Evening star., 1915-04-25

ity In that way. but many believe the
lack Of it to be a lesser evil A gar
ment bought any other way Is 1nvar1-
ably a gamble. No label changes the
fact.
Because of this realization Of fire.
auent failures Of the $4,000 or the $40
kind equally important in ratio to
the purses). is built up an enormous
trade in ready-made clothing. Even
the men have been bitten by the de-
saved, There is no life today SO
leisurely placed as to give much time
to clothes without begrudging 1t. POS.
sibly the hours save1 are not spent
least. it Is given over to doing what
one prefers to do And that Is some
thing in this wild scramble from the
cradle to the grave which spells hre.
In this mad imbroglio Of efficiency
in which we are involved. saws
critic of modern manners. the mere
doing of something for no reason at
all is a triumph of our original souls
over our machine-made brains.
dav or and stu,v the conflicting
fashions that beset one on every side.
One can bring chaos to order il the
mind and judgment Is strong. and
concentration is all that the moralists
a barefoot boy into a multinlillion-
aire. CYou know the style Of the aver
age interview with the plutocrat.'
If YOU find fault with the full skirt
you are within the law. 1t is an ugly
fashion, full of ways that are vain
and tricks that are dark, as some one
sang of a race inferior to our own.
If it is long, it has depths Of awk-
wardness that none can dive into and
remedy. If it is ultra short. none but
the young and the slim with the we'll
turned ankle and foot can wear it.
The fashion for the high-hee.ed
shoe has already been brought into
being by adoption of this abbreviated
skirt, and the woman who is too tall
or too sensible to teeter along on
pair of curved stills on the cobble-
stones of the public thoroughfares is
aware that the swirling skirt Is not
for her. 1t does not go well with fiat
heels. 1t is hideous above the ankle
| that is bony and the one that is thick.
1t shows them to worse advantage
than even the narrow skirt did. It
worst part of the ankle. but the wide
skirt must be six inches, at least,
from the ground or the effect is aging
and awkward.
The graceful compromise lies in the
| wide upper skirt with the moderately
material. There may even be a con-
trast of fabric If one manages the
combination with skill. When dark
blue serge forms the frock. then black
satin or taffeta is admirable beneath.
If one likes a moderate use of the
somber plaids Of the season. here is a
chance.
More and more do tho evening
skirts tend to that festooned hem that
was favorite trick in 1870, as well as
in several otheA decades. The fullness
is adjusted wGh roses and caught
into some semblance of Turkish trou-
sers. as Cheruit and Worth show 1t,
although the inspiration did not come
from the land near the Dardanelles.
One dressmaker has dared to drop
the skirt to the floor, and there Is a
whisper that fashion tends in that di-
rection and that it is best to enjoy
the short skirt now and not waste
time in anathema. It's day is brief:
its sands are numbered.
Little by little the boned bodice
creeps into the evening gowns and
elaborate afternoon frocks also. and
we are no longer surprised at the