The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-06-29
EVENING CHAT
ST hear that stirring is coming back
BY RUTH CAMERON.

ST hear that shirring is coming back
into STYLE" 1 said
1 thought that a most mild, inoffen-
sive remark, and was accordingly quite
Surprised when the dressmaking lady
who was squatting on the floor hang
ing my skirt with the aid of mouth
full of pins, nearly swallowed them IN
her effort to say something.
Never" she calculated, as soon as
she had managed to extract sufficient
of them to make speech safe and pos
sible Never, 1 hope, Miss Cameron.
Of all the ugly, inartistic Things you
can do to a dress, shirring is the worst
There is nothing attractive about 1t.
If the material is homely, punching 1t
UP like that makes it more so. The
only possible use of stirring is TO
show that you can afford to have some
poor dressmaker put a lot or work into
your gown
Did 1 quail before this TRADE that
had aroused? No, indeed; I was
delighted I realized the value of hav-
ing gotten the dressmaker lady nicely
started to talk on subject on Whicn
she is much an authority, and did my
best to spur her on to tell some OF the
other inartistic and foolish mistakes
women make in gowning themselves.
And here are some of the pearls of
dressmakerly wisdom that she let fall:
Never let a yoke line slant up in
the slightest degree. That IS absolute
" fatal. The line should be straight
or bow slightly downwards.
I'm making the new overskirt dress
es, if you have coat OF the same pc
sure either that the coat covers the
overskirt or that it is cut well above
it, and that the skirt follows the line
of the coat
MANY of the shirt waists. even from
the most expensive houses, do not have
the shoulder seam for enough back on
the shoulder. This is a very bad fault,
as it makes the back very much less
straight.
'The broad bands on the skirts at
the knees that so many people are
wearing are absolutely impossible.
They make your figure looked sawed
off and your feet look enormous.
Nothing is uglier than long sleeve.
Never mind even if your arms are thin.
They will look better bare than in the
sleeve just below the elbow. if that
is painfully thin, but have it stop
there.
Dutch necks are absolutely impos-
the face of the globe wears them.
They are not good style. They look
if you had either forgotten your col
lar or were trying to crawl out of your
dress head first. You should either
have a distinctly low neck or high
collar. Half breeds aren't accepted
in good society.
Never make a princess dress with
out making the sleeves large and full.
For some reason that accentuates the
fine slender lines of the princess effect.
Touches of black velvet on light
dress are extremely inartistic.
"a belt of a separate color spoils
a figure. A belt of the same color
as the skirt is poor taste, and of course
makes you short wasted. If you want
to look trim and have the best figure
possible to you, always have the belt
the same goods as the waist and, if
possible stitch it on
And, as a summing up, as it were
a threading of all the pearls of wis
dom onto a single string. I have the
dressmaking lady's final comment:
1.-The Paris models from the best
houses, my dear, are never elaborate
or fussy. They are made on severe
lines and trimmed simply with some
good embroidery. The whole thing is
to have pretty goods and have it made
on good lines
Myself, 1 don't claim to know ire
mendous lot about gowns but, having
seen her products, I'm sure the dress
making lady does, so 1 humbly beg
to offer you her suggestions.