The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-07-10

On the crest of the present hot wave, the
renl summer man. has toated in, and. like
his sister. the summer girl" he is dis
tinguished by the clothes he wears
His first principle is to wear as few clothes
possible at one time. and then lcok out
for STYLES. textures. colors and various
forms which may be said to make raiment
INTELLECTUALLY perfect for hot weather.
Farewell seems to have been said 10 the
"shirt-waist' man" on the sizzling st.
Louis streets yesterday few Of his kind APP
peared. and they We're not real ''shirt-waist
men, but i1npromptu representatives OF the
erstwhile fraternity.
Most OF the men without coats were
showing suspenders like unto the Continen-
tai soldiers of G. Washington's time. The
suspenders stood out like cross belts ard
proclaimed the fact that coats had been
shirked in observation-disclosures and Offices
Clothiers like Browning. King x Co. ar
que that the public has come TO appreciate
the fact that the proper sort of coat does
lot add 10 the discomfort of man. even
on an intensely hot day, but rather pro-
tects him FROM some degree of the heat.
The coat intercepts the heat rays. where
as shirt is generally made OF material
which absorbs or reflects little Of the heat
and allows it TO pass directly TO the body.
This principle is satisfactorily applied by
people living in the tropics, and American
navy men testify that one trip to the
equator Is enough to convince any person
that hannels or some light wooden goods
are Indispensable TO ones comfort
All of which IS said TO explain the exit
of the "shlrt-waist man" and the entrance
OF his more rational rother
VERY Low COLLARS.
The average summer man this season
Is far from being n foolish faGdist. The
faddists become such only by going TO the
extreme in styles based on the idea Of be-
ing comfortable. There seem to be no IN
reasonable or freak things in mems dress.
AS an illustration of fads. It is noticed
that nearly all men are wearing turnover
collars much lower than has been Gus
tomary. The collars are still OF the
straight-up roll, AMI many OF them are bu:
a trifle higher than the 'at-roll collars OF
many seasons ago Some OF the ultra
summer men," however. are affecting n
"straight-up-and-tu turnover kind of neck
wear scarcely taller than the tin rim on 4
tomato can. 1t is sometimes barely posi-
BILE 10 discover that they are collars.
III the matter pI litS. SIIlstII as lllCSt VI
them are. both in bows and four-in-hands,
the shoe-string variety still appeal TO per
sons who are considered good dresse-s.
Except that they are next to the feet,
the only extreme thing In socks appears 10
be that some show more openwork than
others. But the most pronounced peek
a-hoo" STYLES are redeemed by quiet cclo.s,
gray being in especially great favor.
-.
parently beyond question. The shapes in
various shops do not vary greatly. and the
principal difference seems to be In the size
OF the strings. Some of the latter are al
most as thick as woman's silk belt. and
make bows like Willie used to wear with
his sailor collar to Sunday school.
RATIONAL STYLES.
And speaking of belts. the old variety,
which were almost wide enough to serve
as girths on Texas saddles. have given
place TO narrow strips OF leather. with
small buckles. either OF black. copper or
yellow metal.
The particular distinction about this sea-
sons shirts. all negligee, consists OF quieter
| co,crs as compared with styles of former
| years. and the fact, too. that the shirts are
better finished. The average 81 shirt now is
as good or better than the $50 or s. grade
| a summer or more ago.
| Canes. for the few men who carry them.
are small. like everything else in style en-
1 cept the coats and trousers The latter,
F., even in the cheaper hand me-dowu quail
ties. are made on generous lines. while the
finer tailor-msde suits are generally cut
| somewhat after the fashion OF -four sacks
though they appear 10 be swell and Ger
tainly look comfortable and rational. .
Flannels and other wooden cloths for ont
ing suits. with trousers turned III at N;
bottoms, are much in vogue. Small stripe:
and plain goods prevail
Another rational style in what is sup
posed 10 be the foolish season is that thu
plain straw sailor hats are largely sup
planting the Panamas-a rational chans,
from the STANDPOINT Of the pocketbook