Evening star., 1915-06-13
Special Correspondence Of The Star
NEW YORK. June 12.

NEW YORK, June II.
-HE separate blouse does not ap-
pear in the historical record oi
women's costume until our own
< time The nearest approach 10
such a thing is found in the peasant
dress of most sections of Europe. the
beginning of this quite short or long
.leeved garment, which makes an IN
variable part of their costume. was the
chemise: a long, straight garment OF
hand woven linen. with round. gain
cred neck, and either very short or
long, plain sleeves over 1t was worn
a full skirt and a short laced bodlce OF
some sort. which, with the come ana
almost indispensable apron. made up
the European peasant costume from
the tip Of the Scandinavian peninsula
to the end of the boot of Italy.
The introduction of the separate
blouse into polite society is one OF the
few real sartorial novelties OF our
time. Although we might imagine Its
origin to be the peasant chemlse, II Is
said to have been inspired by that mas
culine garment, the shirt, and of no less
a parsonage than the great Garloaidi;
Certainly the earlier ones were calleo
gari ba ldis.
Possibly they were evolved to go
with the womans tailor suit. with
which they made an almost simultane-
Gus appearance. At any rate they were
manly affairs at first. starched and
stiff, with a shoulder yoke. stick-up
collar worn with a severe tie. and at
tached cuffs fastened by links. Ihey
were usually made of colored g1ngham m
or a figured material, seldom IN "hlte.
which was considered too shirtlike, and
were distinctly a morning wear gar
ment-
Gradually they were feminized and
softened; the collars came off and were
replaced by ribbon stocks. and heavy
things of folded velvet with tabs at the
back or under each ear. Soon they
were made of frivolous materials. such
a silk and lace. but they still remain
ed for some time an "undress' gar
ment.
All of sudden the use of the sepa-
rate blouse as means of smartening
tailor suit for more formal wear was
discovered. Then woman-kind went
rather mad about the blouse for a time.
and such extremes as elaborate decol-
lete evening waists were quite often
seen with velvet or taffeta skirts. Day.
time blouses would be made of the
brightest available satins to match the
gay Innings which were then in vogue,
or to contrast with them violently, ac-
cording to individual taste.
The effect was somewhat incongru-
GUS, exaggerated. and the break be-
tween body and skirt was often most
unkind to the figure, so that as soon
as women realized this the next step
was naturally one-color scheme of
blouse in harmony with the suit.
This idea was found SO convenient
and SO practical that it had a long
lease of life, and has not entirely dis
appeared even yet. At the same time
the washable blouse has developed. too.
and gone through its own various
phases. 1t was no longer allowed to be
only a masculine. starched affair, but
began to be daintily and richly en-
inserts and fine tucking. The exqui-
site hand work of the sewing women
of Paris found new opportunity. All
the trousseau and layette makers be-
came chemisette makers too; and visi-
tors to the French capital brought
back lovely models which were the
envy of all beholders.
Copies. more often machine stitched
and embroidered. were made in this
country for those who could neither
go abroad for them nor afford the fab
ulous prices Of the importers. Hand
kerchief linen and batiste were the
materials. but soon other thin mate
riais, wash chiffon, veiles. and, finally,
Georgette crepe were employed, until
today we have the filmy. frilly bit Of
softness which is the latest stage OF
evolution from the old garibaldi.
They have proved their usefulness
as a convenience and a stop-gap to
such an extent that. although the
precious rose against the unsightly
peak at the waist line. and their abo-
lition is threatened each season, they
still retain their place year after year.
There will always be an army of pro-
fessional and sportswomen who could
not disregard them even II they
would. Many of US have been placed
in a situation where the immediate
buying of blouse was a necessity.
In such an emergency we have far
better choice than formerly. The fit
and workmanship. to say nothing of
the materials, of the ready-to-wear
blouses have been enormously i'm
proved Five dollars used to be
beginning price for an inferior model.
but now there is a wide variety OF
wearable garments at this
figure.
We shall learn this year what the
domestic manufacturers can produce