The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-02-28
nv ELEANOR Wo,r nn>I>EuD.

iu be uvcrwuikcd this season
and that word is quaint
one hears ii wherever rev
frocks and hats are being discussed.
Salcswomen. manneuuiuS. customers
all clutch AT it in an effort 10 meet
,NigenCics that the long familiar
"smart" and ohio and good looking
do not adequately cover Victorian
modes are responsible for the situation.
One may Ike them or one nay not
like them; be. IN either case one may
yall them quaint.
To he consist.nt they should also
b. demure. Some of them are. Look
ing over the s.t2'lv Of new models.
one is impressed 10y a certain primueSs
among them. a rather mOnutunuus
simplicity. II is an excellent thing
to have modish frocks that can
he copied by the home seamstrcss,
but IT Is a distressing thing TO have "A
large percentage of a seasons frOcks
look az though they had been made by
a home seamstress. That is what seems
10 he happening to the bulk of the
moderate priced ready mad modes.
They may he quaint, they may he
simple. hut they do - achieve charm
and they lack the cement of sOphis-
tication that makes simplicity demure,
Occasionally one secs a Victorian
model that is altogether del ghtful.
Less often one sees "A Victorian model
delightfully."- worn. Perhaps. after
all. the fault is in the type Of the
wearer rather than in the type Of the
frock.
The girl or woman of 1915 is not
demure. Pretty. perhaps. or %piquant.
able to give a sid glance n -
down. but not demure. and in her
Victorian frock she impresses "A critic
as being dressed for a fancy dress
ball rather than for the affairs ~
ordinary life. Moreover. unless she
is very slender her figure does not
lend itself readily To the Victorian
illusion.
The large waist and he Victorian
frock are frankly al odds. Even 1,
the bodice is fitted somewhat snugly.
the discrepancy remains for any saw
q s~ylphlike figure. The dressmakers
have not had the courage of their con
victions and demanded corsets def
nitely laced in at he waist. The
women have had the courage of theii
convictions and ClunG To- their com
Portable corsets. and the result +
that the mode and the woman stan,
greatly in need OF compromise.
Luckily compromises have beer
made even in Victorian models. ant
still more luckily. Victorian ideas Il,
not by any means ~monopoliZe tn,
field, though the 'twiNt season
put Of American manufacturers wa.
calculated To give one the impression
that such was the ease.
You are not absolutely doomed &
uuaintno.S and occurrences, mes
DANES. Turn your backs upon then
II they do not suit your temperament!
and physiques. BE Empire or Russian
or military or nondcsCript- Don
wear your skirts to the shoe tops /
you are not psychologically or anatom
icGlly built thtt way. Don y
your skirt fulness flare If your fiGur
calls for straight lines. Don't tit you
bodiccs snugly If the snuSncss j. no
becoming. Don't wear an val q
round or square neck IL a V suit
your face and throat better. Don
Sc long light sleeves into armhol'
eeams Il YOU sigh for short sleeves an
JapaneSe shoulders.
For there is no hard and fast mi
about any one Of these things and tn
famous French houses are turning
out models that give one authorit,
for almost any dress heresy a
skimpincSS of material. And beside.
the ome have not been heard fNr
in regard tn the ~flounced and ilarin.
and generally inartlstic lines that mir
rored so admirably the spirit of a
epoch dominated by a great ana GOO
old lady who could net by any st"rt'
Of enthusiastic Loyalty hc laudcd 80
her aesthetic side. II will Ice interest
ing to sec how far ONE will accop
the Victoria idea and what rclatip
Tho models Of June vii h,tr t. IN
models nf February.
Meanwhile ii IL interesting tu waite
tho blooming OF these SAME F.hruar
models and the fashion c|Npluitiu
methods brought int" plan. M ".
known designer whnS" early up"utu
showed the charm that could Ice it
stillcd into u%uaintuo~~ when an artl'