Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1912-12-20
IN CLOTH OR vELvET7.
Women Are Finding II Hard to
Make a Choice.

Rsait, Gomez Down to = Personal
| Matter a. to Which Of the Two
Fashionable Materials 10 the
More Desirable.
AYEW YORK.-"shall 1t be a suit
~ Of cloth or velvet?" This is the
IN question that is perplexing many
feminine mind. There are SO
many advantages in either Of these
fabrics that the problem resolves It.
self into a purely personal one. II
woman already possesses cloth suit.
which may be made wearable by few
up-to-date alterations. she will make
a wise choice in selecting q second
suit of velvet, but the woman who
must depend upon one suit for fair
and stormy weather will find the suit
Of cloth far more satisfactory. No
hard and fast line can be drawn be-
tween the suits of velvet and those OF
cloth. There are cloths quite dressy
enough to be used for handsome re-
ception costumes, and velvets which
may be fashioned into the simplest
and severest of tailored costumes for
the street during the morning prom.
enade hours.
Appearance Of New Shades.
For the cloth suits such materials
as velours de laine. z'beline. peau de
souris and the boucle goods are the
most fashionable. and even at this
date they are appearing in new shad'
ings to arouse afresh the interest OF
women who have delayed ordering
their tailored suits on account OF the
mild weather. Among the new red
tones, now so stylish, there Is an IN.
tense hue, taking its color from the
priceless ruby, and another in the
terra Gotta tine which blends with
the red the artist Besnard has made
famous. The most unusual OF the new
colors is that called frosted grape"
which Is a clever imitation of the
grape after the frost has touched 1t
with its snowy breath. Green Is still
another color which bids fair to super
sede the brown and gray tones. De-.
spite this fact one of the most admir-
ed costumes at morning concert re-
Gently was a diagonal striped velours
de laine in soft gray tone. The skirt
was straight and narrow, as are all the
fashionable skirts this winter, yet 1t
was not so tight as to cause the wear
er to walk with mincing Japanese
steps-a sight by no means uncommon
on the avenue these days. In defer
ence to the dictum Of fashion that
skirts shall reach to within an inch
Of the ground, oftentimes as close as
half an inch, this one was quite long.
The narrow silhouette was further re-
tanned by band of opossum fur edg-
ing the skirt and extending at least
six inches up from the bottom. The
coat suggested the popular Russian
blouse, fastening at the side with large
smoked pearl buttons and extending
we'll below the hips. A strip of the
fur, about two inches in width, out
lined the side fastening, though it did
not extend around the bottom Of the
coat, as Is sometimes the case. The
collar was a close, high one of the
fur, and there we're also cuffs Of the
same fur.
Velvet the Rival Of Cloth.
The suit of cloth, even when it is
severely tailored. has strong rival
in the velvet costume. Many Of the
smartest velvet suits are fashioned on
the same simple lines which give the
cachet to the cloth suit. The skirts
Of these velvet suits may be plain or
slightly draped, and the jackets are
cut on the lines Of the Russian blouse
or the jaunty cutaway. One Of the
most admired costumes at the horse
show was of black velvet in the Rus
sian blouse style. Black lynx was used
for the collar and also for the cuffs
OF the long sleeves, which were set
into the regulation size sleeveholes.
A strip Of this effective fur finished
the opening at the side and added
dressy touch to the bottom of the
coat. The skirt was cleverly slashed
in the front to permit perfect freedom
in walking, and yet not so boldly that
the woman with conservative ideas
would find food for discussion. The
slashing was edged. with band of fur.
which, likewise, extended around the
bottom of the skirt. The black velvet
hat was such a harmonious compile
ment to the suit that it deserves de-
scription. The lines Of the hat were
similar to that of the Russian turban,
which Is worn low on the head, the
only trimming being two single
sprays OF coque feathers, worn direct
ly in front.
Black velvet, by the way, seemed to
be the material most strongly favored
by the we'll gowned woman. Another
suit OF this fabric was fashioned with
a medium cutaway jacket. The curve
of the fronts was not too extreme to
be unbecoming to the woman with
large hips, as is the case with the
cutaway jackets which curve back
abruptly to the elongated back. The
attention, however, was Immediately
attracted to the large sailor collar and
deep cuffs Of blue fox. The skirt was
cleverly draped to the side, the drap-
ings kept we'll to the bottom Of the
skirt so that the slim silhouette might
be preserved. On another black vel
vet suit the collar and cuffs we're of
white fox. This costume illustrates
the popular vogue for a skirt Of con-
trasting material. the skirt worn with
this velvet jacket being Of black and
white striped peau de mouton, cut
straight and narrow, and without any
trimming.
ron$ra e$inn Ma<erlala