Evening star., 1916-01-02

/ ture is afraid of its own weakness.
1t is well that this is SO. because to
deal in colors one must be master
artist. And how is one to know when
more fear. there would be less bad
dressing.
! There are women who sit in public
places and comment with assurance
on the beauty and ugliness of passing
! clothes. and their voices are the
! voices of wisdom and authority; you
| believe that they know whereof they
speak until your eye falls upon their
| own costumes. With the conviction
that theory should be allied to prac-
tice, YOU instantly have humiliating
sense that probably YOU are all wrong.
too.
Everywhere. on every side. if one
viii face the truth, one is convinced
of the inadequacy of human judg-
ment concerning clothes. One woman
said the other day that she was so
alarmed at the failure of others that
She rushed into deep black. which
was the most unbecoming thing she
could possibly wear; finding this out.
she gave UP in despair and remained
home III wrapper for two weeks.
Sho told this to Il friend who an
SWered that She had anchored in Sc
rene waters at last. for she had taken
to heart the remark of her negro nurse
who said. in eXtenuation of her mi $
hard to be an old maid if YOU just
quit a-Strugglin'.' She had ceased to
struggle with clothes and had taken up
more interesting things in life, regard
less OF her appearance
All of which has to do with the sub
DUNG of our street clothes. Concern
ing brilliant colors. daringly mingled,
we have timidity because we know our
ignorance and our limitations. We put
the ban of our diSapproval upon those
u hrit in he str
and that is why the insurgents in dress
in Paris have had little commercial
success in America.
But the thread of scarlet is showing
more during the war than it has for
two decades. Why is this? Don't yol
think that it is an interesting condi-
tion that the wearing of gorgeous
clothes comes simultaneously with the
letting loose of the primitive instincts
in War-that when men go about per-
committing murder i'll millions. women
go about in the evening looking like
tropical sunsets
:: =
In the beginning of the autumn there
was a rush for colored clothes in the
street simply because women had be-
come used to the gorgeous sweaters of
summer. There was never hot
weather season When women IN mass
blazed SO brilliantly in the SUNSHINE.
The shortage of dyes was the talk of
commerce, and yet colors were pro-
duced in these woolen and silk jackets
that have never been equaled.
The same is trle of the ia brics that
We're given to us to choose this au-
tumn No tone seemed too difficult to
get in fabric. Instead of black, dark
blue and brown for the street, we had
several shades Of green, red, purple
and deep yellow. Then something hap
pened WEAKNESS set in, or possibly
reaction from violent indiscretion
The new suits thct are being advoca ted
for the winter are in dark. subdued
colors.
The interesting part of it is that
We grow more gorgeous by night. No
artist can complain of a lack of brill
ltancy in any house gathering this win
ter. 1t is not only fashiona BILE to Ise
faring plain colors, but it is also fash
ionable to blend opposing colors.
The gown that seems to have caught
hold of the publc's affection is made of