Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 229, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 September 1918 — LONG SKIRT IS IN LIMELIGHT [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

LONG SKIRT IS IN LIMELIGHT

New York^—War necessity everywhere! Ingenuity expressed, therefore, in a thousand ways. Turning and twisting to find out how good results can be obtained through uncharted channels is the effort of each individual, the mass of shops, and the host of designers. This is the summing up, writes a fashion authority, of the entire spirit as expressed in women’s appareL It it not a continental spirit; ft is a world spirit It pervades lands where fighting is unknown; it rules in homes from which no fighters have gone and in which there has always been a serene confidence to the ability to arrive at a comfortable conclusion.

The old, easy method of dressing has vanished. Perhaps it is gone forever.. It is a temptation to dip back into the past and recount the episodic adventures and experiences through which women have gone when great wars devastated a country and used up its raw materials. It is not only the constitution that follows the flag; it is women’s apparel that follows it for years after the flag has ceased to be a symbol of battle and remains only a symbol of patriotism. All -the great wars have definitely changed the course of women’s clothes, although they may not have left upon them the lasting impressions that wars have left upon men’s clothes. The male portion of the world rarely thinks of this fact—that every garment he wears is almost directly responsible to some explosion of mankind. Reverting to Pioneer Daye. It is no simple thing to saunter down Main street today, drop into a shop and buy any kind of galloon, braid, embroidery or other ornamentation for gowns. One finds that manufactured articles are becoming more and more limited. The war industries board has gone into the situation with such thoroughness that manufacturers have been requested to lop off several thousand items that are considered as nonessentials. Once upon a time this world, which dearly loves a phrase, twisted and turned the words “irreducible minimum” in fantastic ways to suit a variety of meanings. This phrase was a sister in popularity to President Cleveland’s famous “innocuous desuetude.” Today the expression that has superseded all others is “the elimination of nonessentials,” and there are thousands of women who will tell you that that means both “Irreducible minimum” and “innocuous desuetude.” ’ It

is well for an extravagant continent that the Irreducible mlnifhum can be arrived ,at through'compulsion. Trimmed With Bits of Themselves. A report of what women have done in devising ornamentation for their clothes would read as an interesting bit of war history. Out from the depths have come some of the ornamentations. The—designers, however, liave found that the best way to trim a gown is with itself. There is very little danger then of its becoming a patchwork quilt Tucks have returned, therefore. They have been launched on the new auutmn gowns as something of a novelty? They are not permitted in woolen clothes, because the- government asks us to omit every inch of superfluous worsted material, but we are omitting it by the yardage instead of the inch, and are finding ourselves

quite content with composition gdwns that have only a dash of wool in them, and often none at all. A woman depends on furs, capes and top eoata for warmth. As for the materials which are available today, they may last through the winter. There is much talk of wearing satin, taffeta, pongee and va-

rlous heavy Chinese silks throughout the cold weather, making them comfortable for the open or for heatless houses by the addition of warm underwear and top coverings. The designers have banked heavfiy on the usage of thin materials for next winter and therefore they have brought about /this resurrected fashion of trimming a gown with itself, which Is quite easily done when the material Is soft and pliable. When tucks are used they are arranged horizontally. They do not confuse themselves with pleats, which are vertical. A few of the new skirts are tucked from the bone of the hips to the hem, the tucks touching each other and made from an inch to two Inches wide. Sometimes this constitutes the entire trimming of a gown. But when the skirt is extra narrow at the hem the barrel effect is more striking than it has been for two yean. Foulard First Choice for Autumn. There is really an extraordinary amount of foulard worn in the changeable September weather. It is so comfortable in the house, and so easily covered In the open, that It presents itself as first aid to being well dressed. There are broadly checked foulards in black and white, and others that have a dull blue or orange stripe or figure running through the checks. Whatever the choice, they are made simply. One does not go in for Chinese blue, pink or amethyst these days, except when one wears gowns In the house that have served through the summer, but colors such as black and white, purple and brown, gray and deep blue are chosen In these foulards for the street. This fabric lends Itself admirably to self-trimming. The skirts are tucked from hip to hem or knees to hem, and when there is a peplum or a long chemise tunic it has five or eight tucks to finish it. Affecting the Waistline. There is no possibility of reducing our waists to a small measurement. The planked-shad type which has prevailed for eight years can wear Its sashes where it pleases, but what about the thousands of other women, thin and stout, who have allowed their waists to broaden out into sculptural measurements? These waists have muscles that are strong and unpllable, and they will not be squeezed in by corsets. Therefore, only the willow type—the, slim, little, boneless youngster—can pull in her waist and tie a sash around it with impunity. One thing is practically certain; If the tight, draped skirt brings back the normal waist, women will allow the straight line of their figures to continue, and they will merely drape the wuist in its new, large measurements, without an attempt to make themselves uncomfortable. (Copyright. 131’, by the McClure Newepaper Syndicate.)

The sketch a gown of heavy black satin, with a barrel effect obtained In the skirt through width at the hips and narrowness at the hem, and the whole surface laid with flat tucks. The tight bodice finishes at the normal waistline with a narrow cravat belt. There Is a fence collar of white organdie. The fluted hat is of black satin with a crown of ermine.

Wide tucks trim the most fastidious gowns. The frock is of heavy Chinese silk, with tucks from hip to hem and a row of white crochet buttons. The full sleeves are held in with tucked wristlets.