Evening star., 1916-12-10
a Government Order Has Done to the Fashions

should have stirred the vast industry
that Is turning out womens apparel
over here. The old question immedi:
be the time for America to design her
own evening clothes. This is not prob
able. The hue and cry that Is going
on about 1t is without foundation. the
experts think.
There was no lack Of imported even
Ing gowns during the first year OF the
war when. Paris was in Its deepest
styles were launched upon that part
Of the world that fndu1ged in evening
dress. The last summer. when there
was no attempt at gayety in France.
revolution by Withdrawing the eight
eenth century and substituting the
twelfth century.
The. most decided symptom of this
Ing hight at the Metropolitan Opera
house, to which all dress critics focked
to- see If rumors had come true. Fash.
ionably dressed women. whether or. not
looked as though they were appearing
at a fancy dress ball in Italian cos
tunes of the middle ages. Splendid
materials dropped from the shoulders
were girdled at the hips with belts OF
jewel or bullion. Heavy pile velvet
in burnt orange. Egyptian blue. Vati-
can purple and royal red were worn
OF the Louis Quinze period.
If France has turned two somersau1ts
in the silhouette during the two years
of the war. there is no reason to sup
pose she cannot keep up the somer-
saulting that is bringing millions of
francs into her industrial channels.
The dressmakers who returned from
Europe in September prophesied that
| the tea gown would be, an important fea-
ture of fashionable apparel soon
as winter began, for the reason that
France was giving up evening dress
and substituting the loose indoor robe.
When a nation that leads the world
in dress is spending it's time in its own
home after. candlelight. and adopting
the kind Of apparel that is peculiarly
European and very artistic. then 1t Is
safe for the experts to assume that the
rest of the world will follow its lead.
England is also given over to artistic
and luxurious tea gowns. as we call
them. and indoor robes. as Europe calls
them. London boasts q designer who
exerts her entire originality upon this
style of dress, and it is only in the
last year that we have brought over
her creations and persuaded women to
adopt them.
The one thing that appeals to the
incoming fashion of the indoor gown
is that 1t can be made from evening
gowns that are not quite in the pres
ent picture. All those who are inter
ested in the economies of dress have
preached the loose tea gown for ones
own home after o'clock in the after
noon as a means of preserving ones
other apparel; and rest assured. this
Is the reason the French use it. because
they have no class so rich that 1T does
not know thrift.
You know by personal experience
that wearing the skirt belonging to the
tailored suit in the house after the
coat has been removed is just merely
running the suit: and dressing for din
ner, which has become such a univer-
sal custom among nearly all classes OF
,, American life in the last six years, is
too expensive practice, for it means
that ones evening gown suitable for
some one e1se's dinner or a dance is
used. A gracious compromise lies in
the indoor robe.
The fault found with 1t in recent
wears has been that it's fiimsy quality
makes it too chilly for all houses. al
though overheating of American rooms
is the rule instead of the incident
This trouble has been offset by the