Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-02-24

@HB white serge or white cloth
costume Is almost an essential
- In a wardrobe intended for SER
IS vice during the southern season;
and, indeed. such a costume must
be taken into consideration in the planning
OF any summer outfit. The light color
gives an air Of summary festivity 20 the
costume, even upon days when a more
airy material would not afford sufficient
warmth, and there are innumerable occh-
sions in every summer season when
white serge frock offers an escape from
the scylla OF a dull looking frock on the
one hand and the charybdis OF n muslin
or linen frock too cool on the other hand.
OF course white wool Of the serge or
broadcloth type does soil readily. There Is
no getting around that fact; but It cTeanses
as readily and perfectly, and with care
one can wear white serge or cloth for
surprisingly long time anywhere outside
Of city SCOT and soil.
OF all the white wooiens suitable for
coat and skirt suits, mohair Is in many
ways the most practical II tailors well.
shakes OF the dust so that It is very slow
in showing soil and in recent seasons has
heen so improved in texture that II no
longer has the wiry stiffness which was
formerly it's chief fault
A tailored costume OF the heavy, soft,
white rnoh7ir shown this spring IN many
fancy weaves as well as IN plain material
would be a pretty and practical thing
but for some reason or other mohair has
never the cachet of serge and no other
material rivals a fine French serge for the
purpose under discussion Even white
broadcloth, beautiful as Il is seems better
adapted to costumes OF a more pretentious
class; and though some women have plain
coat and skirt suits made up in white
cloth, the white serge costume is easily
the favorite IN its class.
There has been a generally accepted
tradition that the palmer and more man
nish white serge coat and skirt were
the more pronounced was their smartness,
and some of the most fashionable tailors
still advise white serge models absolutely
without relief, save a collar and possibly
cuffs OF black velvet.
There is, however, great diversity of
cut, even in this severest type OF costume,
and there is absolutely no telling at this
date Just what coat will be fashions main
fRvorite during the summer
A large number of close fitting models
both short and half length are advanced
and there seems to be a preference for the
close fitting coat throughout the whole
realm OF tailor mades. The coat may be
either double breasted or single breasted.
but is probably the latter. and, following
the lead OF mems coats, the revers run
further down than they did last season
and the v opening is deeper.
Some jaunty models of hip length fasten
with three buttons at the bust line and
are cut away below sometimes, but not
necessarily showing a waistcoat. A French
modal ~ hoa
collar and fiat turn back cuffs of brown
velvet and fastened with three brown vel
vet buttons, while between the cutaway
fronts at the waist line was visible man.
nish waistcoat of small brown and white
checked waistcoat stun which seemed to
be silk and wool mixture
The costume pictured here in illustration
of the coat cut In question was more con.
ventional than the French model, fastening
with heavy white pearl buttons and re.
lieved only by fiat collar and cum finish
OF dull blue broadcloth.
Other short coat models take on the line.
OF the pony coat. the loose square Etor
reaching to the waist line or the Empire
models with high wasted girdle and shor-
basques. A very chic model of this las
type, sketched here, was of French serge
In remarkably fine, soft quality, and de-
pended upon cut and tailoring for its eff
fectiveness. having no applied trimming
save a fiat little collar of heavy lace ovei
the shoulders and around the back, outsid,
stitched band neck finish Of the serge.
The girdle confined the coat across tn,
back and sides just little above the nat
ural waist line and cut away basques rip
pied gracefully below. The skirt was un
usual in cut, the upper part being plaiI
and circular, while plaits were introduce,
around the lower part in a manner tina
will be best understood by study Of tn
sketch.
One sees a few circular cut plain skirt
trimmed IN horizontal bands or tucks; an