Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-16
SUMMER MODES FOR MEN
THE TEMPERATURE FIXES THE
SEASON FOR STRAW HATS.
Fashion Is Good Form, Not a Nerci.
less Mandate-The Sennit Braid
and serrated Edge.
From the Haberdasher.

and serrated Edge.
| From the Haberdasher.
They have been settling a mooted ques-
ton during the past month. Who they"
are we do not know, but on the word
| Of several metropolitan dailies. which has
passed from mouth to mouth until it has
become common knowledge, they have
changed the date when men may begin
wearing straw hats from June Is to May
| Ii. which. of course. is most comforting.
For consider the plight Of the chap who
darent discard his derby when the mer-
| curry prematurely leaps to the fever heat
notch! Probably no other limit of sea-
son would concern him in the least SO
far as dress is concerned, but he's, oh,
SO sensitive about that summer head
| wear It's a queer and interesting COM
| mentary on the popular view of fashion.
Let any one say most anything in tone
of authority and it gOes-with the crowd.
The fact is that the straw hat season is
migratory. It>starts IN the Florida re-
| creations are worn by the smart people
who Journey southwark while yet the
| multitude has scarcely given thought
| to vacation days. Philadelphia and Bal
straws-and don them-usually weeks be-
fore New York. So has the so-called
unwritten law but local application?
1t would seem SO. Somehow or other.
We cannot locate any record of this old
or new dictum. and we INCLINE to think
it's Josh" The majorityof men have
apparently yet to learn that fashion is
not an arbitrary dictator that sets down
har1 and fast rules for the guidance of
the ignorant Rather. the mode in its
90 NJ bo 11nc
people-oy which is meant the people who
know now to dress well under all con-
dit1ons and circumstances. These people
wear lightweight clothes when condi-
| tions warrant it. They are most in
dependent set. and would take to straw
mats as readily May 1 as May Is if
they would be uneasy otherwise. In
evidence. witness the use of silk and
country wear only-as long ago as early
April. 1t is not that every mans indi-
vidual ideas may be regarded final,
but that fashion and common sense go
such as this, on time-or other-restric-
tions.
Style of Hat.
For the current season the smartest
straw hat is a decided extreme in shape,
quite the antithesis Of what was approved
two years ago. Then it was the split
braid. with high crown and narrow brim.
Now it is the coarser sennit, with very
broad brim and low crown. The rough or
serrated edge Is favored and the younger
set has taken. marked fancy to the
straw Of double thickness The soft,
yielding kinds, the Milan and Mackinaw,
have lost caste considerably. except for
country wear. Likewise the panama,
which has wide. generously curled brim
and the alpine crease. Any straw hat
may be worn with the evening jacket,
which in the warmer months Is accepted
as the standard of dress for all except
such as weddings and formal country
house dances.
Freak Footwear.
More freak footwear is to be seen in
the shops nowadays than for several sea-
SONS back. The we'll dressed element will
have none Of them. Oddly tinted feathers,
brass buckles and ELECTROMAGNETIC tops
are not in good form. Oxfords may be
either black or tan, the caps plain or
perforated and the heels semi-military
Men are gradually learning that heavy
| soles are as much a projection against
the heat of the pavements as against
the cold. White canvas oxfords are
now connned almost wholly to the tennis
courts. and for this pastime they have
rubber or knob sOles.
One sees signs Of a revival of the soft
collar at the foremost shore and country
resorts. Its return to partial favor is
attributed to the passing Of the popular
craze which made it impossible for a
time to discriminating men. That it is
considered a meritorious accessory Is evil
dent from its temperance at tho sum-
mer centers Of wealth and fashion. Men
of social position who still hnger in
town are partial to self-patterns and plain
colors in four-in-ha nds, the textures being
crepes. grenadines and poplins. This era
vat is graduated SO as to be narrow at
the knot and broadening below it into
long folded-in end. While four-in- hands
are mostly of delicate hues, ties remain
dark, in purple. blue and green shades
with the design in satin finish.
Outing Shirts.
The newest thing In outing shirts is a
Norfolk construction. The material used
is silk warp, and the novelty lies in
the single broad box pleat on each side
extending over the shoulder and down
the back. To keep the line unbroken on
the left side the pleat runs right through
the breast pocket. There is no yoke.
Silk silk and linen. and fancy flannel
shirtings are much worn about town by
| men Of means. They have folded back,
unstarched cuffs. This virtually limits
them to a days wear. as the double cuff
| soils and muses. very quickly Indeed,
for this reason 1t may be taken for grant
ed that these filmy fabrics will not be-
come popular" The cuffs. by the way.
are held by large pearl buttons, afaxed
to one side and held together by a
twisted silk cord which serves In the place
Of metal bar as the means OF Joining
the buttons.
There Is a decided dearth of radical in
! novations this year in mems clothes for
the outdoor sports. The forms and fab
RIGS prevailing year ago remain virtual
ly unchanged. A man must rely more
than ever upon the harmony OF the dress
scheme to produce the desired degree of
individuality. And this desideratum after
all. is not difficult to attain when the
definiteness Of the present color tenden-
cies is taken into account
II unoffora little whaf f~ fhot ,>.,