Omaha daily bee., 1909-05-02

clothes of late until our coats will almost
stand Alone they contain so much ex-
traneous matter, and we have succeeded
in producing for ourselves a perfectly ar
tificial shape" that is quite unlike any,
thing, in either heaven or earth. We now
have, many of us. great broad shoulders,
curious excresences at the tops of our
sleeves that move when we swing our
arms and look like nothing so much as
Observation-Disclosures formless coats that
bear little or no relation whatever to the
human figure and which through all too
frequent cartoons and also through the nu-
merous ''misfits' of lily instructed tailors,
have become indeed the laughing stock of
men who know, although they are perhaps
the admiration of the seeker after novelty.
The clothes worn by our men a year or
so ago-at least what may be termed the
general run of clothes-were certainly a
far cry from the gracefully hanging gar
ments OF by-gone centuries or from those
worn even now by many Orientals. Are
we then ashamed of our bodies, we Amer
leans, that we must disguise them SO?
A Decided Change.
Happily, however, a decided change
marks the fashion OF the moment in mems
clothes, They are simplicity itself and
quite devoid Of padding or makeup" Of
any kind. The shoulders of the overcoats,
for instance, are cut slightly narrower
than the natural shoulder and are rlade
quite soft so that the body Of the coat
hangs gracefully In comfortable folds from
the shoulder. These same soft shoulders
mark the sack and other coats of the
moment, which are nicely shaped to the
body. In fact. some of the very newest
coats are being made without the slightest
suspicion OF a lining, not even in the
sleeves, and this is true of overcoats, as a
well cut coat in the fashion of the moment
needs no lining or ''stuffing'' of any kind.
to give it shape. 1t takes its shape from
the man who wears II, the soft warm wool
of the cloth being considered quite suffi-
cient to keep out the cold. Our men seem
to be waking up to the fact at last that
we v ant to look like men-not like rAanni-
kins or rag doll caricatures of life. 1t Is
rot at all likely that we, in our "alloted
span" will ever escape entirely from the
so-called correct dress of western civili-
zation. but We fortunately are coming to
a gradual appreciation of the fact that the
human form is a sufficiently graceful or
ganism after all and that natures lines
are better than artificial ones, and then.
again, we seem to be on the verge of an
era Of freedom and grace in mems dress
that will undoubtedly be welcomed most
heartily by all men who think. In very
truth we have a good deal to learn from
our oriental brothers, after all.
Mems Fashion Notes.
New madras shirts with narrow hairline
stripes have fold lock front collars, de-
tachable, but made of the same material.
A new white collar is made Of a basket
weave oxford.
A gorgeous pleated shirt for morning
v ear is made of white madras and has
parsies in outline and of almost natural
size on the pleats and also a row of these
purple flowers on each cuff about an inch
from the outer edge.
Outing shirts with old-fashioned soft
pointed fold collars are being shown with
the points of the collar buttoned to the
shirt with small mother Of pearl buttons.
The latter are attached to the garment
Immediately under the points of the collar
and they button Through it quite a decora-
tive scheme. the exact usefulness Of which
is not entirely apparent.
This Is the very latest thing in English
collars and 1t is claimed for It that II can
be attached in a fraction of a second and
that the locking is as perfect as with the
ordinary double collar. 1t should appeal