The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1904-07-07

intend to spend the summer or at least
part Of it at the seaside o. at one of
the hundreds Of inland lakes, patrOniz-
ed by fashionable society. Time has
produced a remarkable change in the
style Of bathing suits. 1t is not so
very long ago that bathing suits were
principally made Of two materials,
flannel and serge, either in blue or
white and trimmed with parallel
bands of cotton braid as their only
ornament.
The primitive simplicity Of the bath
ing suit Is thing Of the past and to-
day the fashionable sea shore girl no
longer speaks Of her bathing suit but OF
her sea shore outfit, which usually in
cludes half a dozen or more Of the
most coquettish and captivating crea-
tions Of the dressmaker's art, intended
to serve for several distinct purposes
three suits for actual bathing and
swimming, as many more for sun bal
and as many more for lounging and
display.
In years gone by the object Of the
as much as possible the graceful curves
of the feminine figure. even under the
most difficult conditions, that means,
even after the fair swimmer or bather
emerged from the water. That was
the critical test Now it is different.
Nowadays bathing suits no longer at
tempt to disguise the forms of the body
but rather seek to disclose them as far
as is compatible with modesty. The
bathing suit of the present day is so
constructed that it is not only becom-
ing before, but also after use. To ac-
complish that result it has become
necessary to make the costumes far
more elaborate than they used to be
the bathing costumes seen at fashion
able seaside resorts represent small
fortune.
Silky mohair sicilienne seems to be
the most favorite material for bathing
and wears much better particularly in
salt water. Another fashionable ma
terial is soielaine, which comes in a
great variety of handsome colOrs.
Among the latest materials used for
bathing suits are taffeta and a kind of
waterproof of silk gloria.
For trimming silk braids, embroider-
les and even laces are used in many
charming ways. OF course, there are
other braids and various kinds of rib
bOns used for trimming, but none of
them are as effective as embroideries
and laces. Some of the bathing suits
are almost as deliberately trimmed as
dress skirts and the costumes actually
promenade cotumeS.
The latest wrinkle and one which
Will be of interest to a great many
tin,d women, who have hitherto fore
gone the pleasure of sea bathing be-
cause they were afraid that their skill
il swimming was not sufficiently great
% make the undertaking safe. Some
q bac
tie cOntrivance. which can be attached
to almost any kind of bathing suit, is
inconspicuous and at the same time
an effective life preserver. 1t consists
of rubber bag arrangement which,
completely hidden in the puffy shoulder
part of the sleeves. can be inflated by
means of a thin rubber hose and is
buoyant enough to keep the head of
the wearer above water under the most
unfavorable conditions.
To satisfy the craze for fancy arti-
cles made from handkerchiefs some in
genUous manufacturer has put on the
market handkerchiefs in various sizes.
especially adapted to the purpose de-
sired. square as large as the old
fashioned bandana is printed in sweet
peas in pink or lavender shades Three
of these squares are divided into quar-
ters Four points of one handkerchief
are turned in, and the position of the
square is reversed, the joining being
effected by a coarse lace beading
through VIII CHI ribbon is run, pink for
the sweet peas, lavender for the laven-
der blossoms. The corners of the other
two handkerchiefs are then joined to
form a fiounce, which hangs around the
pillow in deep points. The back of the
pillow is of lawn to match the prevail