Evening star., 1900-02-03
New York Modification Of the Paris
Kilt,
HOW TO REMODEL THE habit BACKS
The Styles Prettiest in CIinging
Soft Fabrics.
PLEA FOR WALKING LENGTH
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
NEW YORK. February L. 1900.
When the head cutter of one of the lead
ing fashion periodicals. saw last week the
model skirts they come from the boxes
which had lately reposed in the hold Of
an ocean liner he shook his head obviously.
Many years he had been cutting skirt pat
terms from the models of the volatile
French, but never had he been called upon
to reproduce such intricate affairs as were
now before him. He could do it, of course,
but how about those to whom the patterns
were to go? Outside of the expert tailors
and cutters he doubted the successful re-
production of eral of the new skirts.
This mans view of the question was
the eminently practical one, and the one
jority Of women. 1t is one thing to go to
an expensive tailor or modiste, look over
the model frocks which he or she has and
select one, little knowing caring how
it is cut If the effect be desirable, and it
Is another thing to con numberless fashion
magazines, wondering which model will
survive and which be dropped by the way
side as undesirable, and, after much plan
ming and thinking, select one, take it to
a frockmaker whose charges are reason
able (or have her sew in the house, and
then try to have properly cut and fitted a
gown on lines new and strange to the one
employed in constructing it,
The latter way is the one employed by a
very large number of women who conscien-
tiously try to dress well on modest al
lowance. 1t is obvious from the experience
of almost all of us that the great difficulty
about having frocks made in the very lat
est way when large milliners' bills are out
OF the question is this one of the mex
perience of those employed TO make them
1t has been solved by one well-dressed
woman OF my acquaintance by sacrificing
new models whenever she finds her modiste
mas not yet made a gown of the particular
cut which is just at that moment the lat
est cry In the first place. she is lucky
enough to have a dressmaker who is also
employed by young society woman who
designs her own gowns and helps make
them.
A Good Find, This.
So my friend often finds her dressmak ker
med with new and pleasing models of
-cks which she has helped the young So
riety woman make. But should the dress
maker prove unresponsive on some partic-
ularly new Partisan fancy the idea is at
once dismissed, and whatever frock hap
pens to be under way is made on lines
which the dressmaker has tried and knows
to be good. For between a good cut and
mt of model which may have arrived
week before last instead of this week and
the chance of a failure new and untriei
lines the former Should always be chosen
This postlude to the despair of the cut
ter should be borne in mind when serious
ly contemplating one of the ultra cuts in
skirts.
In Paris kilt pleated skirts are worn. hut
IL they are seen here it will not be in the
spring. The kilt pleated skirt of the Pari-
sian model must not be confused with the
same article as worn by the few boys who
are unlucky enough not to be put into
trousers as soon they can walk with
out holding nurses hand. For the lines of
the figure still show in all skirts now con-