Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 59, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 March 1915 — The New Blouses Are Plainer [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The New Blouses Are Plainer

THE new lingerie blouses and those of crepe chiffon, georgette crepe, crepe de chine and plain or figured chiffon reflect the ideas embodied in early French importations. These early blouses were plainer in design than we have had for some seasons, returning to the shirt waist type in many particulars. , On lingerie waists hand embroidery is sparingly used, in small, dainty patterns. Fine tucking and hemstitching are featured, long sleeves are universal, and necks are either high or opened in a “V” at the front, with small sailor collars or flaring turnover collars. Sleeves are finished with cuffs. French batiste is a favorite material for the lingerie blouses, and open needlework seams, as well as hemstitching, provide an elegant detail in finishing them, that is wonderfully well managed. The long, moderately close-fitting sleeves are nearly always set in with hem-stitching or open needlework of some kind. Small pearl buttons or crochet buttons fasten these waists down the front. In a few models the raglan sleeve is in evidence. Pique collars and cuffs, the latter nearly always of the closefitting variety, turned back, provide a novelty in design on waists of sheer batiste. This is a good time to prepare blouses for the coming season, and those who are looking for authoritative models, which it is safe to ac-

cept as guides, may pin their faith to fine tucks, hemstitching, and inconspicuous hand embroidery, with the comfortable assurance that they appear in all the fine French designs sent to us. There are some pretty crepe de chine blouses with collars that may be worn as either high or low. They are furnished with detachable ribbon ties. Small buttons, set close together, extend from the top of the collar to the waist line in others. The long sleeves are furnished with a scanty ruffle falling over the hand, and scattered figures, embroidered in silk in the same color as the waist, supplemented with lines of fancy stitching, form the decorative features. Waists of chiffon are made over chiffon linings. Vestees of satin, sleeves and collars of lace, and small cuffs of satin give variety in the composition. Small’ buttons, set on in rows, and narrow, knife-plaited edgings of silk appear on the plainer models. Collars are often faced with cream-colored crepe, and the colors most used are sand, putty, flesh, pink, blue, and maize. White crepe is made up in the same models, but the colored crepes launder successfully and are very chic. One of the plainer waists of figured chiffon is shown in the picture and is a good example of the modes that have made a successful entry for spring.