The sun., 1916-01-09
ny B.EA>on Hoyr BRAINERD.


mas money it will not he the
= fault of the merchants. Allur- |
ing after Christmas sales are every
where and bargain counters are piled
high with temptation. but the canny
woman treads warily in the matter of
bargains this season.
Exclusive stocks are low. Every
where before Christmas one heard the
regret that demand was great and
supply was short. There Is floating
prophecy of many complications in the
coming season because Of this increas-
ing shortage. and so the logical
woman asks, why bargains?" and
fingers over her buying instead OF
giving herself UP to the usual fine
frenzy.
Where frocks are concerned there
In anothc difficulty in the way Of the
bargain hunter. Usually she finds in
the January sales quantities OF
modes she has coveted earlier In the
season and that now are mostly lower
In price and need but n little freshen-
Ing. This year tullc has played such
4 conqNering role, particularly in the
province of the evening frock that
left over models are likely to have
sadly bedragg.ed air and 10 restore
their exquisite, fragile freshness would
almost offset the lure OF their bargain
prices.
OF course there are bargain frocks
" sturdler stuffs, but here again one
hesitatcs. The most popular types or
velvet street costumes and cloth cos
tumes have undeniably been run into
the ground. one cannot by any
stretch Of the imeg nation see them
being worn next autumn. ana inns
season Is half gone. So unless one Is
picking up something with the arowed
purpose of ragging 1t out in the next
two or possibly three moHths II Is
well to choose with very carefui CON
Alteration of the makeover possioil-
lies lurking in the bargain and OF the
actual value in its materials.
All of which is prosaic and deWess-
Ing advice and will be entirely ignored
by any woman who sets SAIL Tor par
gan land with money in her pocket
and credulty in her heart.
IL she does not insist upon marked
,lc,yn goods. but merely wants to spend
her money on something she Will en-
nov. there are absolutely fresh frocks
n plenty to meet her needs and there
are even advance spring ana summer
models prepared for the Southern re-
sopt season, but likely to be availa-
h,e next summer even IL fashion veers
enourh to prevent their being the
very latest things In line or material
The late season demand for evening
frocks is so dressmakers say. rather
better than usual, thanks to the per-
lshablc nature Of so many Of the pret-
test frocks, and. though dancing is
not the universal. mad epidemic II
was last winter, there is still enough
bf II to make the wear and tear on
evening frocks very considerable, par
ficularly where those same dance
frocks are but clouds of tulle. The
Empress Eugen!e's practice of chang
ing her tulle frock several times dur
ing an evening so that she might ap-
pear as crisply immaculate at the eve
ning's end as at its beginning Is not
likely to find favor with even the most
fastidious bellies of the present day;
hut maids and dressmakers are kept
busy replacing and freshening those
perishable layers and draperies OF
fimy stuff. and tulle, in large guam
titles, is no inexpensive item.
Once in while one runs across
an evening frock in which tulle plays
not even the slightest of parts. but
the number of these exceptions is
models in which the main body of the
frock in of comparatively substa ntial
material, while tulle enters into the
design merely In floating sleeves or
shoulder draperies or frills or under
skirt.
Such frock as the black satin cne
Of the sketch, for example, has an air
of tilmlness, yet is really Il practical
Gock as such things go now; for its
skirt Is of soft black satin, calculated
to stand considerable hard wear. Its
bodice is of net so thickly set with
Set and rhinestones as to have much
substance and the Crushable, diapha-
nous tulle element is confined tC
long shoulder and sleeve draperies
which are immensely softening ant
graceful, yet can easily be kept fresh
Again and again the designers re.
peat this idea, though with innumer-
able variations. and the results are
often admirable. though II the tule /.
not 10 arranged that II Is fairly safe
70, sit on it there's nothing for the
wearer to do but stand up throughout
an evening or resign herself to look
ing much crumpled and mussy before
the evening Is past.
The designers blithely ignore al
such practical considerations and d,
not hesitate to add tulle train TO {
model otherwise substantial If the.
feel that a tu.le train will improve tn,
artistic effect which IL doubtless quit,
as II should be in a matter of greatly,
genius. but worries the nateralisti'
soul of the woman who must need
wear her froCks IA long time ana ye
yearns over a charming model whea
she sees il.
There, is a royal blue and b'acl
evening frock that never fails " viii
nurmurs of approval from conserva
tives who in spite of their Conserva
tism like to keep pace with changing
modes. II has long becoming Ines il
front, secured by folds of heav!
palette material falling, unbroken
from bust TO hem and vanishing grace
fully at bottom into the skirt folds
Between these long lines in froHt tn
Dodice is softly g!rdled and the unde
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