The Washington herald., 1914-04-05
-oopyTisht By Btmonston.

and velvets Of the past winter. the all
black. and the all white costumes. will
hold their own in the smartest OF COM
panies.
| A black taffeta in the latest mode, worn
| by Mrs. E. A. Mitchell, was one of the
| all too few good looking gowns noticed
in the corridors OF the Capitol in the
] past week where nine out Of every ten
women who tried to follow the debate.
appeared to be en- route TO an afternoon
| dance, or from early morning market
Mrs. Mitchell who would be chic under
| all circumstances, struck the perfect note
in the crowded Capitol, in a walking dress
! Of black taffeta with short overdress in
| three scant frills and the new wide close
ly folded girdle.
Her tall and not too narrow hat was
black erin. in the new Maria Guy style.
with its trimming entirely of black satin
the latter. Of course, the new shiny kind
effected for nearly all blac,; hats not in
tended for mourning.
Mrs. Archibald Davis and her sister,
\ Miss Margery Cotton. are two popular
young women wearing mourning OF per-
feet taste, who assisted at the tea at
the Maulsby Memorial Home on Thurs
day afternoon, when fashionable society
made its way to that almost forgotten
region in the shadow OF Trinity Church.
Mrs. Davis, tall and slender as in her
debutante days. wore a light-weight
cloth skirt and close-fitting peplum. Sc
verely plain. but very well hung, with
the bodice a round waist, with the cloth
cut away several inches above the waist
line. where 1t Joined a plaIn-fittlng black
chiffon blouse. worn with a soft white
satin lining. Her hat was Milan straw
of the close English walking hat form,
but with high brim, compressed at each
side until the crown assumed a wedge
like outline. against which were tackled
two large black wings. pointed in dia-
metrically opposite directions
Miss Colton's toilet was less severe
than her sisters, inasmuch as her black
taffeta skirt showed considerable full
ness, drawn into a paneled front in the
very latest mode. The top OF this suit
was semi-coat or semi-blouse, opening
all the way down the 'front.' with quaint
! little bows taking the place OF buttons
and no trimming beyond a narrow little
ruffie on its lower edge. Miss Cotton
refuses the small hat with the courage
of a handsome young woman accus-
TONED to good dressing from her cradle.
and consequently looked charming in a
made-to-order sailor of the finest Milan.
This was placed well on her shapely
head. and with no trimming beyond two
medtum-sized wings, which were poised
exactly opposite each other on each side
of the well-defned crown Almost an
old-fashioned hat. considered per Sc, but
just right on the very attractive Miss
Cotton.
Mrs. Francis A. Ruggles, another
smartly attired young person assisting
| at the same tea, wore a fascinating
gown in one Of the spring greens, a pale
shade going by the name OF pistachio
and of a soft taffeta. The skirt was
narrow and plain, with a bouffant over
dress of uniform length, finished in a
full box-pleated rufie of three or four
inches. The bodice was entirely of
French lace, mellowed to an ivory tint
This was made in the surplice long
shouldered fashion, much favored at
present, and with half-length sleeves.
The girdle OF taffeta, holding the lace
bodice at the waist, was apparently a
part of the overdress and without any
establishment Of tower or ornament
Mrs. Ruggles wore with this a small
all-olack hat.
The way to judge a new fashion for
good or for evil Is undoubtedly in the
silhouette wherein is registered every
change of style from the tip of a feather
to the shape of a heel. And right here
let us pause to remark that heel and
feather should be duely considered in
their relation to each other. as well as
to the gown between. Badly selected
shoes are just as likely to spoil the ef-
feet of toilet as a badly selected hat. O,
But to return to the new Silouette,
which is just dawning on Washington,
but which, by the time the June we'd
dings have arrived. will undoubtedly hold
the center OF the stage in everything but
wedding gowns. Mrs. William Crozier,
no established her reputation as one OF
washingtons best gowned women as Miss
May Williams more than twenty years
ago, is illustrating not only the new
waist line with the short pannier and
the narrow skirt. but also the high bouf-
FAINT back drapery and the hustle. There
is no doubt about the hustle now, Mrs.
Crozier is wearing IT. and as shown in
the particular silk suit worn by her on
Tuesday afternoon at the National Thea
ter, the hustle is not FASHION to be
despised, and not at all In the blue wig
class. Mrs. Crozier's gown Is black silk
striped in satin IN both black and white,
the former being three times as broad
as the latter. which is less than half an
inch In width The skirt 10 at the ankles.