Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-11-01

ness that the great French mas
tiers of thu. loom and the dye pot
put out few new materials TINS
season and content themselves
with furnishing up well known weaVes
that had not proved definitely success
full when invented
Even Rodier the master of them All,
did this, and his stamp of approval on
velours de laine, ratine, velvet ana
brocades gave the impetus in America
to the usage of fabrics that had been
OH the counters for three years 10
these well known dress materials were
added satins with silver or Soid
threads pasted on by rolling process,
vanished satin such the mllllnerS
used last spring. and brocaded gauzes
in the Arabian style that some OF the
chiefest dressmakers put into evening
gowns last March.
Even the substitutes for serge, called
earbardine and viSoEne, are not s'riGt-
" new although the American puollc
has not made much use OF the ia>tei
since its invention two years ago.
Now that the high-priced oreSsnakefs
show it favoritism, it has come INTO
some prominence.
=
The yeiouTS ole lame VI ans SEASON
looks very much like the weave OF sew
eral years ago. with which we louho
fault because of its tendency TO show
every crease and rub itself INTO paio
snots True. it's successor. called duve-
tyne. was infinitely worse. showing the
mark of every chair so strongly that
even sandpaper was of no avail as II
often is with fabrics that achieve spots
- tis.f
The present quality of velours de
laine i very much better, so its ad-
vocateS declare, and the present weave
of ratine is far and away superior 10
ANYTHING we have had under tins name
Probably the majority of shops have
not an adequate supply of these ma
terials on the counters, but they VIII
not have serious trouble in initiating
the French weaEes very closeiS OF
selling all the materials left from last
winter.
Along with the two soft, silky fap-
rics that have been revived comes a
wonderful weave like beaver FUR II
is usually called by the old shioned
name of plush. and is probably the
most sumptuous of all the materials Tor
street use. 1t wears we'll, they say, al
though no one can assert that with au-
thority until women have put the Tau
ric to actual hard use.
Every one remembers how duvetyne
failed us after hundreds of dollars mad
been spent on it by hundreds OF women
1t was such a ho3eless faiture- There
was no remedy for ii. Every one VINO
was not defiant Of public opinion was
compelled to discard even the hand-
soonest gowns of it or go about looking
thoroughly shabby.
Will the new plush behave better?
The next month will tell. In the mean
time women are fighting a bit shy of
it for this reason. as we'll as for more
serious one, which is its scarcity in
the American market and the conse-
uuent high price asked for il.
Never has there been :: more plain
tive argument for higher prices for
gowns this winter than the one au.
vanced concerning the scarcity OF
French materials. II is surely time the
American-made goods bccar- . nHcHs-
sity and the buyer became sufficiently
proficient in the judging of fabric to
detect when it was really American
carried under French label
There is no form of women's APP
parel. or few, at least. that is not adj
vanced in price in certain Quarters
under the plant of the war. When it
is not the war it the tariff. or the
slow movement in Wall street. One
has strong curiosity to know what
the next excuse of high prices will be.
If one is asked two or three hundred
collars TOT an AFTERNOON SOAH w Hlcu
was imported from Paris. the price is
explained on the steepaess of the origi-
l.al cost plus the duty. If one asks for
an explanation of the still higher price
asked for a copy of that gown one is
given to understand that il is based
the cXorbitant salary demanded by
the hands in America. If twenty-five
dollars is added TO the price it is be-
cause you have chosen the material
OF which there is only a bolt in the
states and therefore,
If you have been through this mill
time after time haven't you intense
curiosity to the explanation when
Paris does not offer any clothes. when
there are no French fabrics to be had
when through inevitable settling down
of the entire scale of prices for every
thing not a necessity, the hands will
be glad to earn ma moderate if steady
salary? How much easier it would be
to put the explanation always up to
ones own workmanship as the great
French designers, and as all persons
power feel superior to the ordinary
workman.
There is strong attempt TO make
cotton velvet feature of the winters
fashion because France took it up with
quite q show of vigor, and because the
patriotic American woman knows that
the more cotton fabrics she buys
the sooner will the present supply he
Az ham he in he