beige-colored sum
mer ermine is In demand, so are
combed caracul, curled caracul, as
trakhan, Persian lamb, broadtail,
mink, beaver, red and smoke fox,
leopard, gazelle, antelope. All these
are to be had fOt the asking. When
one is able to buy enough of such
pelts to swathe themselves like Rus
sians In an unheated palace, one
may feel completely satisfied as to
their smart appearance.
Fur-Trimmed Garments Abound.
Street coats are abundantly band
ed, collared, and cuffed with fur.
Collars are not mere strips of dec
oration. They are head high, and
can be turned Into a turban If one
so wishes. .Cuffs may be muffs, or
they may be replaced by several
strips of fur that extend to the el
bow. Some sleeves holding these
fur bands are so long they remind
one of Chinese conjurers—one looks
for a live ribblt to Jump out of
them.
Circular flounces, the kind we now
call Spanish because Seville Is caus
ing a ripple of excitement among ,
clothes designers, are of fur oni
coats, or edged with it. Muffs and
hats of fur do not appear. Victorian
costumes may Introduce tiny muffs,
especially of ermine with tails.
Evening coats are built of mink,
,of ermine, of several kinds of imita
tion ermine, and chinchilla. Black
velvet capes, circular at hem and
fitted on shoulders, are lined with
white ermine or the best quality of
rabbit.
Short street coats are offered for
those who walk. They aro of seal
and summer ermine, of caracul, of
leopard with brown fur, of mink.
Long coats are not available for
walking. They 'demand motors, so
they are splendidly fashioned with
fringes of tail and brocade linings—
they are sweeping and enveloping.
Chanel, of Paris, who has given
American women many simple and
lovely fashions, continues to make
afternoon coats and frocks that
match, and she has led women into
I
* * I
Short green velvet jacket cmbroi dertd in Hack and rtlver, worn over
a separate skirt with ornamental Over blouse. The sleeves a/rd wide at
wrist, the neck Is chin high, the collar is edged with-mole. This Is a
new coat by Jeanne Lanvin, of Paris.
wearing velvet coats lined with fur,
especially In black lined with white
rabbit over a gown of white applied
with designs of velvet. This la an
attractive Idea for a costume. The
neutrality of Its topcoat permits
many a gown to associate with It.
Topcoats Arrive at Importance.
Although the three-piece suit la
heralded as the best equipment for
tho street, there la a prodigious
showing of sturdy coats of protective
fabrics that can serve no other pur
pose than to cover a frock. There
fore, frocks must be reckoned with
as a factor of Importance. So that
reasoning brings to a head the belief
that a woman can choose between a
frock with a topcoat, a three-piece
suit, a tailored suit of American se
verity.
Topcoats are thrown In the mar
ket by all who have clothes to qffer.
They are cheap and costly; they are
plentifully adorned with fur. Eng
lish fabrics and American pile fab
rics go Into their making. An Eski
mo would seriously consider them as
being Intended for usage In his land
of oil and fish-hooks. Let us hope
the solar eclipse will bring us a dry
cold winter, otherwise what will we
do with our cloth frock^, t.weed suits,
velvet evening gowns and heavy top
coats?
Such coats have a flare at the
hem; again they are cut as slim as
a pencil. They have high collars
and long sleeves, though tho height
at neck may be given by voluminous
revers that reach to the back of
head. The high stovepipe collar,
however, has Its place In the sun
these days. It appears on many
kinds of garments, including the sep
arate overblouse, which, by the way,
is a most Important adjunct to our
costumery In Itself.
Blouses for the Dinner Table.
It Is well to begin on blouses by
saying that the one-piece cloth frock
Is so much In fashion that one won
ders where there is to be found a
place for the blouse, but the moment
the prodigality of separate skirts Is
thrust In one’s face, the place be
comes apparent. They are not to be
kept for the occasional tailored suit,
not to be relegated to sports; they
are to have a place under the elec
tric light. They ore rather gorgeous
for so seemingly simple a garment
to the woman who thinks of them in
connection with active morning
hours, as something akin to a wash
shirtwaist. But the woman who re
members the blouse aB It was a
quarter of a century ago finds her
self in familiar company when she
wanders Into an assortment of these
splendid and decorative pieces of
costumery. Once upon a time,
women wore them to dinner In the
evening, to a card party In the after
noon, to the theater. They were
luxuries then, aa they promise to
become now.
Fancy a blouse of gold lace over
transparent cloth of gold cut like a
girdle, the sleeves of double caps In
the Lanvin manner, the neckline
round at back and front, the hip
belt of gold lace encrusted with Jade
and orchid crystals. That's not a
blouse for shopping or for the desk.
It means gayety, it stands for pleas
ure. There are others, equally or
nate and costly. They extend far
over the skirt In the manner of an
Oriental tunic. Some of them are
genuine copies of Persian tunics, the
kind one thought were relegated to
glass cases In museums. Others are
East Indian, such as George Arliss
wears in “The Green Goddess."
These blouses are subdued when
they are attached to the three-piece
suit for the street, but they do not
altogether forego their ornamental
character nor sink to {he level of a
sport blouse. They may be joined to’
the skirt to give ease in adjustment
and put the weight on the shoulders,
where most Women like It. They
may be In another shade of the same
color as the skirt, or they may be
flamboyantly opposed to it. What
ever the Imagination 1 suggests as
decorative to a costume can be In
corporated In the overblouse. There
in lies Its danger.! Censors are
needed. ,
Would that they •were appointed
In the dress Industryooften and anon.
Black velvet coat for format occasions mom over a white georgette
frock applied with cut-out deetgne of Hack velvet. The coat tape over
to one aide and is lavishly heaped with white rabbit, also lined with it.
This is a win ter model from Ohanel, of Posts.
.—*■
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