Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-04
STYLES IN MEMS WEAR
THOUGHTS AND TENDENCIES FOR
SPRING.
A Livelier Note to Be Sounded in Dress
-Predominance of English
Taste.
From the Haberdasher.

From the Haberdasher.
January and February are the months of
| large assemblies and small dinner parties,
| with an occasional flight south to break
| the monotony and fill IAN Aiken void,' if
l may be pardoned a somewhat obvious
| pun. Winter is ebbing but it will be many
| weeks yet before we can exchange our
great coats and flannels for lighter wear
! The seasons no longer come and go by the
almanac-they merge almost impercep tibly
After period of staidness in dress akin to
| somberness, spring, with it's sprghtlier pat
terms and shades, will be welcome indeed
Winter is not hospitable to clothes changes
and it Is to spring that we must always
| look for freshness variety and plenitude
| of color. The tone of dress has been so
markedly subdued of late that 1t is high
! time for a turn to crescendo. 1t was my
privilege during the month to see the spring
clothes made by tailor of high repute for
| a well-known club and society man. The
| jacket is single-breasted, two-button, and
| has broad and very low-lying lapels. The
watStcoat, however, is cut high two but
| tons showing above the jacket. In the
| back of the Jacket is a center vent, eight
| inches deep, but the features of the gar
ment are the high waist line and the de-
| cfded shaping to the figure, constituting
pldCllCdlly d military cut. he front Oh
| the jacket is quite cut away at the bottom
| Instead of being square, as the shoulders
| of winter jackets were, those of the spring
garment are rounded. The trousers of the
| lounge suit are quite wide at the hip and
| taper from the knee downward. 1t will be
| seen that the form Of these clothes is very
English, the high-cut waistcoat and low
| cut jacket being particularly so. Gray VIII
| be the leading spring color In Suitings =
| brown is out of the running. The gray
worsteds with woven overplaids and the
cheviots in herringbone effects are consid-
| cred especially classy" Blue is another
favored color and there are some dull
green mixtures that do not look at all bad.
| Summing up the drift of fashion for spring.
as 1t has shown itself thus far. find that
! 1t is still toward length and breadth but
not excessive fullness. During the present
| winter hang" was the be-all and end-all
| in cutting clothes, whereas for spring fit
| rather than hang promises to be the up
permost consideration. 1t is not to be I'M
derstood that the mode leans in any sense
| toward tight dress; it doesn't But every
| manifestation of fashion is followed by a
counter manifestation, backward swing.
Collars.
In collars have seen nothing fresh. One
| fold collar, while not new is distinctive
| Its feature is the V-shaped cut in front,
which differentiates this form from the
generality. The stitching on spring collars
| Is wide, as heretofore. So-called deep
\ point collars have never been approved,
| save for the field where comfort is of su-
| prenie Importance. The fold collar is again
| the morning collar par excellence, quite
| supplanting the wing, which is reserved for
| quasl-formal occasions. On account of the
reviving vogue of the fold collar, morning
| four-n-hands are cut narrower two
| inches, while fCur-in- hands for afternoon
| wear with the wing collar are cut two and
one-half inches. The high cut of waist
| coats for spring renders it necessary that
| cravat knots be smaller than during the
winter, when the low waistcoat reigned.
Aside from all this, however, the enormous
| knots, worn with haring wing collars by
young men, were never in good form, but
merely exemplified that proneness of the
ignorant to overdo a thing which often
STILES mode at It's birth. Fashion, in It's
| truest sense, follows the golden mean,
never the extreme. The dress absurdities
| that we see on all sides do not express
| fashion, but merely reveal the wearer' S
| misconception of fashion.
Belts.
Belts for spring and summer will be sey-
| en-eighths and one inch wide and be made
| as plainly as possible Tan pigskin and
| black calf are old favorites, while SEAL mo-
| rocco and whaleskin are also used to some
extent in fine belts. The ornamentation lies
only in the buckles, square and oval, which
are of unfinished gold plate, polished gold
| plate and also oxidized and gun metal to
accompany black belts. Silk gloves for
| summer wear come in white. gray and
mode shades. The idea of wearing gloves
| during hot weather may be strange to
many, but it is founded upon sense and fit
ness. A gentleman dislikes to go gloveless
| at any time, and it is clearly out of the
| question to wear leather gloves on grilling
| days. Silk gloves, however are cool, clean
ly and easy to slip on and off because of
| their feXibleness. l do not expect to see
| silk gloves generally worn next summer or,
| indeed, any summer, but as development
| of the mode the creation of a purely hot
weather glove is interesting. Colored hand
| kerchiefs will be smart for spring, and the
| linen article will be a shade smarter than
the silk and linen mixture. Hello, blue
| tan, sky, pistache, black and white and
| nsnkin are dainty, while grounds bearing
| plaids, jacquard figures, graduated spots
| and feur-de-lis are pleasing.
| Hose.
Golf hose long and short are shown in
| grays, heather mixtures and the so-called
| ''mastic'' colors to match linen suits Bril-
| liantly colored golf squares in extracted
| and printed India twills of bottle green,
| chocolate, cardinal, royal and also ombre
effects of hello indigo and tan decidedly
| English. These squares measure twenty
| eight inches and are worn loosely knotted
| around the neck knickers are "out of it,
| for field use, and long flannel trousers are
preferred The mode allows. yes, com
mands, a free-and-easy manner OF dress
| on the links. and the dandy looks as
| strarge there as would a Fiji Islander on
| 9th avenue. Such things as patent leather
! boots while ''rough,ng it, in the country
are as great an incongruity as hobnailed
| boots would be in a ball room. Appropri-
| ateness is the key to correct dress every
| time, every place. A man must appear in
| accord with his surroundings, must seem a
| part of the picture, be it assembly of
| primness indoors or a gathering of good
| fellows in the open The attempt a few
| years ago to introduce Norfolk suits in
! town was short lived, because the Norfolk
| goes with briar and country porch APP
| propriateness must ever be the guide.
| Gray Pushing Out Brown.
| Considering spring half-hose, brown is be-
| ing shouldered aside by gray, especially in
| slate and dove shades. Last year brown
| was 1.-THE thing" but the popularizing of
| the color has rendered it unacceptable to
| men who seek distinctiveness in dress. Low
| russell boots will be worn much as hith-
| erto in the country, though not in town.
| Spring boots are cut with moderately point
| ed toes, rather high heels and less out
| swing to the sole For outing use serge.
| tweed and homcspun suits cut full and
| loose will be cOuntenanced Trousers are