Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-07
BY THE BoULEvARDIER.

or lSJO. 10 tell the IlOueIH Dcdu
Brummel that he is swiping fashions
from his reverend and deceased grand
father would be to arouse great pro-
test Indeed, many of the young men
who this fall will so forth in the ultra
extreme fashion undoubtedly never heard
of the fashions from which they are
plagiarizing.
Yet the indubitable fact remains. For
the last two years the cycle of fashion
has been Fastening to Its present point
We have had hints of the fashions of the
1904 pattern; from these we have by
leaps and bounds reached the present
state where the tailors are unconscious
iy copying from the types of clothes that
as late as 1885 were ridiculed as hope
lessly passe
This makes an interesting study in the
psychology of tailoring. The mind of
the man who makes the clothes for men
is hampered by the traditional timidness
of the male. Where the fashioners of
womens clothes will, and have, thrown
all previous ideas to the wind in the eX-
ecution of their latest NODES the tailor
of the man of fashion keeps on the tread
mill. borrowing more or less from styles
that have passed. changing the cut of
lapel and the length of a coat and pro-
claiming a new fashion
x
First evidence of the latest tendency
came when the trousers of the American
man Of fashion began to shrink in cir
conference; shrink so alarmingly the
bow-legged or knock-kneed men were left
to weep in sorrow every time they con-
templated their neither limbs.
Following the entrance of the frightened
uouSer, which so many fondly chung to
as English, whereas it was but step
removed from the old increased trousers
that strapped under the boot. there were
other earmarks of the return of styles
Of other DAYS.
The coat lapel which formerly had been
cut cleanly and low. was raised and the
coat collar itself was made to sit higher
on the neck. Then the lapel was cut in
the rolled style, minus the we'll defined
crease of other days This high collar
and rolling lapel you can find in the
executive office of any cabinet member.
You will find it in the portraits of va
rious solemn-faced gentlemen who served
under Presidents Immediately prior to
the civil war.
There was another minor change. al
most unnoticeable in itself. but which
portended much when taken in conjunc
ton with the other styles. In the days
when the padded shoulder was accepted
as au fait it was the habit of the Wash
ington tailor TO cut his cloth so that
the whole effect was rounded. In other
words the padded shoulder fitted without
a break over the shoulder of the wearer.
Now the sleeves of coats. in the extreme
STYLES of this year, have not only been
cut close. but also with a hint of a break
where the sleeve joins the body of the
coat This isn't much more than hint.
1t isn't like the prominent shoulder join
ings of 1870 but 1t marks the way to-
ward the recurrence of that style
X
Tailors ra,her hike this innovation as
emphasizing the shoulder line of wide
shouldered man. OF course 1t is rather
emphasizing the lack of shoulder. But
then that isn't the tailor's fault.
The Boulevardier got into conversation
with one of the city's we'll known tailors
not long ago on the subject of this change
in costume. coming so steadily as to be
almost imperceptible; only fully appre-
ciated as one looks back to the advertise
ments published year or more ago.
This tailor is in favor of the incoming
style.
The styles of $780,, he said, when
they are toned down by modern discre-
ton and used for the modern man, are
most elegant and possessed of more COM
mon intelligence than any styles we have
had in years. l think that a species of
insanity must have struck the nation at
the time We diyed head foremost into the
custom of padding clothes 1t was one
of the most unfortunate sartorial mis-
takes that was ever committed.
Il hear complaints that the present
STYLES, depending as they do largely upon
the figure of the man. are prone to con-
fess the errors in figure which the older
styles gently concealed Let us for mo-
ment admit that this is true Isn't it
better to have styles that look as if they
We're intended for human beings than
STYLES which simply made a man look as
If he had climbed into a well stuffed
gunnysack? The answer cannot be mega
tive.
''Ai men who have not the figures of
Apollos are inclined to shudder when they
see themselves in the reprod uctions Of the
old-time styles. Yet they will find that
they look worse than they did when
their thirty-two chest was squared on
either side with padded shoulders fit for
a prizefighter. In the one case they
simply look to be what they are In the
other case they are utterly. hopelessly
absurd
IF / were permitted to make sugges-
ton To the man who would be well dress
ed | would say to him first: Go take a
course in physical culture Indeed, /
have said this many times TO customers
of mine who We're inclined to protest
against the cut of their clothes. OF
course, | didn't put il to them roughly;
merely suggested that they exercise bit
more.
The first rule of man who is to be
well dressed is TO have the figure. | have
seen plumbers who could carry an SIS
readymade suit considerably better than
the son of millionaire whose suit cost
FIVE times that sum. We tailors have got
to have something to work on. You cant
expect to produce garments of superla-
tive design that will look good on man
whose shoulders slope like the neck of a
champagne bottle.
do you think, said the Bouleyardier
"that the present styles will increase
physical culture among the fashion
ables?'
Il do not think on that point replied
the tailor, because / am already as
sured that it is so. Go to the Y. NJ c. A.
or to any of the private places of instruc-
zion and you will find number of the
younger men religiously training morn
ing and evening Many of them would
deny that IL was for the sake of their
clothes that they are taking this trou-
BILE. Yet at bottom they are appreciative
Of the rigors of the present style, and are
go to Mahomet the prophet will go to the
mountain.
Il know of any number of cases Of
young men who are building themselves
up since the false shoulder and square
cut. hard pressed lapel went out of fash
ion. They have to do II or surrender
their boosted pretensions to fashion,