Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-01

at a desk and answer the questions of
visitors. While it still remains a garb
of dress. most of it's business significance
has been largely obliterated. The new
congressman coming to Washington
from some rural district may arrive in
prince albert. but probably he will
get rid of il soon after his arrival.
Where the choice of business suit
was once limited to two meager and more
or less uncomfortable styles, one may
now select from half a dozen or more.
And all these styles are built with two
great objects in view. appearance and
comfort. The latter, too, is quite as i'm
portant as the first. The day when man
would make himself unhappy merely to
be in style has long since passed. The
business man insists on comfort, for if
the clothes he is wearing are uneOmfort-
able. how can he possibly put his entire
The buyer, however, will have but little
difficulty in finding literally super
abundance of business clothes that
answer his every requirement. He will
find all sorts of sty.es. some intended
essentially for men of the younger gen.
Grafton. others for men of middle age,
and still others for men that are yet
older. although 1t must be remarked that
il frequently comes to pass that an old
man will walk into his outfitter and buy
one of the youngest styles he can find,
while young man Will pick out a ma
ture one. On it's face, this seems rather
incOngruOus. but usually there is a rea-
son for it. 1t may answer the old man S
particular purpose to affect iaunty'
style, and in the same way it may be to
the young mans advantage to make his
clothes give him an appearance of con-
serva tism which will tend TO offset the
youth that shines out in his face. The
shrewd business man makes telling use
OF his clothes. Just as somber dead black
clothes suggest grief. Or loud checks sug-
gest u holiday. so different business suits
express conservatism, daring. s.Owness,
breeZiness and what not. And there is
many a business man who. knowing this,
devotes actual serious study to the prob
lem before he buys his outfit. Usually.
i'm the end, his bank account grows as a
result.
There are. of course. certain business
suits of certain cuts and patterns almost
inseparably linked with certain classes
of men \ loud, fiashy suit. cut on
sharply defined lines. somehow suggests
the race horse man. In the same way.
ultra loose. baggy clothes suggest the
westerner and the very tight-fitting gar
ments suggest the Englishman.
Just in everything else connected
with mans attire these days. Dame
Fashion DEGREES that the business suits
be OF the cut known as English. Ir
other words, the clothes must be cut sc
as to show the lines of the figure. The
coat when buttoned should fit snugly
about the waist. and the padding SO prom
inent in the shoulders a few brief moons
ago is missing. The shoulder of the coat
should be wide enough TO cover com
fortably the shoulders of the man wear
ing IL, and that Is all. Trousers. too. are
rather tight fitting. with a cuff at the
bottom in most instances. and worn short
Up Gotham way. where SO many thing:
are carried to an extreme. the men wear
their trousers SO short that the bottom!
frequently fall above the shoe top, dis
closing the wearer's hosiery. In Wash
ingtOn, however, men are more cOnserva
tive. Here the ideal trouser length !.
the one which terminates at about mid
ankle.
But while to be fashionable Il Is rather