Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 February 1912 — FASHIONS Of the MOMENT [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FASHIONS Of the MOMENT

IT’ is better to speak, of the future than to summarize the past and the dressmakers and the scribes are of one feeling—that if there is nothing more original and more;varied in clothes in the months to come than there has been In the twelve months just over It will be a dull world for us, indeed. I am not as sure that it will be a satisfactory world to the ones who buy clothes either, for if one'must have new gowns one at least likes to indulge-in a new style as well as a new fabric. We get tired of coats and skirts, of bodices and wraps, of hats and boots, all alike. - This Is weft enough when the ne> cessity does not demand near clc’hes. but as our modem life is deau to gowns, we want something new in cut as well as material. This pleasure we have not-been able to indulge in. Why, no one knows; the question is relegated to the stars for an answer,, for no human seem able to give one. The dressmakers all complain of slack times, the manufacturers deplore the small amount of goods used for a gown, which seriously retards trade; the shops are discouraged over the lack of costumes bought, and yet the dressmakers who are responsible for Ut sitddle. Set Fashions for All. A small handful of men and women In Paris decide on the fashions for the civilized world. We take them or leave them; we modify or exaggerate, but we do not get beyond the fact that they were created by this-group'to whom the world concedes power. In that group, as In the sun, there are upheavals and changes, there are spots and cyclones; but they continue to govern the sartorial system. Why is it, then, that they have given us nothing new for a year with the exception of the divided skirt, which

was sensationally advertised and then accepted by even the most conservative houses in a modified and graceful form? The taffeta gown, with its slightly gathered skirt, its puffings and ruchings at the foot line, its short bodice and voluminous fichu, its elbow sleeves and lace ruffles, is, after all, a direct copy from what has been. There is no originality about it, and I am* told by the best kind of authority that a little group of masters in Paris will project this gown again as the main one for its spring exhibition. Paquin, Bechoff David, Callot, Amy Linker have all sent over some projected spring models, but there is no no reason to take them seriously They may be in style when spring comes, but they are very plainly the models made for the French women in November. One must admit, however, that the dressmakers in Paris do not hesitate to sell to the American buyers in February the exact gown that the Europeans have been wearing for three months, and if they are new to America and if they spell spring styles to us, I cannot see that it makes much difference whether the French women have been wearing them or not "*■ Little New In Styles. There is nothing distinctively new even about those models that have Just come over. The materials are mohair, poplin, old-fashioned mohair, the other Is crash toweling and the third Is wash crepe. The former Is adjective applied to them with any honesty. ?* Crash toweling was brought into fashion by the use of ratine. A year and a salf ago ratine was Introduced

in Paris, but remained almost unknown in America, and because of Its lack of popularity was changed by the manufacturers Into a plush-like fabric that went by the name of velour delaine as well as ratino. It was almost the only cloth used In Paris all a» tumn, but it still has not made much headway in America. Even some of the best shops do not know the name when you ask tor the fabric, and few of the shops have velour delaine in its best French weaves. Just why our manufactuers did not take It up is hard to tell, for it is without argument the loveliest fabric that has been invented since coat suite were originated. It Is as supple as silk plush, looks like moleskin, is enchantingly warm and falls Into the lines of the figure as cheviot and corduroy earn not do. There is no rumor of war in the camps of the creators of clothes so far. The news from Paris tells of modifications Of skirts, the Incoming of the tunic on walking suits, the lengthening of the coats and the waist lines at the back, the narrowing of the shoulder capes into the triple revers cut on the bias after the Directofre fashion, but there is not a whisper of revolution. Likely to. Remain as They Are. It may be that the designers will spring something on us later tai the season, but so fhr they have no new ideas. They insist upon the fact that things are pew enough as they are, which no doubt the public agrees to. Whenever there has been a revolution In women’s clothes that affects the silhouette, fashions remain almost stationary for some years to come. When the dressmakers put through the deal that reduced a woman’s shape to the sac simile of a lead pencil, obliterated hsreurves, narrowed her shoulders,'and diminished her head size, they did so much that it 1* only natural that they should rest from their labors for a while. The woman who is goings to buy clothes In the next few days is quite safe in getting whatever the . season, offers. Nothing will change until June, and then she will need thin clothes. For the Intending Purchaser. It may be wise for her not tb put a large price into a gown that she thinks she can wear next winter, for the noncreative state may not last; that long on de la Paix. ft.?would be wise in choosing-a coat suit not to get the short jacket, although the belt, or trimming across the back. Is a safe choice. Unless « woman is quite careless as to whether her gown Is a trifle oldfashioned or not she had* best avoid the skirt with the ferpad panel down the back that is pot stitched lower than the knees. The one that is sash ened to the skirt from Waist to hem Is held down by three buttons on each 'side is not bad, and-is a conservative style that will probably last, but the half-loose panel dates back to a definite day that is done. The double panel that; swings entirely loose from the waist line has never been taken up much'fn America, although it is consistently popular among the French. - - The skfrfYhat I* utoto«Bkely to last than any of these Is the*qne with the tunic. The latter mayjtie idng or short, but it must slope up sh and cross ovei» a little at the left Wde. These tunics are untrimmed, upon a piping,,'i cord or a hem for a finish. Evening Dress. For the dainty dress pictured we have chosen pale pink satin for the under part, and white snk muslin ered with pink for the over part; the tunic is gathered In at waist, and finely tucked for about 6 inches at the lower edge, where, a frill forms a finish. A fichu of £be fouslin edged with a frill Is arranged on the bodlee; for the vest and sleeves the material is tucked; frills finish the sleeves. Cords with tasselled ends hang from a jeweled button at the left side of front. Materials required: 4 yards satin 42 inches wide, 3% yards muslin.