Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-01-20
C0LORED Dress RECEIVES
APPROVAL OF FASHION
BLUE FABRICS MADE INTO
sWALLoWTAILS
Many Changes in cut-Simulated
Cuffs, Unordinary Buttons and
More Pronounced Waistiness
Among Styles

Again the dictuTn that eolored evening
dress has received the seal of Fashion
approval for the winter season bobs up
in wonted health and vigor. Sometimes
rumors repeated persistently merge into
reality. as witness the use Of purple n
lounge-suit fabrics.
OF course. the numerous authoritative
statements concerning the new moue III
formal clothes made from one TO threS
months ago should not have been taken
seriously by any one and propaoly
weren't. In the first place, the crack
custom tailors were wholly at sea them
selves up to early November.
Some of those who serve youhSlsn
and somewhat daring clientele have been
irving out few wrinkles and wondering
whether or not they would be regarded
with any noteworthy degree of favor.
Most of the innovations, the more radl-
cal, at least, have already fallen by th@
wayside, while a few a precious few,
have survived the test.
Numbered among the rejected are
the dark blue and brown materials, the
striped patterns and various minor de-
tails of construction that were patiently
ll-suited to the vogue of plain efrects IN
formal evening clothes. A second reason
for taking advance "heraldings" of the
mode with a little seasoning is the unde-
niable fact that not until society mas
stated itself with the autumn sports ana
country house festivities and returned TO
town for the opera, horse show and other
functions is there any knowing what is
actually to be.
There is more than passing interest In
the subject of colored and patterned
fabrics for the swallowtail. pleated for
{lra fanRtpa-fhaV have
not even attained the dignity of fads~-
for the reason that in the eyes of many
keen students of dress noteworthy
changes are possible, te not probable, In
the near future.
1t may be said now without SHADOW
of doubt that not one of the innovations
cited will have the sanction OF men OF
social standing the present winter. The
closest approach to a pattern is twill
cloth, and 1t would take an expert to
discern in ii any semblance of design.
AS for the indigo-dyed fabric or deep
brown, neither one has the slimmest
chance of Endorsement, The black and
white scheme will not, or cannot, be
shunted aside much as some deprecate 1t.
SO with us still Is the familiar claw
hammer, graceful in contour and inky
in it's blackne-s, permitting, indeed COM
polling, mere man as heretofore to as
sumo the role of somber background or
offset for the dazzlingly brilliant toilets
of his sartorial superiors.
The Shoulder Lines
Yet to the critical the evening dress of
the current season emlbodies several new
features that impart a bit of different
ness They cannot be considered signifi-
cant of any tendency other than lean
ing toward those little kinks of construc-
ton and finish we are accustomed to
class as novelties.
Square shoulders are passe. Instead
OF building up, If need be, to get that
broad, straight-across effect that has
been a marked characteristic of American
garments and the target of critics abroad.
particular men now elect the natural
shoulder. 1t looks really narrow by COM
parison with what has been. Instead of
being concave it slopes down very per-
ceptibly.
l am confident we shall not come to the
inverted "V" shoulder which distin-
guishes English garments. Most men are
not built that way, and it certainly does
not accord with our virile sentiments on
clothes for the man. Rather, the coat
looks no wider than the wearer, and fol-
lows the lines Of the shoulder more pre-
cisely than has been customary hereto
fore.
Then there is readily apparent va
Ration in the cut of lapels and lower
edges. Instead of following a straight
line from the collar the lapels, moder-
ately wide and peaked, form gentle but
readily apparent curve, right down to the
bottom edge
Whale silk facing extends to the but
tonhole on the lapels, but is not used,