Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1900-12-20
THE STYLES FOR MEN.

ago. Wnen Tue nuiu6 uuuo was
coined it described class of men who
we're recognized at glance wherever
they went. For several years the dandy
Of the season was dressed like every
other man Of his GLASS; He was pio-
tufed truly in the newspapers. and he
was caricatured by them. The styles
for mems clothes then were more ex-
treme than they are now. Moreover, o
man with n desire to dress in the
fashion was not expected to wear the
style Of clothes which most became
him. He must follow the single
standard set up by men whose names
became known because Of their clothes.
He might not GO to the extreme OF
those fashions, but he must approxi-
mate them. For instance the fashion
of having trousers cut so tight that the
wearer got into them with difficulty
was extremely trying for men who were
thiL enough to be conspicuous IN these
garments or had the misfortune to be
knocked kneeded or bow legged. aud
yet rather than DO behind the fashion
they wore these closely fitting trousers.
There was the same uniformity In ha 8.
The style for one season resembled
pancake with q slight suggestion of
brim, and every man who wanted to be
well dressed wore such q hat. The
skirts OF cutaway coats suddenly in
creased In length until they reached far
below the knees, and when worn by fat
men they suggested the tail of kite.
There has been In recent years q
gradual breaking away from set
fashions In meE's clothes, and ii would
be difficult to describe the typical
dandy Of the day. Because the horse
show comes at a time when q new
season is Just opening, its sartorial
styles are looked upon AZ decisive.
There were more varieties of mems
clothes worn at the show this year by
men who are recognized as leaders 10
dress thnn ever before, and a visitor
might safely draw the conclusion that
the we'll dressed man In New York now
was the man who was guided only in
| a general way by the prevailing fashions
as announced by the tailor and who
| corrected them to suit his own in
dividual taste and style. Almost every
conceivable block OF derby hat was
represented by the men who appeared
| in the short sack cutaway coats, which
| are merely slight modification OF the
business suit They ranged from the
small crowned hat, which was put
for ward early in the fall by the hatters
as the proper article Of headwear, to
the old fashioned high block worn by
several men Of fashion, who now wear
| the same style OF hat year after year.
The two brothers who were conspicuous
| first few years ago because they wore
| always q peculiar model Of derby hat
| and later became known for other
things, would attract now no special
| attention by their derbies. In fact,
tho tnIfusltal htoDk 20 s1a -
| the wearer, may now be used year In
and year out.
The sack coats which appeared in
unusually large numbers vary In
| general way from the sack coats Of
year ago. They are little shorter and
there is just suggestion Of spring
| or flare from tho waist to the bottom of
| the coat. Tho man who exaggeratos in
| his clothes wears sack coat that sug-
gests French soldiers army tunic.
| The trousers are all larger around the
| hips, and in some cases almost baggy.
They are cut to hang straight to the
foot, narrowing down to neg top
effect. With properly squared shoulders
a man dressed in this style looks about
20 pounds over weight. IL gives him
an athletic appearance, and that Just
now II very desirable There have been
years when the men who appeared at
the horse show In the afternoon without
frocs coats were the exceptions. This
year they have greatly increased In
numbers. The average man dislikes
frock coat. Those who did wear them,
of course, we're numerous. Their coats
did not reach the knees in length, and,
like the sack coat there was q
decided suggestion, CT a spring In them.
| Tho wntcfpnato L.,
breasted and made either OF the same
material as the coat or OF subdued pat
tern in fancy styles. A few men APP
pesred wearing high. cut double
breasted white waistcoats. 1t was o
noticeable fact, also, that the men who
we're the mcst formally dressed in frooka
wore with them soft, colored shirts Of
bright designs. This may have been
merely a concession to the fact that the
occasion was a horse show, or it may
mean that the oolored shirt may an.
| propriately be worn with frock on the
most formal occasions.
Tho evening clothes ranged from the
conventional long. coats with
white or black single or double breasted
waietcoats, to the short dinner coats
With derby hats. Properly worn the
dinner coat demands a black waistcoat
and black derby hat. Many of the
wearers OF dinner coats, however, wore
double. breasted white waistcoats with
gold buttons. Some men in evening
clothes wore what is now known as the
campaign hat, of felt with broad brim,
In the matter of overcoats the range
OF styles was wide. The loose Raglan
coat, which has been worn for the past
year, outnumbered all other styles. The
really horsey men turned out 10 driving
coats, loose and baggy and constructed
according to the owners pet ideas, ID
is mark of horsey distinction to have
q driving coat unlike any one else's,
and some OF these coats were enough to
mako the wearers weary OF life, II they
had to walk around much In them,
For the men who did not drive or pose
as drivers, in addition to the Raplans
there were the so.called Chesterfield
coats and straight hanging loose coat
which reached down just far enough to
hide the skirts of ftock coat. One Of
the things which a celebrated English
writer commented on satirically after a
visit to New York years ago was the
alleged fact that most Of the men whom
he met wore sometimes two or three
diamond rings. This was many years
ago. The less jewelry man wears now
the more certain he may be that no ia.
not offending the dictates OF good form
a single gold seal ring seems to be tho