Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 January 1919 — Quick Change in Style of Gowns [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Quick Change in Style of Gowns

f New York.—lt is time to change a few things in women’s apparel, asserts a prominent fashion authority. Women are leaping from uniforms into medieval gowns of gold, and crystal, and tulje in brilliant colors, an<l into smashing furs and red street apparel. There are significant changes working up from the ground. Tht io is the new decolletago wtpeh was prophesied in this department weeks ago and which is coming into view: as smart women .exploit it. Half a, dozen .new ways of cutting tTTe .neckiirie liaye_ leaped into eXistf-nce and a dozen new collars claim the blue ribbon of ex-, cellence. No matter whether we dress : dil'fiyreiitly about the liips and feet, !we are' -dressilrg, tied <ted!>>-d+rTeten lly I about the fieCk and even the wrists. It is in these significant changes thin, the great muss of omen tire interested who do notTeel tbatrthey -cani afford entirely new gowns for the midseason. Tile artist who said, that all changes in fashions for women consisted in the placement of the bulg< . or the absence of it, should haye„ added that the open spaces in cosytimes were second in importance. Cut to the bone, there is no doubt that he was right. The contour is the thing. It hr- where a garment goes In or out that ..determines Jts fashion. Few women there are who arebrave enough to go against the contour of the hour, even though it may not suggest the best there is in their figures. New Decolletage; L ~ The change in the neckline is perhaps the most important to the average woman. She has belief in herself when it comes to cutting a new kind of neckline. She feels that a good pair of scissors may be the medium of transforming an old gown into a new gown by the simple process of turning an oblong neck into a round one,., a square one, or a U-shaped one.

All history, is filled with rapid changes in the heckline, and so far have not had anything new. We have rufig the bells of history all over again. That is all. When Edward II was king of England the women wore the georgette. which wrinkled about and spread outward over the chin and the hack of the head. This was introduced to fashion a few years agg. through a dancer and her clever designer. It is still worn by women who go motoring, and they make it of darkblue crepe or veiling, rather than of white satin. When II was king his French brought over the fashion of the low neck, and so; after centuries, women dropped the neckband of the gowtf from chin to collar bone. When Elizabeth was queen of England the delta decolletage was invented, and it ran along with another neckline that exposed all the chest and half the shoulders; and then, as' if by a sudden spasm of prudery, hid the neck and ears by an immense ruff. S When James I v came to the throne of England his queen introduced the very decollete, tight bodice with its immense, flaring' collar of wired lace at the back, ,and when Charles I allowed Henriette of France to lend the fashions for his court, there -was the low, round neckline that dipped well downward in the back and was finished with a deep vandyke collar that extended over the sleeves. t In the picturesque days of Queen Anne women introduced the low, square cut decoHetage, guiltless of golfar, which our women have worn for two decades ; and in the.middle of the eighteenth century, in the Georgian era. women usetEa- simple decolletage In a rounded V outlined with a -wrinkled-AaadkarcMef a part .rof their street attire. - . ( Running the mind over this slight

summary of historical changes in the decolletage, It is eqsy to see that we have done nothing new; but here is what we are going to do at the immediate moment: Revive the delta of the Elizabethan times, the'deep square of Queen Anne, with its tight, high line at the side of the neck, and the I'-shape/i decolletage of the end of the eighteenth century, with its modesty pi» ce of lace. Return of Lace Collars. We have gone through a season of fnedieval severity in the neckline, iVomen have aided nature which made thenv ugly or_cheated nature which made them beautiful by going about without any ‘ softening effect at the Tfeck. by wearing Coat collars of heavy homespun unrelieved by white, and by 'the use of V-shaped lines.of heavy velveteen and crepe which fashion k't-pt unadorned. True t 6 history this was, but not true to art. There were few women who looked their best in such severity. Today collars return slowly. There are still those who tell you they are not smart, but at the e.\clu«ive house there is a tendency to put precious lace on the new neckline. It is not a V-shaped neckline; it is a deep U which calls for a softening outline and an extremely soft arrangement of lace or tulle across the bust. The Queen Anne decolletage which hugs the side of the neck and runs down into a narrow L-shaped opening, is extremely’ smart, and it is banded wtrh for and then filled in with fine : folds of silk net. It is felt by those who have their bands on the pulse of fashion that the oblong neckline of the Renaissance is no longer smart, although It is worn by some well-dressed women. Double Neckline. There is a disposition on the part of some designers to make a double neckline, and this they do by a subtle

arrangement of thin fabrics. A certain designer has turned out a remarkably brilliant gown of raspberry chiffon having a deep U-shaped decolletage outlined with chinchilla which swings the chiffon with the movement of the figure, as though it Were a necklace. Beneath it, and hugging the bust in the eighteenth century manner, is a bodice with a rounded decolletage.' There will be an oblong Renaissance neckline that reaches from shoulder td shoulder, cut on a tight satin bodice, and over that will be swung a looser bodice of colored chiffon or tulle which is . high at the back and has a long, rounded lipe in front that; drops to the waist. Black and seal brown velvet afternoon gowns have .the Queen Anne decolletage, which follows the exact line where the neck is placed on the body, until it gets to the collar bone, where it dips into a straight, open space half way to the waist. This is outlined with fur. Again, it may be outlined with Venetian point. The delta decolletage is considered the most becoming of all for evening wear. Get out any picture of Elizabethan times and you will see what is meant. In that gorgeous era the women wore a jeweled piece of open net over* the _§houlder to the base of the neck at each side, and then Jhe decolletage spread downward and otitward to the arm-pits. Take this change in the neckline seriously* - It will govern the clothes (j! the next, few weeks. (Copyright, I9IS; by McClure Newspaper V. ■ ... Syndicate.) L?

V-shaped decolletage in back of a black velvet evening gown which is cut high in front. This idea is worked out in many types of gowns, even those for street. Delta decolletage shown in new brocade evening gown in white and gold. This neckline originated in the Elizabethan days.