Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-05-17
FROM OVER THE SEA
HINTS ON MEMS DRESS FROM EN-
GLIsH METROPOLIS.
The Coming Coronation Ceremonies
Are Not Exercising Much Influ-
ence on Styles Just Now.

| the coronation, hangs fire. If a crop can hang
| nre (Which is doubtful, outside of county
Sork), IN deplorable manner. Some people
say that the ladies' dresses for the COM
| ing season are going to be so expensive
that prudent Mankind Capital NJ for once)
| is, In anticipation of the coming OUTLAY
restricting already its own disbursements
1t is everywhere understood that the coro-
nation season in London is going to be
gorgeous beyond all recent precedent and
L think there can be no doubt that the cere-
monies of the royal installation. and the
costumes there worn-more or less fancy
| costumes, of course-will exercise a con-
| siderable influence over the future of mas
| cuiine fashions On this point / shall offer
| a few rather weightily considered remarks
| further on in the present letter.
| So far from exercising any great influence
| on the fashion. however, the coronation is
| at present an absolute nonenity One of
| the London daily papers had the foolish
| ness to describe the other day what is call
ed a coronation vest" and I am a little
disturbed lest this silly canard should find
| Its way to America, and make my native
| country ridiculous there. This vest-''vest' is
| quite the right name for it. and it would
| be worm no doubt, by a ''gent"-was said
| to be made of red cloth with gilt buttons
the connection of which with the plot one
| sees, as poor c. s. Calverly sang / leave
the ingenious author OF this folly to ex-
| plain the essential connection between a
| 49, 'oA'eNo1e anu u Sio" Va lHS Mig
| Two New Garments.
| Two new garments. in point of fact. have
been introduced during the last month, and
cannot say that 1 think much Of either of
| them. One is a fancy waistcoat Of entirely
| novel design. for which a patent has been
taken out. The two foreparts are merged
| into one, and the garment buttons I'D on
| one side. under the armholes. There is an
additional row of five buttons. running hor-
| iZontally just below the level of the bot
tom OF the V opening, the bottoms being
| placed on the united foreparts and the but
| tonholeS worked on a sort of scalloped
| yoke. There are four pockets in the usual
| places, but they slope downward and out
ward instead of being cut as waistcoat
| pockets generally are.
1t is difficult to imagine more tasteless
| and inelegant innovation than the above,
| but a new jacket lately introduced for in
| formal wear goes near to rivaling it. 1t
| is cut very much like any other straight
| fronted jacket. with corners just rounded.
| and an opening excessively high: the pecu-
| iarities of 1t are the pockets and the whole
| back the latter highly unsuitable feature
of single-breasted indoor coat. The pock-
| cts are four. Two are on the hips and these
slope sharply downward from the middle
They are finished with flaps. The other
| two have button and a buttonhole, and
are nearly. but not quite, vertical. They
are respectively in and opposite the usual
place of the handkerchief pocket. and their
slope is forwards and downwards the OPP
! posite way to the other two. The ticket
pocket is abolished. If thought either of
| these novelties a product of the approach
ing coronation 1 would cry all the louder,
Long Live the King" for we don't want
| another ceremony capable of producing
such things.
Tighter Trousers.
The present influence, If any, of the coro-
nation is no doubt in the direction of smart
| ness. Trousers, for example are being cut
exactly one inch tighter than when I last
reported upon them. and smartness always
| goes with tight trousers Stripes seem likely
| to have a revived vogue and indeed all
| day trousers in present use are made of
! striped gray worstedS. In fancy waist
| coats strange to say, stripes are not used.
and not likely to be used Spots much
| more frequently employed-the groundwork
| of the waistcoat being black and the spots
which are very tiny, of red, blue or gray
| fashionable in the order named. mix
| ture of silk and cashmere, very rich. is the
| correct material. These waistcoats are
made quite plain and single-breasted. and
all fanciful and double-breasted, all knit
| ted and braided waistcoats are vanished.
| with Hans Breitmann's "barty" into der
| ewigkeit."
| The only other day waistcoat independent
of the coat it is worn with a plain single
| breasted white linen duck waistcoat worn
| by a few men under a frock coat at we'd
dings and at smartly ceremonial gather
| ings. The custom just now is always to
wear a ITOch coat uUDuttOIeu anu d HlOTn-
| ing coat buttoned. Hence frock coats
are made with very long lapels, and they
| are unbraided. Black morning coats are
braided and made with very high opening
| A frock coat made of dark slatey blue-gray
| whipcord, quite plain. and with one but
tons, met my approving eye the other day.
Fur and Velvet.
| BY this time next month it is quite likely
| that the coming gorgeousness Of the coro-
| nation may have exercised an anticipatory
| influence. This is not so easy to predict
as the ultimate and future influence of that
| ceremony, though 1t is Of course, much
nearer at hand Fur, which has already
| received a considerable impetus in popular
| ity from the fashionable sport of automo-
| bile driving will certainly gain consider
! ably in public favor next winter or that
winter be cold. owing to the coronation.
| Ermine and other furs will figure largely
| in the robes Of peers and royalties at the
ceremony. and no one who has the least
| skill in presaging the movements OF fash
| ion can doubt that this fact, combined with
the influence Of the motor car. will bring
| furs of all sorts into a good deal OF general
| fashionable vogue as soon as the weather
| is cold enough to make them wearabe.
The other material which will gain in
| fashion is velvet. Levee dress. which is
worn by people officially connected with the
| government at court. and peers robes, have
velvet as a salient feature-black velvet in
| the one case. colored velvet in the other.
| The opportunity thus afforded. of observ-
| ing the fine surface or SILK velvet, and the
| general tendency in the direction of gor-
geousness which the coronation pageants
lin which a very great number of promi-
nent people will have right to take part,
| to the immense enhancement Of their self
appreciation and the depletion of their
lordly pockets). will set up. II anything can
make the velvet collared evening coat pos
sibIe, 1t is this influence: but what should
personally be less surprised and consider
ably less grieved to see would be white
velvet or a black velvet dress waistcoat.
Cravats.
Except once-overs and ascots. the only
| cravats in use are small sailor knots, with
or without loose ends. 1t doesn't matter
very much which, because the present small
waistcoat opening allows very little to be
seem Both these knots and the bow of
evening dress have tendency to be pulled
extremely tight. A sailor knot is usually
worn with either a very small-opening wing
collar these, with height of only about
two inches. are much worm, or one of those
close-fronted perpendicular, two-inch double
collars The latter tend to grow lower. and
there will soon be fewer of them in evil
dence that are deeper than two inches than
there are OF the lower sizes; the two and
half and three inch ones are wholly ohco-