The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-03
WHO MAKES MEN's STYLES.
Public Does Not Always Follow Die.
 tlon of the Talors.
From the Chicago News

QIoin lu6 C0lCdbO NEWS.
 Who make hte styles?
 The tailors lately held convention and then announced their decrees exactly as if tailors could determine the styles Such and such things will be worn, say they, as they have said through a period of many years Yet sometimes these things were worn and sometimes they were not. For the public very often revolts at the dictum of the tailor, and does very much. if not entirely, as 1t pleases.
 Not since the old blue swalowtail with brass buttons went out has any one worn colored evening clothes; yet every three years at least for the last twen- ty years the tailors of England or Amer ica have tried to bring them in.
 In 1893 they tried so hard that suits of plum color were made up and exposed in shop windows of the principal cities. They bore labels containing that ad- jective so dear to tailors-"correct even ing dress" But outside of some houses of correction, no one donned plum color. Nor did any one don bottle green, dark blue or cherry in the years that these colors were gravely declared to have superseded black.
 Who make the styles? The tailors have failed utterly to bring in new styles of evening clothes. Since 1898 they have failed on several occasions in attempts to drive out styles of day wear The Spanish war brought in the military sack, form fitting, faring at the bottom.
 Three times the tailors convention or pfz Inf its distinctive cut remained. It grew shorter and then longer, but that was all. So with the trousers, wide at the hip. Three times they shave been ordered to disappear, but they do not.
 Some of the big clothing houses where ready-made garments are designed say that they make the styles Yes we do," sad a clothing man a short time ago. "We kept the military sack and the wide hipped trousers in vogue. The tailors get out fashion plates which no one sees un- less he goes into back room of shop. We hire first class artists who make handsome pictures that appear in all the newspapers and magazines. We want good looking pictures, and so we have to have something artistic something nifty, to draw.
 "Tailors often try to force in positively ugly styles. We never do. None of our pictures had any young man looking overwhelmed in coats reaching to the knees. We create ordinary the mans im- pression of what is the style by present ing the pictures of tasteful clothes and thus we create the desire for that sort of clothes. So even the man who has his garments made to order requires his tailor to cut them according to our Ideas. not the ideas adopted in convention of merchant tailors."
 We hear 1t said that certain individ uals create the styles. King Edward is credited with dictating styles in hats. Certain New York men of fashion are sa.-. to originate the styles not only for this country but for England, and so for the world. Yet 1t is a matter to be noted that the very long sack coat start ed neither in England nor in America, but In Germany and was common in Italy before either of the English speak ing nations appeared in it. Germany, too originated the built-out shoulders, device long used in that empire to make its soldiers look brawny and fear inspiring to neighboring Austrians and Frenchmen with their inferior military establishments and smaller punches of padding.
 Individuals may originate styles, but only within certain limits. The most fashionable man in America could not restore cooked hats and knee brooches. He could not introduce red trousers, though he might easily restore red waist coats. The range of variation in cut fabric and color through which fancy may move today Is very small. No matter how artistic or how beautiful thing may be in itself unless you can induce the public to accept it you cannot wear it.
 Popular caprice is a strong factor. In some seasons the public will accept col ored hatbands, but in others 1t will rend with ridicule him who wishes to wear them.
 Fashions seem to arise like any popu- lar movement, unconsciously, subcon- sciously, mysteriously, like wave of moral reform, like a revulsion of feel Ing against popular hero or against a popular scoundrel.
 Tailors usually can give merely some directions to these movements. Not often have they been able either to originate or control them.