Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-17
Fashion Adds Them to the Summer
Necessities.
COACHING MODELS FOLLOWED
In Silks They Can Be BecomingIy
Made and Trimmed.
UP-TO-DATE TRAVEL AIDS
special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

NEW YORK. June Is. 1899
Some years ago story called "On This
| Side gave a charming scene which showed
| the contrast between the methods of the
| English girl and her American cousin in
| dressing to go out in uncertain or stormy
weather. The little sketch occurs in a chap
| ter where the English girl. who is travelling
| in the United States with her people, pre-
fareS TO go to church with an American
| TREND, also a young girl The time is June
| and the day cloudy. The English girl an
| pears in a macintosh, very heavy boots
and plain walking hat. The American girl
| comes down stairs in summer silk frock
with kid Shoes and a dainty but perish
| able nat. The sensible traveller CARRIES an
| umbrella. the girl she is visiting an nm
| serviceable parasol. OF course it rains and
| the American girl not only ruins her clothes
| but catches severe cold. while the English
! girl being fully prepared comes out with
| flying colors.
| Outside of a story one could not count Nm
poetic justice being meted out 10 The rirI
VINO was not properly dressed for a threat
enlng day For our uncertain climate is moi
always under the control of an excellent
weather bureau, and many a cloudy dav
| nave we all consulted the paper and tho
| sky also and ruined our pleasure on some
occasion on which wished to appear
| especially we'll by appearing in garments
'"aISDiS Iof d stormy DAY when the threat
ening clouds and the rain that was pre-
| dicted had all vanished into space and laf+
| a brilliant blue sky.
Nor do 1 think that American women
dress with as little regard TO possible show
! ers as they did. Perhaps they NAV NOT he
| as welded to the serviceable macintosh as
| their English sisters as that our climate
does not demand of us. But thick-soled
SHOES, rubbers on all necessary occasions
| and very often parasols, which will serve
| the turn of umbrellas at a pinch, are much
more common than costumes which have
| no protection or are no protection wbateyar
from a possible deluge at unexpected mo-
ments any
| Virtues of the Dust CIoal
There is still another garment comnon
| among both English ard French women
which has never made much headway here
| except among the very smartest set of
| women. who imported theirs and that IS
| the dust cloak. We all know from desrrin-
ton. If not from actual vision. that in
urlFihg 10 a dusty race course our English
| sisters look like sad, colored nuns as they
| SIT on the coaches. while once the course is
| reached they blossom out like the rose
throwing aside the light yet complete
wrap, which enveloped them.
French women do the same thing With
| their regard for freshness and absolute
| completeness Of toilet they have 20 inten-
ton OF arriving at whatever place they de-
termined upon for a day of pleasure in
n
| ness gone. Yet it has been impossible until
| lately TO make American women emulate
| the sensible example set them, ard even
now dust cloakS or automobile cloaks make
headway far more slowly than they should
| considering their smartness and desir-
| ability.
| Is it that the American woman cares for
the eyes of those who see her as she goes
| to her destination. or does her sense of the
| fitness of things forbid her wearing cos
| tune which on account of brightness or
| perishability has to be hidden until ii can
| be shown in more secluded spot than the
| public street, highway or car? The answer
| to this riddle can only be guessed by the
women in question
Fashion Ordains 1t. Too.
1t is all the more odd that we do not
readily adopt this sensible fashion of an
| acknowledging. lightweight garment upon
festive occasions when a journey is before
| us, because We drive so much less than
| either English or French women. On the
other side taking a cab is quite a matter of
course on every occasion. Here have /
listened to many an argument between a
wealthy woman and a cab driver as to
terms and have often seen it terminate by
/ the man s turning suikily away without a
| fare while the woman resolutely beckoned
| the passing street car. For lower his ex-
| orbitant price the New York hackman will
| not, and until he does even wealthy wo-
men will be chary of hiring him. There
| fore, as We are, the great majority of us
| at any rate, compelled to arrive at our
haunts of pleasure in public conveyances
why do not have some garment which
| will be suitable to these conveyances which
| can be easily and quickly DOTTED when we
| reach the place where gay and bright
| gowns will be suitable? But common sense
, never made a fashion and all these excel
lent reasons have been dinned into deaf
| ears until this spring, when ii is once more
| the fashion to own a long cloak which can
| be used for travelling or getting about in
various ways.
Even in London and Paris these automo-
| bile or dust cloaks are made of very light
weight materials when intended for wear
| in summer and this is much more neces-
sary here, where our summers simply
| torrid in their intensity. Mohair in various
| neutral shades, pongee silk, or even foulard
| or China silk. lightweight cheviots, if one
| is going very far north In ones summer
| Journeys, fable or duchesse silk If the
cloak is to be used a carriage wrap are
the popular materials for its composition.
Baggy and "Smart."
The illustration is of an automobile cloak.
just imported, made of silk and linen of a
gray shade which shaded of into blue
The utter absence of darts, In the full