Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1894-07-12
THE SWAGGER SHIRT.

The whims and capers of the makers
of shirts and shirt fashions are us change
able rs coquette's affections, says the
| New York World. You can never tell
| what these prolific geniuses are going to
do next When Tom Reed discovered the
! flannel shirt, or rather, when he brought
it out of it's plcbeian hiding-place and set
| it up to be idoliZed in the Speakers chair
of the House of Representatives. every
| body said the flannel shirt was the pink
| of form, and the most comfortable thing
on top of the earth. The shirt-makers
| grinned and We're silent. Presently the
flannel shirt began to shrink, and 1T
| shrank so swiftly and Symmetrically that
| the very garment in which the Maine
| giant had awed and electrified the nation
wouldn't have fitted his 3-year-old
| nephew, after it had been washed twice.
Then the plague of foreign madrases,
| cheviots and mattelasses set III: they
| were uncouth and hot as pepper, but the
shirt men said you would have to wear
| 'em or swim out beyond the life lines
of fashion. Many good citizen went
down to his grave from heat-stroke while
| attempting to stagger under the burden
of II madras shirt. This season the shirt
men have shufiled out an entirely new
| deal. 1t is the percale negligec. 1t is as
| light as a dudes intellect and as multi
| form and enhancing as Il summer girls
| dream of love. Sweat won't spoil 1t
! and the damp brecZcs of the sea will not
| plaster it fast to the cuticle of your ribs
| 1t comes in all the colors of the rainbow,
and IL lot of other colors.
There arc pink, blue and hcliotrope,
| corn, lilac. purple and cinnamon and as
| many combinations of these as there are
hairs on a dog. The ultra swagger thing
| is light pink or electric blue, either IN
| solid colors or with hair-lne stripes in
some contrasting hue These tints are
| loud. to be sure, and hoisterous if worn
| by plain drcsscrs but for the screaming
swcls. who will pilot the professions at
the outposts of summer gayety, they are
as noiscless rs whispers.
Next to pcrcale, which is so called
! because the colors arc printed upon the
cloth after it is woven in the loom, ranks
| the zephyr weave as Il fabric for outing
shirts. The zephyr shirt. as the name
| implies, is as light as n feather and as
| dainty as Il SPIDERS web. 1t is shown
| best qualities of the fabric are imported,
| although the American mills have been
| producing it in enormous quantities.
Except in wool and silk mixtures there
| is no such thing as ncglgee shirt in the
|
employed. Percale and zephyr shirts are
| Numbered as white shirts are. the collar,
cuffs and bosom being stiffened with
| starch What is known as Il soft bosom
is in use, however, but in reality only Il
portion Of the bosom is left unstarched.
| the middle plait and collar being stiffened
and CLOSED. Most of the negGgee shirts
have collars and cuffs attached, and. as
Il matter of propriety. that is the only
| kind of a shirt Il smart dresser should
wear. but in hot weather habliments
the nicetcs are easily dispensed with and
not few of the noted fashion leaders
| have ordered 4 portion OF their sum
mer shirts with the collars separated.
| Since percales have come into vogue
outing shirts may be Worn day or evening
at all but formal functions. Men Mt
| business may wear them. they may be
worn in the mountains or at the seaside,
and they are not out of place at pickup
stag dinners or smoking parties Even
when ladies are present i'll travelling or
! outing costumes, the outing shirt is not
only permissible. but is i'll 4 sense obliga-
| tory. The predominant idea and only
apology for an outing shirt is personal
| comfort.
| Since the women have begun to wear
vests and percale shirt fronts the priv-
| legcs of the stern sex i'll that regard have
| increased Il hundred fold. Formerly 1t
was held to be compulsory to don swal-
| lowtails ut 6 o'clock at the summer re-
sorts as we'll us in town. This summer
that piece of folly will be dispensed with,
and women and men will meet and min
gle. without sustaining or imparting the
| slightest shock, after dinner as well as
during the day, in negligee attire. Ut
course. Il standing collar should be worn
in the evening, and also Il waistcoat and
cutaway or sack coat. At hops and So
cial functions full dress is demanded.
During July and August most of the
fashionable matrons and bellies will be
then. poor things? Will it be lawful for
| them to wear negligce shirts to the thea
ter? No, it will not. Outing shirts might
be worn to Eldorado with perfect pro-
priety, but to the theater-never.
Several important details are to be OBJ
served in ordering outing shirts. Only
link cuffs are recognized by fashion.
Roll collars with points more than two
inches deep are vulgar. There should be
two or three eyelets in the bosom: no
less. no more. Two cyelets are the more
fashionable Solid colors are safest.
Blondes may wear light blues and light
| pinks, but bruuettes should adhere to
deep blues and other heavy shades.
The proper neckscart to wear with 4
soft-bosom percale is one made from the
same material as the shirt With light
tinted shirts Il white collar may be Worn,
although this, notwithstanding its popu-
1 ~