Middletown transcript., 1916-12-30
Fur Coats and Earrings Again

and there are women in India who still
grid their loins with the skins o
beasts. Logic and reasoning are no
behind the wearing of peltry; it is tn
absolute expression of primordial in
stinct.
The skins Of the animals are no
the same; they differ as the world
epOchS differ. It was quite easy fo
woman of the stone age to inves
herself in the skin of a stone age ami
NAL, but today it takes many skins
from the squirrel, ermine. sable, rab
bit or rat to make one garment fOl
one woman.
1t was necessary to introduce semi
precious furs, because 1t was not pos
sible for the masses to pay the price
of the precious ones; so this winter
we have a vast variety from which Il
choose.
The furrlers say there Is no one
animal that reigns supreme and that
the peltry Of any animal is wOrtf
while if 1t passes through the right
hands. The art of the furrier has be
come significant. His is the magic
quality to make squirrel look like
sable, to make raccOon and 'pOssum
reach important heights and to pui
pony skin on a pedestal. He has
learned how to point the common fox
and lift the wolf into greatness. He
has made beaver almost precious and
has made Belgian hare do some serv
ice to the world.
1t is no wonder, therefore, that G
woman pays well for peltry, no mat
Her dollars go to the furrier, and that
is where she is far behind the stone
age woman who employed no middle
man between the beast and the gar
ment.
The Fashion in Furs.
There are two or three things that
one might say are out Of fashion: first
the band Of fur on the hem Of a cloth
or velvet coat; second, the small ami
NAL with head and tails worn snuglJ
around the neck. No one who dresses
well is partial to the usage of the en-
tire animal this season, which Is well
for there is nothing artistic about the
head, CLASSY eyes and feet Of a dead
animal hanging below wOman'S live
face. Why look like the hunter home
from the field?
The small neckpiece is in the shape
Of half muffler or a whole one if you
like, provided that the two ends are
fastened in front. Unless q single end
thrown over the shoulder is excessively
weighted, it is O nuisance to the wear
er.
The extra high cOachman's collar OF
fur remains in fashion for those who
do not like to spoil the shapeliness of
tf1eir shoulders and back by hanging
drapery. The fashionable neckpiece
is really shOulderpiece, for in many
of the best models it extends to the
Waistline. There is a snugneSs about
the shoulders that is reminiscent OF
Yictorlanism.
The prevailing fur coats have less
flare than last winter, unless they are
cut three-quarter length. The long
ones hang in straight, medieval line
with sometimes deep band Of anOth'
er fur at the hem. Their rivals, the
velour and velvet coats, have the hem
free of peltry, but make up for this
omission by lavishness at the waist
the neck and the wrists.
Immense Slavic belts Of fur, Orna.
mented with barbaric designs of jew
els in front, are fashionable for gowns
and coats. Wristlets Of fur that reach
almost to the elbow are also in de-
mand.
The muff is small affair, barrel
shaped and usually made Of two kinds
of fur. It's distinguishing feature is
simplicity. It has no cOrdings nor
frills nor ornamentation.
Evening gowns are trimmed with
fur, and evening coats are heaped with
1t. Black and white tails Of ermine
are used to fringe the edges of velvet
evening gowns, and on one distin-
guished black velvet dinner frock there
are shoulder straps of ermine and a
ribbon of the same peltry
that is spread across the chest and
finished at the waist with O rOsette.
Among the furs that are offered as
first choice this season are ermine,
kolinski, flying squirrel, sealskin, Bel
gian rabbit, sable, skunk, mOleskin
and beaver. The smooth peltries are
preferred to the lOng-haired ones. Even
such furs as kolinsH and skunk have
a razor passed down them by the fur
rler to bring them to the sOftness of
sealskin. This is the first time that
It has been possible to make that
coarse fur called skunk becoming to
the face.
Copyright, 1916, by the Mcclure Newspa-