Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 76, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 April 1917 — Idea of Separate Coat Is Accepted [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Idea of Separate Coat Is Accepted

New York—Hie substitution of vaguely shaped coats over one piece gowns for coat suits Is more generally accepted by the American women than one thought possible. The reasons why France made the substitution are too well known to repeat; but the feeling was that, after all. the American tailors were so superior to the French tailors in their fit and workmanship, that the American woman would continue to give her orders for mannish coat suits in preference to any other kind of street apparel. However, as far as one can judge of general conditions by the appearance of women on the streets, the fashion for a gown with a long, loose cape coat 1 has been accepted. It Is very foolish for any woman to abandon the coat and skirt of mannish material, made in the conventional manner, for our life calls for such clothes, regardless of the fashions of any other part of the planet. The heat, the moisture and our own Incessant activities during the day make up a trilogy of reasons why we should have a wash blouse next to the neck, shoulders and arms during most *of the day. Tt is Tall very well to have a onepiece frock with Its accompanying drapery, but It should be the rival of, and not the substitute for, the plain •coat and skirt to be worn with a blouse that washes or cleans Incessantly without depreciation.

The fashion for wash frocks will probubly be taken up by Americans more than by the women of any other nation, for we have always leaned toward gingham, batiste and muslin of many kinds. Palm Beach set the fashion for these thin frocks by .going In for them most enthusiastically and keeping them in the realm of simplicity, Instead of allowing them to become the expensive production of ornate handwork which Paris always calls by name a lingerie frock. Striped Ginghams Emphasized. Palm Beach also emphasized the use of striped ginghams, the kind which we wore ted years ago which we made up in our own sewing rooms by half dozen to meet the summer’s demands. These gowns are being featured by the smartest dressmakers on Fifth avenue at a price that Is out of all proportion to their value; but the cost of a gown in the last few years has rarely depended upon the value of the materials used. We have paid for the services of expert Cutters, fitters and needleworkers, plus the cost of rent, electricity and overhead charges. If the broadly striped ginghams which are shown In the specialty shops become the common property of every woman, the sewing rooms will be more busy than they have been for a half decade,__and women will be able to dress more cheaply in a time when,

This new French gown is of amber and white tulle, the oval silhouette given by flying draperies at the sides. The novelty is in the large pockets of yellow and white rhinestones, swung from the shoulders by chain! of the same stones. under excessive prosperity, the most appalling prices are asked for the necessities of life. Whatever dothes can bo mado At home, or with the help of a skillful seamstress, will be the ones chosen by the women who have many social opportunities, as well as by those who have none. All the dressmakers unite in the opinion that simple fabrics, such as we can get from our own mills, will be used for country wear and for the street In the small towns where one does not have to appear In dark coat suits in the open. In addition to the yellow and white, blue and white and violet and white ginghams which are being made up with a bit of old filet lace, side plaits on the skirts and bodice, and a loose girdle of taffeta or satin, there is a revival of the peppermint candy muslin which was well beloved by our immediate ancestors. Gowns of this fabric are made in side plaits with broad bands of flamecolored muslin to frame them in. with filet collars and cuffs and with a belt of muslin shaped to fit the waist line and fastened in front with pearl buttons. They are offered by exclusive

- > -I-, houses .at a price that makes one shudder. The Separate Coat. France put so much stress upon the separate coat that It Is added to mnsIlns, as well as to gowns of cloth, chiffon and satin. A peppermintstriped ififiilD frock for country usage, for example, carries a long, loose jacket with half sleeves, which is of flame-colored linen soutached in white, and a striped gingham gown which is reminiscent of tlfe directolre period in its strong lines of yellow and white has a yeilowfaffeta eoat that hangs to the knees, without sleeves, but long, pear-shaped armholes heavily aootached in white. Every well-known house in Paris saw to It that one of these long eoata was offered with every gown. Oheruit, Royant, Doueulllet and Jenny made thorn in knee length, cutting them on slim lines. There is nothing reminiscent of th® Italian cape in these coats, although Mme. Paquin features the former and

This model comes from Paris to show us what the silhouette is over there. It ie of yellow chiffon, with a girdle of black and gold brocade. The hobble hem ie of brocade, and the elds drapery which gives the oval silhouette, is also edged with gold andt black. The bodice is draped in a round decolletage with long, tight sleeves.

wears one herself. There is nothing of the roughness and severity of one ordinary top coat about these garments, either; they are too slim, to elegant in outline and manipulation to suggest rough-and-ready treatment, and yet they are carelessly slipped ojt over any one-piece frock which harmonizes with them. The French designers sold the coat and gown together as a costnme and American women are buying them la the same way, but other women are buying these separate coats to freshen op a frock or to make it warm enough for the cool days which will continue until June. They are a distinct feature In fashion, these coats, and are novelties that are thoroughly appreciated by the dressmakers over here. They call for soutaching or that new kind of ma-chine-work which looks like braiding, but Js done by a. loose chain Stitch. Royant was probably the first of the designers In Paris to introduce this elaborate chain stitch on coats, and the American machine-workers do It skillfully and torn it out by the hundred yards. As a means of omamentatloo it has crept Into many garments besides the long, slim coat It is put on the front of blue serge coats and one-piece frocks; it outlines the cuff hem which is so strongly featured on the new skirts ; It covers the deep cuff used on the three-quarter sleeve; and it entirely covers the surface of som* sleeves which are put Into plain, satin, cuirass Jackets worn over knlfeplalted skirts. .{Copyright, 1917, by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate.)