Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 284, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 November 1916 — FASHION TAKES UP PONCHO [ARTICLE]

FASHION TAKES UP PONCHO

As a Departure From the Usual Frills and Ribbons They Have Been Declared Interesting. The first adaptation of an Indian poncho stands as an impressive finger post pointing to a new era in American dress. It is a modernized copy of the painted-skin garment worn by Indian women, adapted to suit the taste of the twentieth century. The original poncho is a specimen In the American Museum of Natural History in New York, a painted, ragged edged skin with a hole for the neck/ in block design of rich red, black and yellow. ’The modern adaptation is developed in heavy crepe de chine of leather color, with mottled Batik work in red. The neck is cut with a simple V, following out the model. The middle of the garment is decorated with a broad band of red with an Indian pattern. Around the V of the neck and draping the waist is a bronze cord finished with little tassels. Of course, the cord is not Indian fashion, but is the concession to grace and charm of line that the presentday American woman demands. The bottom of the Skirt is very uneven, after the idea of the animal skin.