Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 65, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 March 1919 — Quick Change in Style of Gowns [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Quick Change in Style of Gowns

, New York.—lt Is time to change a few things in women’s appafel, asserts a prominent fashion authority. Women are leaping front uniforms into medieval gowns of gold, and crystal, and tulle in, brilliant colors, and into smashing furs anil red street apparel. There are significant changes w:orklug tip from the ground. Th« i r»‘ is Uh* new decolletage which in tliis department weeks ago and which is coming Into ,view ns smart women exploit it. Half a dozen new ways of cutting the neckline have leapotTint.o ex.istence ;i-nd- a new collars claim the blue ribbon of excellence. No matter fvh' Mer we dress differently ahoqt the hips ;md Wet, we are dressing decidedl.v tllffereotiy about the tiee!< and ev< n tin' wrists. Tt is in These signifientit riiangestbui tin* great mass of women are interested who do nor-feel that they can afford entirely new gowns for the midseason. ;■ - , - The artist who said -that all changes in fashions for women consisted in the placement of the bulge, or the absence of it, should have added that the open spaces in costumes were second in importance. Cut to the hone, there is no doubt that he was right. The contour is the thing. It is where' a garment goes in or out that determines its fashjon, hew women there-are who are brave enough to go against the contour of the hour, even though it may not suggest the best there is in their figures. New Decolletage. The change ih the neckline is perhaps the most important to the averuge woman. She lias 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.

AH history is filled with rapid changes in the neckline, and so far we have not had anything new. We have rung the bells of history all over again. That is all. VMicn Edward II was king of England the women wore the georgette. which wrinkled, about the neck and spread outward over the chin and the hack of the head. This was introduced to fashion a few years ago through a dancer and^ her clever designer. It is still worn by women who go motoring, and they make it of dark bluP crepe or veiling, rather than of white satin. When Richard II was king his French queen brought over the fashion of the low neck, and so, after centuries, womto dropped the neckband of the gown 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 Deck and ears by an immense ruff. When James I 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 Tehcf~TEe fashions for his court, there wgs the low. round neckline that dipped well downward in the back and was finished with a deep Vandyke collar, that extended over the sleeves. In the picturesque days of Queen Annd women introduced the low, square cut decolletage, guiltless of collar, which our women have worn for two decades; and in the.middle of the eighteenth centhry, in the Georgian era, women. nseil a simple decolletage tn a rounddd V outlined with a wrinkled handkerchief as a part of their street - - -V* - Bunning tlie mind over this slight

sijmmaty of historical changes In the decolletage, it is easy to see that we have done nothing new; but here Is what we are going to do at the immedlafe 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. aii^th6 the eighteenth century, with its modesty pu-ce of Ja.ce. '• __ Return of Lace Col la rs. We have gone through a Season of medieval s-•verity, in the neckline. Women have aided.nature which made them. ugly or cheated nature- which made them beautiful by going about without any softening effect at the neck, by wearing coat collars of heavy homespun unrelieved by white, and by iho use of V-shaped lines of heavy velveteen and crepe which fashion kept unadorned. True to history this was, \but not true to art. There were few women who leokmi their best in such sever,ity. Today collars return slowly. There are still those who tell you they are not smart, but at the exclusive 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 with fur and then filled in with fine folds of silk net. It is felt by those who have their hands 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-sbaped 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 centhry manner, is a bodice with a rounded decolletage. There will be an oblong Renaissance neckline that reaches from shoulder to shoulder, cut on a tight satin bodice, and over that wall be swung a looser bodice of colored chiffon or tulle which is high at the back and has a long, rounded line in front that drops to the waist. 1 . 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 shoulder to the base of the neck at each side, and MbeirThe decolletage spread downward and outward to the arm-pits. Take this change, in the neckline seriously. It will govern the clothes of the next few weeks. (Copyright, ISIS, by McClure Newspaper Syndicated) * , „

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. Delfa decolletage shown in new bfocgde evening gown in white and gold. This neckline originated in the Elizabethan days.