Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 189, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 August 1918 — Best Gowns Are Still in Favor [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Best Gowns Are Still in Favor

New York. —It is impossible to avoid bitter discussion on the question of entertaining our soldiers and sailors. As this struggle progresses, writes a fashion correspondent, it may be that the entire social fabric will cease to rend itself apart with personal and national arguments for and against people, in and out of power, institutions for the good of the cause, and the various phases of money expenditure that have arisen in the last year. « Anyone who goes about in various sectors of soclety-=-«nd by that is meant the grouping of people for all purposes, not alone gayety—begins to feel that the hate which Is engendered on the battlefield has Its reflection in the minds of those w’ho are not in the struggle, except on the side-lines. A Civil war veteran says that this pitching of women into the public arena, with its alleged bad effect on their tempers and temperaments, has nothing to do with the situation; that the Civil war engendered the same kind of personal animosities. Yet the Civil war—with all its tragedy, hate, death and sacrifice, which necessarily affected the personal lives of everyone In America more than this war has done —did not throw women together in groups of thousands. Is.it odd, therefore, in this rather malevolent turn which emotions have taken- during a year of war, that the question of entertaining our soldiers should be thrown Into the arena of argument? Reason for Brilliant Costumery. Now we come to the question of fashions. It is not possible to separate clothes from this peculiar and emphatic situation which has arlsefi through the conviction that the fighters must be entertained, going and coming. Whatever the government has asked women to do in the way of clothes they have done gladly, but that does not keep them from dressing well every day and night as they pass to and from one entertainment to another. These gowns are far from expensive in the mass. Of course, the Individual who has money continues to spend it in going to her own dressmaker and paying well for excellent cloth, good fitting and perfect finish; but the average woman, even though she have money, has begun to fintkout all kinds of places where smart-looking clothes may be bought for small prices. They are also turning out a good deal of work In their own sewing rooms, after the fashion of 25 years ago. By the way, one of the striking phases of this war is that women boast of the cheapness of their clothes, and regale each other with the method of making old ■clothes into new, and the small shop -where you can get something that looks like France for sl9. Many of them have also quickly adopted the government’s “inside-out”

suggestion. It is not unusual to see a woman holding up the tunic or panel of her skirt in the middle of Main street, as she greets friend, saying, “Here’s my ‘inside-out* gown; how goes it?” Women confidentially whisper to each other at committee meetings about the secret little Paris dressmaker who is used to the economical tricks of the French dressmakers in turning and twisting to save money—-

and these addresses are' only exchanged as a great privilege. - All of which is exceedingly good for the nation as a mass. As for the highpriced dressmakers, they have their own clientele who will probably never leave them, so they do not worry. As they say, there are always enough women in the world who must have

individual fittings, which require expert workers. So everyone is satisfied, economically and commercially. New Clothes That Paris Sends. Now, of one thing be very certain: that while the French do not entertain the French poilu, they are mostexcited about the Anglo-Saxon idea. The result is an inrush of gowns to this country during the last few weeks, and these are sent over in order to allure those who are dancing and dining the fighters. The gowns are expensive, but they will be speedily copied by the Inexpensive shops, and so ’Arriet, who goes out to an entertainment with ’Arry, will have the chance to buy for eight dollars and a half a copy of the French gown that cost S3OO. That is the happiness found in treading the sartorial path in America. It is good to get these advance things from Paris. They foreshadow what is to be shown to American buyers. If they are honest forerunners of our early autumn costumery, then Paris has not created a revolution in the silhouette, as was persistently rumored during the month of June. The| salient points of these new clothes are slenderness, shortness of skirts, an attempt to revive the minaret of Paul Poiret fame, an insistence upon sashes arranged in army fashion, a repetition of beige, mustard and tan colorings,and the introduction of broadcloth. Floating panels, which have for six months dotted the entire surface of clothes in America, have been abolished, if we judge by these forerunners. There afe capes on evening gowns which are made in the most brilliant! fairy-tale manner, reminiscent of the extravaganzas in the old days at the Drury Lane theater in London. There are no high collars. The I taiian decolletage is retained. The severe neck line, without a line of white, remains a the fashions. Medieval Still in Fashion. There has been no disposition on the part of the French designers to lift the tunic out of its popular position in apparel. They do not insist upon it in its genuine Slavic style, but they use it as a model for much that is done in the way of over-drapery. There are tunics that are cut to a deep point at each side and are noth* Ing but side pieces over a long embroidered cuirass that reaches nearly to the knees of a dark skirt. _ (Copyright, 1918, by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate.)

Frock by Paquin, showing a tunic with a military sash. It Is a part of a navy blue serge frock, and It fastens on the right shoulder. Buttons and buttonholes are of old-blue silk. The sash Is of apple-green silk, and the tassels are arranged as bags.

A mustard gown Is better than mustard gas, and the suit by Paquin in this color Is a departure from the conventional coat and skirt. There is a Medici collar, a black satin cravat and a narrow belt of the material which ties In back.