The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-01-10
WOMAN And THE HOME
Fragile, Lacey Underdress
Has Surely Come to Stay
Lingerie Made Necessary by Transparent Blouses
Has Conquered the Hearts of Women

"Can afford them?' asks the woman
who looks with longing eyes at the friv-
olous whimsicalities that make up the
underdress of today. She knows that they
win only wear short time. but they are
soft and pretty. The willy manufacturer
realizes that he is playing on the innate
love Of women for dainty belongings
when he offers them the fragile lingerie
Of the hour. and that the softer and finer
and more beautiful he can make these
garments the more Irresistible will be
their appeal.
There are other reasons for the beauty
and fragility OF the modern underdress.
and one of the most rational il the ex-
IRENE transparency of the outer cover
ings. II the chiffon or lace covering were
stretched over the homely. warranted-to-
wear muslins of decade ago the result
would be rather ugly: instead. they only
partially veil lingerie as filmy and as
beautiful as any part of the outer COS
tune. Women are refusing to let this
mode pass into oblivion, and the new cos
tunes, which are heralding the spring.
display bodices quite as transparent AZ
any model worn in the past. and skirts
that reveal at every step lacy frills and
founces.
Not Limited to Princesses.
Though the first impression one receives
after looking over bewilderingly lovely
array of lingerie Is that such garments
are only permissible for the modern fairy
princess-the daughter of a mult1pillion-
aire-they are really not 50 extravagant.
Even chiffon will launder well II care Is
taken, while crepe de chine can be washed
as satisfactorily as muslin. provided a
good quality Of material is purchased.
There have been many complaints re-
garding the inferior qualities OF crepe de
chine that the manufacturers have real
lied the Importance of using a better
grade for their undergarments. There are
also other fabrics which have the same
transparent and gossamerlike qualities as
chiffon. One OF the most popular Is crys-
talline, a combination Of silk and linen.
with the good qualities of both. The
chipan crepes, the silk voiles, and OF
course handkerchief linen and batiste are
other favored materials. The silk Jersey
fabrics, known under the title of Italian
silk and other trade names, are used these
days not only for undervests and combi-
nations, but for the cache-corsets com
binations, to slip over the corset and pet
ticoats. As they cling TO the figure with
glovelike outline. they answer to a nicely
the demands of the modern underdress.
Lines of Garments.
The desire for a transparency that al
most amounts to audacity is probably ac-
countable for the vogue of the pink and
nesh-tone lingerie. Though the other pas
tel tints are shown and sold to a certain
extent. none IL as generally popular as
pink. The sheer, delicately tinted lingerie
frocks. however. are almost sure to bring
into favor variously colored underdress,
and one may be compelled to provide I'm
gerie to match each of the sheer frocks.
In style, the different lingerie garments
follow the modes of the outer costume.
There is for instance, a noticeable full
ness under the arms of the night robes
and even of many of the cache-corsets
and combinations, just as there is on the
newest blouses.