Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 134, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 June 1916 — ALL USING TAFFETA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ALL USING TAFFETA

All the leading dressmakers are using quantities of plain and shot taffeta. This silk is now produced in specially soft qualities and in the loveliest colors it is possible to imagine. Ra-ven’s-wing-blue taffeta is in great demand for Afternoon gowns and this silk is successfully combined with a thin make of cloth, or with crepe de chine, writes the Paris correspondent of the Boston Globe. For visiting dresses taffeta is combined with fine serge, with waistcoats of beautiful bead and silk embroidery cleverly introduced. For mourning dresses —of which we have now such a need in France—

Dance Frock for a Young Girl of Shell Pink Silk Gauze With Roses Made of Black Velvet Ribbon and Sliver Leaves. black taffeta Is combined with black crepe de chine or black silk gauze. The bridge teas at the Ritz are exceedingly fashionable. These teas are given for the benefit of a very Important ambulance fund, and they have proved an unqualified success. Recently I noticed a number of well-known society women : at the crowded tables, and some really beautiful dresses were worn. A very pretty girl wore a rather remarkable frock which was composed entirely of dark blue taffeta dotted all over with bright red spots. The full skirt was trimmed with a number of narrow flounces, arranged in Vandykes, and the corsage was tight and high-waisted. There was a demure little collar —almost Quaker in outline—made of white organdie muslin and very long suede gloves met the skimpy sleeves which failed to reach the elbows. With this dress a picturesque hat made of dark blue satin straw was worn. The wide brim of this hat dropped slightly at the sides and the high crown was circled by a thick wreath of shaded roses and blackberry brambles. Doucet is just now making a great many dinner gowns of black and darlf prune panne. He is introducing very lovely embroideries, in which silver threads, Jtay porcelain beads and pas-tel-tinted silks play leading roles. These gowns are intended for matrons and almost all of them have pointed trains which fall in a sort of fishtail over a full petticoat. This Is a revival of an old-world fashion and it is distinctly effective when worn by the right woman, but these fishtail trains demand dignity from their wearers. They must not be swished about, 'here and there, without some reason.