The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-10

. V I1lNI IS lOTBOtlen so soon dS
 V a fashion-nothing Is so impor-
 tant in pro rata proportion to
 = it's briefness as fashion while 1t lasts. The effect striyen for and economized for-almost wept for last year-has become of no significance at all, and a passing recollection of it, called up by glance at last years snapshot, arouses only tolerant amuse- ment never regret-for who wants last years fashions back when this seasons are so superlatively pleasing? Silhouette Changes the Most Impor-
 tant.
 Dozens of minor details of dress crop out in new and decided style changes each season, but the one great style change of paramount impor- tanee is always the change of the sil- houette. It is the shadow that woman casts upon the sartOrial background that is of utmost significance to the world concerned with dress changes and a motion picture of these chang ing shadows, could one be obtained would present the history of Fashion from the beginning of time.
 So gradually has come the change from willowy slenderness to fiuttering bouffaBcy that 1t is hard to realize how slim and trim we all were two years ago, with lank skirts falling per fectly flat from waistline to\ ankle sleeves that outlined the arm, weight ed sashes that followed the lank line of the skirts, hats that were pulled down over the head, eclipsing the hair, and wraps that hugged the figure from hip to knee as closely as a sur- gical bandage hugs a sprain. Very very gradually have fashions become fluffy" and now they are as fluffy as fashions can be, and even so, ac- cordng to the immutable law of Fashion, vastly more pleasing than the lank effects which we wonder now we ever found so fetching.
 Lines Trend Upward, Suggesting Live
 Illness.
 All the lines of the modish costume trend upward. The hair is drawn high on the head and the hat is tilted up at the back on a bandeau, giving a chic, saucy suggestion to the head. Collars flare upward, sashes are pulled upward to give the waist a slantinp line. Draperies are invariably up- ward to show the feet at back or front. The very parasol, with its sharp peak at the top, suggests sauciness rather than benevolent shade. One thing in the costume points down and that is the long, slim toe of the buttoned boot. and all smart boots are carefully treed the moment they are removed to make certain that no slightest upward tilt of the toe-tip shall suggest the now horrible bulldog toe effect which is worse than out of style. so bad is its form.
 Wraps have gone in for the up- ward trend of line with more enthu- siasm than any other part of the cos tune. except perhaps the pannier- tunic. Wraps are looped up, tucked up. shirred up. caught up with sashes, and otherwise made to have a bouf- fant effect that entirely hides the figure beneath. The French wraps of bright colored silk displayed at some of the smart New York openings this spring were marvels of shapeless bag giness. Yards and yards of expensive material seemed to have been punched into them without the slightest effor. to achiSNe any motif of line. Yet they were smart-oh. infinitely smart! And equally costly!
 One of the new, bunched-up wraps is pictured. and despite the fact of its shapelessness, it's smartness must be admitted. At the hips 1t is a yerita- ble bag, although at the shoulders il does outline the fgure-that is the lines of shoulder and arm slightly. Ii is very authoritative wrap, by Dre- aoll. and 1t is made of black ea,lxy