Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-21
DISAPPEARANCE OF THE DUDE
IN THE RAGE FOR CLOTHES

Why, for that matter. it's no bareback
at all to remember when the chap who
wore a pair Of patent leather shoes was
looked upon as quite shameless dude a
Spud. a would-be. Patent feathers now
are quite as common as the other kind.
The daring ones who first wore russell
shoes had to stand for all sorts of gibes
and jeers from the cut-ups. and the tan
shoes were only worn in hot weather at
that. Now all hands wear them right
through the winter II they so elect, and
it's all right; nobody seeks TO pick on
them about 1t.
And spats! Well do I remember the first
pair of spats / wore in New York! They
We're a bit newish, then-the white kind.
mean, with little pearl buttons. I'd
been sufferer from cold ankles. and so.
being some young. really and trining at
that time and seeing those spat things
exhibited somewhere. got pair Of them.
was all but mobbed. Those white spats
were looked upon, 1t seemed, with min
gled feelings of rage, hatred and de-
rision. had to fight my way out OF
several rings that were formed around
me. The quips and quirks and outlets
and sich-like that those white spats
evoked-well, 1 couldn't stand the gan.
1 took the white spats off, and / never
wore them again till their use became
general
Who would think of taking two looks
at pair of spats wrapped around a mans
ankles nowadays?
Bicycle Broke Ice.
The reign of the bicycle, l think. had
good deal to do with the breaking down
of these queer prejudices In this country
about mems clothes.
For example, knickerbockers and long
stockings-the latter rolled or cuffed at
the top, If the wearer pleased-were found
to be pretty good things for bike-riding
purposes. And so some hardy adven-
turers adopted those things. At first they
got the low, mocking laugh; but they
persisted. Then the knickerbockers and
stockings became general for bicyclists.
Men even took to wearing them during
business hourS-men with good legs, that
Is. . have always regretted the strange,
inexplicable passing of the bicycle, IL only
for the reason that 1t took away with II
the grown-up's knickerbockers and stock
ings-mighty comfortable gear, that.
Well, this general adoption of the
knickerbockers and stockings taught the
men who liked to wear new stun in the
way of raiment how prejudices could be
they got ready to start new things in
the way of male apparel, they sort OF
got together and stuck toSether-and they
knocked the dude cracks higher than
Gilderoy's kite-whoever Gilderoy may
have been with his kite.
Men measuring Up
All along the line. with respect to the
lesser matters of individual liberty, we've
changed markedly. How easy 1t Is to re-
call the time when manicures were few
and far between; mostly men, they were,
at first, and usually foreigners. And.
during that by no means remote era, the
chap who had his nails manicured was
looked upon as an emasculated sort OF
somebody. Now the manicures are every
where, even in the barber shops, ana
most of US have our nails hxed up Dy
the girls as often as we have our hair cut
If we don't, we get talking to about
it from our women folk.
That by the way, is sort OF second
answer to a lot OF this stuff l am writ
ing about-the finicalness of the dominant
American woman, and her determination
that her man shall measure up, In all
essential details of outer personality. to
the conception she fixes and standard
ICES.
Time was-not such a long time ago.
either-when the fancy waistcoat was
looked upon as something officially imbe-
cile. The pioneers among the wearers OF
ornamental fancy waistcoats had hard
time of it. Timothy Woodruff, for exam
pie, one of the smartest politicians IN
this Empire state, wasn't for many years
taken seriously simply because he would
persist in wearing ornate waistcoats.
Well, take a look at the lines OF fancy
waistcoats exhibited in the haberdashers'
windows nowadays, and IL they don't re-
mind you of a Byzantine bad dream then
it's because you're suffering from atrophy
of the Imagination. Yet We all buy and
wear those fancy waistcoats. and they
go" Nobody jeers at US. They're the
thing, if we like 'em-which, yas'm, we do.
A Duck of Standing.
Again, take the cigarette. don't
mean literally for you to take it.
mean, regard it. Now, everybody remem-
bers how, during the struggling era of
the cigarette, only ''callow youths'-that
was the great cutting phrase, ''callow
them. The cigarette
was derided, scorned. Them blamed
paper things" is what hoi polloi and the
plug-ugl called the cigarette.
An elderly man, at that time, would
as soon have been caught powdering his
nose as to be caught smoking a cigarette
in public. Note the change. In any
restaurant, for example, nowadays, you'll
see white-bearded men OF affairs. big
affairs, smoking the cigarette with their
demi-tasse, and enjoying 1t, too. They
don't make any bones about it. It's all
right. / don't maintain that it's good
thing that all hands now smoke cigar
cites when they feel like it. I am
giene.
Again: In our narrower, sneery period.
the well-clad man who'd smoke a briar
pipe on the street got the spike, too.
''They'' said he was trying to do the
H English thing" and so on. Well, you
can smoke all the briar or any other old
kind of pipes you want to on Broadway
or on Pennsylvania avenue these days
and nobody will even wheel about to
look at you.
In fact, nowadays, everything within
reason that a man wants or cares for
goes" Last summer 1t was announced
that King Edward was wearing Ty-
rolean green soft hat with a crease in II
and a bit of green feather to set 1t of.
Well quite q number of our more kinkish
chappies promptly appeared at the race
tracks about New York with Tyrolean
green soft hats, just like the kind worn
by King Edward. Were they laughed at?
Not anyi On the contrary, quite q num-
Der of the bookmakers, liking the green
hats got them for themselves!
To get back to that prize fighter and his
evening clothes: Can't you quite easily re-
call when the fellow who had a full dress
suit or a "swallowtair' Uhese ineffable
OF bloke? He certainly was! He swan
in the upper ether. He was a duck OF
station and standing.
Well, the fellow who doesn't own an
outfit of evening togs for himself nova
days is decidedly the exception, and, IL he
hasn't got that far for a sure thing he
is possessor of a dinner jacket-a Tux
edo" as the thing, Iamentably enough,
used to be called. The most indurate con-
of the old regime had to make
that much of concession to the new
ND 1,a no he 1laxr 1fotl