El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-10-12

~ TASHINGTON, D. C, Oct 1l.-Are
M hoop skirts coming back? Or,
w will women discard skirts and
put on trousers? Or VIII they obey
the mandate of NJ Paul Poiret and
wear both?
Are the prevailing styles sensible,
giving greater freedom of movement
and liberty of breath to the women
who wears them2 Or, are they essen
TALLY immodest their ostensible sim
pltcity merely being a device to reveal
the figure and accentuate the sex ap-
peal?
These are questions that are being
asked in the maelstrOm of discussion
now raging about the fashions They
indicate a tremendous and radical diff
ference of opinion, and at the same
time suggest that the subject is hardly
worthy of discussion because the pres
ent mode is so ephemeral that it may
be displaced tomorrow by radically new
and entirely different styles
Born of Curious WedIOck.
New fashions are born OF a curious
wedlock- One parent is Utility and
the other Caprice. The fashions, to be
successful, mLst partake of the quail
tiles of both The modern mode may
be said to have had its beginning with
the introduction of the narrow skirt
the much discussed hobble. Now, the
hobble skirt was child of Caprice, but
II also was closely related to Utility
Fashions in WOmen's wear change
with such rapidity that It is necessary
to compel ones mind TO take the back
ward trail in order to find any ex-
PLANTATION for the style of the moment
Do you remember, a dozen years ago,
when women wore skirts Of tremendous
width and of great length, sweeping the
pc vements as they walked along, and
exercising an uncommon degree of agil--
1ty to prevent tripping on their own
skirts?
Do you remember how the long,
fn1 -
was a sanitary triumph. Women were
told that their skirts should not be
used as a substitute for street sweep
ing machinery. In bad weather the
trailing skirt was so quickly soiled
that women rejOiced when the style
makers granted them the favor Of the
short skirt for wear in bad weather
1t was called the rainy daisy" and
created almost as much comment as
its slashed successor of today. But it
was so much more comfortable, so
much cleaner, that soon shOrt-length
skirts became the universal mode for
all but formal wear.
Circular Skirt Passes.
As the skirts were lifted from touch
in number, the circular skirt passed
into memory, and gradually the skirt
became narrower and narrower. Fin
ally, in the natural order of things, its
narrOWness decreased to tightness and
then was the hObble skirt
Now the hobble skirt was a caprice
1t was not utilitarian- It prevented
women walking freely, made boarding
a street car an adventure of doubtful
outcome, and generally was an i'm
pediment to pedestrianism. But its
lines were good For the slender
woman and young girl. il furnished
the proper silhouette. Not desiring to
abandon its good lines, but yet insist
ing upon the inherent human right Of
Walklng' the mem OF the skirt was
slashed- Horror of hOrrorsi One might
have thought that never before had an
ankle been exposed! The press and
pulpit thundered, but the dressmakers
wearing them They had regained the
power to walk.
But this was not all If the slashed
skirt had stood alone. the discussion
about ii might have died down But
1t was speedily followed by the all but
transparent bodice, by the abandon
ment of the petticOat, and last summer, /
by the x-ray skirt (Of course, only |
mode, are being considered They are,
however, typical, for all the ready /
made garments at least, are but mod /
IRENE mOdes).
Girls began to. be sent home from 4
school, because their skirts were 4
slashed, or their waists too thin. The /
clergy began nationwide crusade |
against immodest dress. And this is 4
the furOre of debate and argument
now on
Styles Have Defenders.
On the 'other hand the styles have
their defenders The slashed skirt is
praised because it is neat, it gives
freedom of movement, and, if worn
with a proper petticOat, it cannot be
called immodest- It is a noteworthy
fast that its chief defenders do insist
upon the petticOat
No less a person than Miss Jane Ad- /
Jams. whose prominence in the strug-
gle for social betterment is univer-
sally acknowledged, defended the mod
ern styles on the ground that they
ire simple and give the necessary ply
cal freedom. But none is more in
iistent than she that women should
iress with simplicity and freedom in
mind and not any desire to increase
" accentuate the sex appeal
Mrs. Lillian Woodward Street a
lressmaker of national reputation. in
recent address in Chicago. summed
Continued on page ;. this section-)