The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-24

- HEN grief comes with summer at \A/ hand the problem of mourning is
 w different from that of other seasons.
 There is no denying that black is uncomfortable to wear in hot weather It not merely looks so but it seems to absorb and hold the rays of heat.
 Fortunately the laws of mourning apparel are less rigid than formerly One is not swathed to the throat in dull henriettas and bombazines heavily crape laden. The low cut neck line and elbow sleeve is a great boon to the summer mourner; so is the use of net for yokes and sleeves even in the deep est black
 White is much more used than formerly; i; even widows now wear it at home in their first mourning. The use of white must, how ever, be understood. Do not adopt the use of the white crape veil. white shoes, and white costume for street wear. It is bizarre and not in good taste. The use of white English crape facings for the bonnet or toque draped with black crape veil also for cuffs and collar, will relieve dead black sufficiently to make 1t becoming to those who find 1t trying
 For formal wear-preferably should say for all street wear-the widow, or those in wear unrelieved black or with the white crape facings. Young girls. even for parent. may wear the proper white for sport, for both morning and evening dress at home and even on the street on the hottest days But make 1t all white. not black and white.
 x &
 Fussy mourning is an abomnation, but it is especially important to have white mourning simply made. A model ble for either the lingerie materials, the voile. or the china silk Is a one piece skirt with three four-inch tucks. or rather the hem and A tuck just below the knees and the second ct an equal distance above. These tucks may be run in by hand or hemstitched pref erably by hand also.
 Have . blouse with raglan sleeves-hem- stitched in and buttoned down the front with two groups of small crape covered buttons where crape is used elsewhere on the dress. otherwise with white mourning buttons of silk. The neck is cut with shallow V in new turndown models of crape or one of the faring shapes. The sleeves are three-quar- ters, with turnback cuffs of the crape two and half inches deep. Make the cuff open- ing at the back of the arm and round the open edges or cut in diagonal line
 It is wiser. when the crape trimmings are used, to furnish neck and sleeves with bias facing of the material so the trimmings can be easily pasted on and removed for laun- dering. For the sheer material make the collars and cuffs of the goods and trim the edges with inch wide plain footing. For a little greater elaboration this can be set in . half inch from the edge as an insertion. It can also be sewed to the edge of the skirt tucks. Sometimes this footing is used wider and box plaited on as a ruche. but this is not easy to launder. AS footing has two finished edges 1t is easy to sew on. being overcast in small stitches to the edge to be trimmed. holding in just enough fullness to ease it.
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 This same model is a good one for simple morning frocks made of black cotton or silk and cotton goods.
 For the girdle for a white mourning frock use grosgrain or taffeta ribbon. or for the made ones white crepe de chine. or white faille or other dull weave of silk is per missible. Soft waist drapery can be made from habutai silk with the ends hemstitched or trimmed with narrow folds of crape set on their own width apart or used as a broad binding for the outline of the bow Black mourning silks can be similarly bor- dered with black crape if one does not wish an entire crape girdle.
 It might almost seem as if we were put ing the cart before the horse in discussins white mourning frst, but am 50 often asked about # that 1t seems especially ap-