The Washington herald., 1914-01-11
By ELIxABErH LEE.
tcep,nsA.. laa,


It In. of course, a far easier matter to
dress very thin woman, even tnough
she be q veritable beanpole. than II II
attractiveIy to gown the stout woman.
An overplus Of flesh can be modined, u
In true. by a wise choice OF colors ana
styles, but II one knows how the thin
woman can be dressed In a way that. the
lack OF flesh will never be apparent ana
this with comfort as we'll Thus the thin
woman's decided advantage over her
stout sister.
Still the thin woman has her trials in
matters sartorial. too, and this is espe-
cialiy so when she Is also very short
Undoubtedly the most dificuit type 10
dress successfully Is the short, stout
thin. short woman ranks next. for she
would be referred to other than as that
insignificant little thing"
In dressing the short, thin girl IL is not
only necessary to give her breadth. but
heixht must be suggested or preserved
as well. As a means her frocks must be
cut as long as comfort and fashion viii
allow. An inch taken from the bottom OF
the skirt will detract (apparentiy) two
inches from the height Of the wearer. A
short train is always becoming. Most
little women are aware of this and think
that because the short train seems to add
to their height a long one viii give
greater increase. But this Is a mistake.
A tall, thin woman may trail yards of
drapery behind her. which the little
woman carrying even half the length will
look like a small girl dressed up in
mothers evening gown. A good rule to
remember Is that the train should be
about two-thirds OF the length of the
skirt. Thus IL the skirt measures thirty
six inches the train should be twenty
four inches long. Any skirt trimming
should be arranged vertically.
Present styles Kind.
The present styles are kind to the short.
1 am not thinking OF the extremely
bouffant effects. but of the drapery over
the hips taken up into the belt, leaving a
plain straight line from belt to hem in
the front and a very slight drapery in
the back. Here breadth is suggested, but
not at a sacrifice TO height. II goes with
out saying that / have a dress of ono
color in mind. not a separate skirt and
blouse. In fact, the little woman must
avoid the two-piece dress always. She
will look chic and dainty in a plain, we'll
tailored skirt and natty shirtwaist in the
morning. but anything on the fancy
blouse order and a separate skirt will be
fatal to her.
In choosing her belt for a shirtwaist
toilet, IL she is long-waisted the belt
should match the skirt II short-waisted.
then the belt and waist must correspond
in color. The skirt finished to wear with
out belt is the best choice of any.
Nearly all the 'dressy'' frocks are I'M
ished with belts or girdles OF some kind.
Only the narrowest should be worn by
the type IN question IL of a contrasting
color to the dress. The yoke or v OPEN
ing should not be too deep. but may be
broad. The yoke or frill may run out as
far as the sleeves and so suggest breadth.
but IL the yoke Is deep height will be
sacrificed
The short, thin girl Is fortunate II she
Is also short-waisted, because the Valy
waists with little pun sleeves and the
Empire styles will be so becoming to her.
They will make her look taller. too. Most
little women strive for a long waist, bus
It is not generally known that q long
waist Is 4 masculine trait. and no pretty
little woman wants to suggest man
nishness at all. 1t is her duty to be just |
sweet and dainty.
Always Becoming.
A drapery over sleeve tops arranged to |
meet just about the bust is always be- |
coming. and a sailor collar as a finish |
to everyday frocks Is good The back |
NAV be broad but a long narrow V