Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 February 1918 — SERGE IS POPULAR [ARTICLE]

SERGE IS POPULAR

Material Will Be in Greater Demand Than Ever Before. Economical and War-Time Features Taken Into Consideration, Deciare Manufacturers and Buyers. When you say serge dress you always think of a navy blue serge ■dress, don’t you?—and you usually think of a trim litle dress, severe enough to be worn without a coat on the street, with furs in the spring and autumn and yet elaborate enough to be-quite attractive in the house. All this is combined in those simple syllables “serge dress” —and it is this that is expected to be even more popular on the dress bill of fare than ever before observes a New York fashion correspondent. Manufacturers and buyers of dresses say that because of the spirit of. economy that prevails this type of frock will be bound to be popular, and for this reason they are looking forward to a large demand for these dresses among the ready-made output for the spring. More than any war uniform or any ingeniously devised reversible, convertible frock this serge frock will serve as the most popular war-time getup.

One very nice thing about the serge dress is that it always looks economical even if as a matter of fact it is not, and to look very expensively dressed these days is not the aim of most women. The mere man who sees a well-dressed woman neatly frocked in a smart blue serge dress will mentally register his approval of her economical and, therefore, patriotic dressing. Perhaps the goods for the dress cost $8 a yard—for the best quality of blue serge is no longer inexpensive—and perhaps the dress all in all cost SIOO. Still it looks simple, it is eminently serviceable and it does not look extravagant. Had the same woman worn a charmeuse of georgette and chiffon frock worth only half that amount the man would think her extravagantly dressed and therefore no true patriot The simple blue serge frock does not have to be expensive in order to be attractive. But it must be well made. Any good dressmaker or a reliable tailor can put such a dress together, provided the model for it is suitable to the figure for which it is intended. However, although great attention must be given to the fit, the dress should not in one sense of the word fit at all, even if it is to be worn by a woman of ample girth. The charm of that style of dress lies in its hang and cut, but it should not touch the figure. It should follow it faithfully, but hang slightly free from it to be most attractive.