The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-01-19
Fashion Divorced
From Hurnor Shortly
Women with One Eye and Pussy's Whisker Wells No
Longer Being Paraded the Streets for
Mans Amusement

IL it is the mission of fashion to
adorn and beautify the individual,
It seems, very frequently to be hui
morously diverted. It began with the
hat; then we had the travelling waist
line. that might be placed anywhere
except at ones waist The line of the
unusual has now reached the point of
hobbling the ankles by narrow bands
encircling the skirt, so perhaps it is
safe 70 assume that woman may soon
emerge from the cycle Of eccentricity
ard assume once more a normal and
attractive figure. It is really not quite
understandable that women should be
willing to present some of the absurd
figures that we see upon the street.
Either we must believe the maScu-
line claim that most women have no
sense Of hunor. or else some of US are
so exubeTantly humorous that we are
willing to sacrifice woman's most
charming acknowledgements the per-
petration of g. huge joke.
A millinery critic announced. after
q view OF the seasons early models,
Women this season will wear but
enc eye and some of the hats dis
played actually verified the statement.
The HindOo turban that covers part
OF the eyes and all of the ears, is an.
other millinery freak that surely has
nothing in the way Of beauty to COM
mend It, and the grotesquely figured
wells have certainly been a most dar-
ing sartorial experiment. At a little
distance they give the effect Of un-
slightly facial blemisl1es. Huge dia-
nond shaped figures, made up of black
dots, poses. one on the left side Of the
forehead. the other at the right OF
the chin, are startling, and a black
lace chanticler In front ofSthe ear
gives an uncanny. side whisker effect
TO the prettiest face. One veil that
was seen IS suggestive of pussy's whis-
kers. The mission OF the thin veil
has always been supposed to be to
beautffy. Even a very poor complex
ion might be disguised by the soften
ing effect of a well-chosen veil. Why
m0nstrously absurd figures should be
placed on the sheer, fine web is an-
other OF the mysteries that must be
Of fo1lies Of the wardrobe.
We may laugh at the back view Of
the headiess lady, but everyone in New
York has seen many such dgures-the
hat with wide back brim resting on
the shoulder blades and the long quills.
apparently an aggressive afterthought,
extending at the side The unfortunate
part of these eccentric things is that
they are worn regardless Of time and
place. A woman sitting In solitary
state in a private carriage might be
pardoned for getting herself up in pic
mire the picture, but hats OF this kind
are worn into street cars-crowded
public conveyances-where each one
becomes an absolute nuisance to its
neighbor.
The popularizing Of any pronounced
style always leads TO its becoming
cheap and ridiculous in inartfstic
hands What is known in the manu-
featuring trade as ~popular-price line"
are almost always the pronounced and
bizarre. Considering. the various shapes.
styles and figures OF women, what
everybody is wearing is not the artis-
tic way to choose ones clothing. The
real truth of the matter probably is
that we have not been paying enough
attention to our mirrors. Woman is
not 3 photograph. presenting always
her one, most attractive view to the
world. but a figure that should stand
the critical test of being symmetrical
from every viewpoint. The art of
GOOD dressing is to achieve this by cor
recting natural. physical defects, but.
like the art secession movement, which
to the Unbalanced has become an
obsession OF the unconventional. we
have let the novelty of the unusual run
away with our better Judgment and
earned the ridicule Of the thoughtful.
Let us get back to our double and
tripllcate mirrors and our rightflll
lines of grace. Some OF us have all
ways needed help, that the TAN and
slim might not over-aecentuate her
height and siirnness, the short and
stout her breadth and lack of inches.
When the wardrobe censors relax their
vigilance women without taste play
ridiculous havoc with their appearance.
Miss Six-Foot wears a f1ower-pot hat.
narrowed by a vest. and narrow skirt
drawn into q narrower ankle-band.
BY way OF contrasting what-not-to-do.
Madam Five-by-three wears a fiat