Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 182, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 August 1918 — New Styles Out of Old Fabrics [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

New Styles Out of Old Fabrics

New York.—Paris is never handicapped in creating fashions by the actions of other designers. * That is why she is powerful. America has always suffered under this handicap because she has followed Paris, asserts a prominent fashion authority. She has never been Inclined to risk the 'exploitation of fabrics, fashions and -colorings that were not sponsored by the mother of fashions. It is said of ms that we acknowledge "the best in every nation and bring it to our shores. We know the best in -every department of art, science and literature. If we are compelled to put •our knowledge to practical use, we at least have the best to go on. We are not ignorant. ■. The time has come for this experiment, as“we all know, and the observer thinks that a few medals of honor should be distributed to those Who' Shave gone “over the top” in designing clothes in this country. It took great commercial courage and it required a sound knowledge of the American jpublic. What France Did America Does. Here are two anecdotes which accentuate the point. They happened a dozen years apart. Mme. Paquin saw several bolts of checked silk in a manufacturer’s hands. Neither the weave, the coloring nor the design was in fashion, to quote her own phrase. The manufacturer complained that he had mo call for this quantity of material and that he would sell it for about a franc and a half a yard. Mme. Pa■quin took it all, went to her salons •on the Rue de la Palx, turned the -Cheap check silk into an alluring frock of her own design, and then wore it •at Trouville-by-the-Sea. She made the frock/ the design, the color and the fabric fashionable. Everyone wanted ta wear what - she wore. She soldevery inch of the material at a price that brought her unmeasured profit on the transaction.

Last month an American designer ■was looking over the stock of a lace Importer. “Nothing new,” said the Importer- “Here I am held up with about fifty Spanish lace scarfs which I bought at a venture, thinking I could distribute them in the trade in America, but no one took them. The one answer was that they are not in fashion.” ~

The designer said that if the importer would give him one he would turn it into a gown that would sell all the other scarfs, on condition that he received a commission on their sale. The bargain was closed. The gown was designed. It sold immediately. It was copied so fast that the other 49 scarfs melted away like flakes of soap in hot water. Spanish lace wgs offered as a first fashion. That is a good example of the change that has come over the American merchant and the American de-

signer. We no longer have to ask what is the fashion, but are probably enabled to make the fashion for our own continent. Management of Black Taffeta. It is easy to realise that taffeta has come Into a first summer fashion, although the popular mind does not regard it as one of the lovely weaves ■of the world, because it is plentiful. There Is no trouble about getting all the taffeta one. wants, and it'is best that we model our wardrobes-for the • near future on the materials that can be bought in this country in sufficient I quantity to correspond to our needs. Much can be done with this material that wHI result in a gown out of the ordinary and conspicuous for

charm and cleverness. If you could have seen a woman who came into a restaurant for dinner wearing a certain black taffeta gown, you would have been convinced in the twinkling of an eye thatlhe fabric matters nothing if the designer has cleverness. The skirt was made of narrow ruffles that extended from waist to ankles, each ruffle edged with a white silk cord. The hem was excessively The foundation for these ruffles fitted the figure like a sheath. There was a bodice, straight and simple, and the major part of it was a

yoke with Short sleeves which was braided with white cord in a fantastic design. At the side of the waist was a deep pink satin rose with green velvet leaves. The slippers and stock-. Ings were green. There was nothing demure about this black taffeta gown. Treat Blue Serge In Various Ways. ~ Blue serge is a fabric that will always be with us, as far as the manufacturers and the war board can look ahead. It is usually midnight blue, and, given _a few yards of it in this color, the designers do not want to sit down and turn it out’ into insignificant frocks and inconspicuous suits. A woman who came to a “defense" luncheon one day* wore a blue serge gown that was the product of a clever designer and it surely* turned our ideas about suits topsy-turvy. The coat was split up the back as well as th 6 front .It was worn over a long cuirass blouse, the kind that gains in Importance every day. The blouse was made of a richly embrold>ered tricot in blue, black and dashes of dull red. It did not cling tightly to the figure, but outlined it more than usual. Over It hung the loose blue serge coat opening tn a deep V in the middle of the front and the black. It was closed at the neckline and had a collar of the serge. There was a loose belt of the material, and the skirt was exceedingly narrow and short. By the way, ft is wise for any woman who orders a new suit today to see that the skirt has a sizeable hem, for the new order to tlje shoemakers, given by the government, which demands low shoes for the duration of the war, may change the skirt length. I doubt it The length may be changed, but it will not be because of the low shoes, for gaiters, which are of fabric, may be as high as desired, and / women prefer them to high boots. We may also adopt the French fashion of wearing serviceable Oxford ties with.straight heels and rounded toes. The bootmakers say they have more orders for these today than ever. With such shoes the average woman does not care whether her Skirt is eight or ten Inches from the ground, unless she is given to suffering from exposed ankles. (Copyright, 1918. by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate.) Foulard in large polka-dot design la very fashionable, .

I One of the new black taffeta gowns that Is far from commonplace. The skirt la a series of small ruffles edged with white silk cord and cut in Reg-top fashion. The slim bodice Is mounted on a yoke of taffeta braided with white cord, and the short sleeves are cut In one with the yoke. There Is a pink rose with green leaves at'the waist, and there are green shoes and stockings.

Here’s a blue serge coat split up the back to make commonplace blue serge less insignificant. There is a long cuirass of colored embroidery on blue tricot, ind the coat is slashed to a deep V back and front to display the vivid undergarment.