Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-07
March is the Month the Wise
Woman Gives to It.
SELECTING GOWNS
FLAT SToLEs FOR EARLY SPRING
WEARING.
Low Coiffures and the Popular Hair
Ornaments - New Dinner
Bodices.

Written for The Evening Star.
March is the month when the woman who
supplies ideas for building her own gowns
gives herself over completely to the study
Of late spring and summer styles. 1t may
be bad form to burst forth like a butterfly
| on Easter morning, but one likes to feel
conscious that a genuine Easter CONNECTION
Is hidden in ones closet, to spring directly
the ban is lifted. 1t is equally comforting
to know that ones summer sewing is plan
ned, and, more important still, that a COM
petent modiste and capable seamstress
are engaged
The summer girl no longer leaves frocks
and friils for a last rush order. She is the
first at the spring openings, and has her
plans We'll laid before the snow really
ceases. This season it behooves her to pre-
pare earlier than ever. for hand work is to
be the thing.
Go where one will among girls with deft
myers, ard there's embroidery, French
knots, or applique under way on summer
fabrics. One may buy handwork, or the
stimulation thereof, but at what prices! An
ingenious young woman who was hurried
by kindly advisory friends to sale of en-
broidery linen robes thus describes her tour
of inspection:
1.-THE patterns were of linen, the skirts
scanned and braided in elaborate fashion.
The waist patterns showed embroidery or
braided vests, deep collars and cuffs-al,
for SILL
Her auditors gaSped.
But wait till you hear the rest. I was
fascinated, of course by the view through
plate glass, but when 1 made close inves-
LEGATION, found that the weave was loose,
| like the crash we use for dish towels. The
cores were not cut on true lines, and the
braiddng or embroidery. whichever was
used, was done entirely by machine So
were the French knots. That dress would
shrink, the skirt would draw and the ma
chine stitching, once it got started would
pull right out. And so L bought these"
She laid out ten yards Of dainty blue linen,
fifteen medallions in Hamburg, a dozen
more in the same pattern but Of smaller
sfZe and a bunch of white linen embroidery
floss Then she explained:
ut will cost me $40 before 1t is finished
to say nothing Of my time but it will last
all summer and have air of distinction
which only handwork give these days.
First, 1 will have my dressmaker, who
works for us at the rate Of $3.50 per day,
cut and fit the dress. Then, marking the
seams carefully with basting threads, she
will take it apart, and l will do the hand
work When my work is finished, she will
put the dress together once more and give
to it the finishing touches
The dress is to be seven-gore skirt, inset
| with the large white medallions circular in
shape, which will be surrounded by sever
al rows of French knots Smaller medal
lions will finish the waist and sleeves and
also the dropping collar, which imparts the
correct slopfng effect to the shoulders The
use Of medallions and French knots gives
the appearance Of fancy work to the aver
age dress, but. Just the same, this is to be
the correct thing for summer.
A blue linen dress, showing oblong me-
dallions set in the many cores which
formed the front Of the skirt, had circular
back. The vest was Of all-over embroidery,
and the sleeves, ending at the elbow, were
finished with a deep ruft1e of embroidery.
Dinner bodiceS for spring and summer
wear are composed almost entirely of hand
bands of cloth or silk, connected by masses
of fagotting or herring-bone. stunning
sample is the bodice of a pale green dinner
dress of wolfe. It has bolero formed from
diamonds of the cloth, dotted with tiny
iridescent spangles and connected by fag-
citing. Instead of a color there is yoke
of white chiffon. laid in narrow strips and
connected by silk fagotting The short
sleeves Of wolfe and fagotting end in fall
Of pleated chiffon.
A fancy which will hardly last, but is just
now being fostered at the smarter shops, is
of padded embroidery, showing reproduc-
lions of fruits and flowers.
A nuns yelling in cream white has a bor
der Of cherries in natural size, done in real
istic tints Of silk, padded to perfect simu-
lation of the fruit. The veining and the
foliage is done in embroidery. The pattern
also shows the fruit in small size on the
pieces to be utilized for bolero and sleeves
These embroidered robes, showing skirt,
bolero or jacket, scarf and sleeve pieces,
are among the striking features of the
spring models.
Crepe de chine is popular fabric for
spring bodices, and requires only fagotting
and French knots to make it most effec-
tive.
A dainty bodice In pink crepe de chine
displays a bertha effect in bands of the
crepe sprinkled literally with French knots
and Joined by fagotting. From under the
bertha, falling like a fringe and hanging
on silken tendris is a circle of tiny sweet
peas made from chiffon. The sleeves come
to the elbow, where they are finished by a
graduated ruffle of chiffon. caught up with
small punches of the chiffon sweet peas.
=, irsr tv,f tax 0f
the dainty spring frocks follows the stole
effects Gone are the roly-poly feather and
chiffon boas which robbed the most tired
face of a year or so of age, and in their
stead we have the quaintest of stole studies.
Among the striking black and white combi-
nations for spring boas is a fiat accordion
pleating of black chiffon, covered by lat
tice work of black chiffon in very full rose