Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-21
Chiffon Velvet Tea Gown.
Photo. by Reutlinger.

T SH WEDNESDAY, which ushers in Lent
marks as well the close Of the winter social
IA season, and it might be thought to mark also
| the temporary cessation of interest in clothes,
for surely there cannot be many opportu-
mites to wear elaborate gowns when the round Of
social life and gayety its height Let there be
mistake this subject, for The Lenen mere
y indicates that different phase of social life is
absorbing the interest of people generally, and while
dancing frocks may be laid aside for the moment there
plenty of opportunities to don smart and elaborate
frocks for the various dinners muscaes card parties
&C., the different Lenen festivities, in truth, calling
for quite much in the way of elaborate dress did
those of the earlier winter
The evening gowns now to be seen are, if possible,
more attractive than those which have been
hbited at different times since the autumn, and while
they do not display any specially distinctive and
marked features they the less different in
many ways The same original scheme apparently
still rules, but improved upon and almost dealzed
from first crudeness that it is difficult to recog
nze the design Take, for instance the lines of the
Directoire and Empire gowns, not by any means the
thing in the dressmakers view. At first they
were conspicuous, hard and unbecoming; they
are graceful they indicate but do not exaggerae any
good points of the figure and little by little what
promised to be an impossbly vulgar model is becom-
ing refined and artistic fashion, perfectly pos
sble for amateur dressmaker to compass.
Gross eXaggeraton i'll style and color never attains
sure foothold the affections of the well dressed
woman, and incredible as may seem the statement,
the of opinion to-day is in favor of the
fectly groomed woman, who attracts attention from
the beauty and finish of her costume rather than of
the who gowns herself in a garb that chal-
lenges attention from its startling color and vugarly
ostentatious eccentricity.
PICTURESQUE STYLES WELL TREATED.
The picturesque styles extremely well treated,
for they picturesque in the becoming sense and
not merely from the abstract point of view The
fashion Of wearing the hair also blends in well, and
every detail is carefully studied and carried out
that there shall be incongruity to the full eff
feet There is to be noted more funess in the width
Of the skirts the scant and all revealing styles
having been conceded to be theatrical to be smart
But while there is much width there must never
be the appearance thereof and the skirts
fully fitted the waists while the funess is disposed
of in smart, wonderfully clever fashion.
Last autumn there were to be noticed among the
new fashions the fringe trimmed gowns but fringe
not generally accepted until within short time.
Unfortunately it is accepted with such enthusi-
that the danger is great of its passing the
bounds of smart into the realms of the popular.
The only thing that may reard it's too rapid growth is
mands them-are extremely costly too high priced to
be possible for the majority Fringe trimmed evening
gowns are most charming and both the silk and
crystal fringes give most satisfactory finish
The extremely short, tight fitting sleeve of the
evening gown that is of crystal net finished with