Evening star., 1909-02-14
SPRING NOVELTIES FOR MEN
WHAT IS NEW AND SMART IN
SMALLER ITEMS OF DRESS.
Good Form From a Serious View.
point-Dressing in Accord With
Local Sentiment,
From the Haberdasher.

Granting that a man may wear any
thing he chooses in a free country. pro-
prtety merely steps In to announce what
he ought to wear. Some folks try to con-
| vince themselves that the rules for dress
cited as constituting good form are moth
Ing more than the whims OF an affiuent
minority whose judgment shouldn't and
doesn't count for much with the crowd.
Such a view loses sight of several i'm
portant facts. 1t may not interest man
at the crossroads what the urban society
set may happen to elect for one season or
another. But 1t will interest every man
who wants to wear what is right Even
the most nonchalant observer will admit
that the source Of fashion and usage Is
among people of means and refinement.
Nor will he dispute that their decision
anects trade to most emphatic degree
Further, people of assured social standing
are In agreement on such matters wher-
ever they reside. You will find precisely
| the same standards prevailing among the
particular men of all the cities. There
is such an accord that one who knows
what Is correct in New York will find
himself wholly at ease at a gathering in
Washington, Chicago or San Francisco.
Looking at it from these standpoints. pro-
priety Is not a thing to be shifted at or
disregarded, after all. Now. a fundamen-
nous assent will be given is this: con-
form your dress to the local conventions
In other words. whether it be in the
metropolis or backwoods hamlet the
| man who respects the mandates of pro-
prtety will wear a frock coat at an even
Ing function IL a frock coat Is looked upon
by those who are to attend as the right
garment. This attitude does not involve
any breach Of good usage. Rather. 1t is
recognized part Of 1t. And just as most
men strive toward higher place in the
commercial or the social scale, so most
men prefer to be In harmony with the
| best sentiment when 1t comes to a differ
ence OF opinion or a choice OF permissi-
bles. do not make these statements as
| plea. for good form needs no advocate
among the cultured and intelligent. but by
way of Introduction to some comments on
Sunday dress. on which much doubt pre-
walls.
Frock and Cutaway.
Generally 1t is accepted that the frock
coat and the black cutaway serve for
both day and evening on Sunday For
plain fact, however, when It comes to cor
| rectness. there's not whit OF difference
| between Sunday usage and secular day
| usage. The element whose verdict must
be guide make not the slightest dis
| tinction between the days. If it is to be
a reception, a dinner bridge party or
| any other occasion Of formal nature on
Sunday. the swallowtaii is the proper gar
ment. and If it Is to be quiet dinner or a
party Of close friends at the cards or any
| other informal meeting. the evening jack
ct is the proper garment. That Is easily
| understood. So when 1 say that generally
| the frock coat serves for both day and
evening on Sunday 1 mean for the ma
tority, because the majority do not have
occasion to draw the day and evening line
| in dress on Sunday, as they usually con-
fine their social formalities to week days
It's the difference between the smart
and popular
The Sunday swallowtail.
Let us assume, now. that one who goes
OUT q dozen times or so In a season to
ceremonious affairs among people who
countenance only the clawhammer after
sundown Is 20 attend Sunday evening
reception with the same crowd. What
should be his choice? 1 would say the
swallowtail, by all means. That is merely
applying TO such a situation the rule I
laid down before. namely. conform your
dress to the local conventions That
crowd knows what Is proper or he would
fnd many Of them wearing the jacket at
| the week-night affairs, as so MANY do
knows that they know must settle the
matter for him. / make this rather ex-
tended allusion to Sunday usage because
30 many men have been perplexed on the
I
1t. 1 may add that the accessories are
always the same with particular scheme
Of dress. The main garment determines
! the accessories, whatever the time, place
or event.
What we see now Of brown and green is
Just the aftermath. They have run their
| course. In cravats and shirts blue and
| gray are the newest, and the prophecy
Is being freely made, and not without
reason. that we're on the threshold Of a
| return Of soberness in colors after a yer-
liable riot Of vivid effects. They're talk
ing Of gray and black in clothes fabrics
for autumn. and black and white in the
| accessories. But we'll see about that
hereafter As for the spring season and
| cravats-the blues range from the intense
sapphire to the delicate robins egg with
any number of intermediates. The grays
are mostly on the steel order and darker
The plain effects retain. their vogue.
Old Rose and Amber.
Later on we shall hear Of two other COL
ors-old rose and amber. But Of the for
mer 1t may be noted right now that it is
not likely to suffer from excessive popu-
larity because. like pink. it never has at
tained any great vogue here, though In
high favor at times, abroad. There's a
prospect. too, Of revival Of black-and-
white treatments. AS stated several
months ago. they are sanctioned now to
accompany the evening Jacket. and we
shall see more OF them In four-in-hands
as we'll as ties. I came across a haber-
dasher recently who said he would not
sanction black k-and-whites for informal
evening wear. I wonder why. He wasn't
one Of those who baked at the Erays
| when they were introduced. Indeed, now
that come to recall 1t. he was the very
first In the metropolis to show them
Unless the signs fail. he will put them in,
perforce after a while. For even an ex-
elusive haberdasher is not quite omnis-
Client.
| Respecting weaves. the accordion-plaited
effect similar to what has prevailed In
half hose is becoming prominent in era
| vats. AS yet, satins hold the premier
place in self-fgures ana two-tones Then
there are more Of the basket weaves, not
ably In broad stripes alternating with
moire or satin. Widths remain the same
as for winter. tending still toward mar
rowness though to show any degree Of
richness in the cravat they cannot we'll
be less than two inches. This confines
patterns to the smaller effects.
With the new spring shirtings have ap-
peared collars Of the same material. where
} the ground is white. We shall not wit
ness any use of colored grounds in this
manner. take it. so far as the offerings
OF the smart hsberdashers are concerned.
In fact, that would be the killing of a
prospective fad at the outset. 4 good
| many men win not take kindly to figured
collars even with figured shirts, in all
| probability. unless there Is q decided
movement away from the plain white.
Stripes are less ultra II good taste 10 TO