Evening star., 1916-11-26
BY ANNE RITTENHoUSE.

F1HE complaint being made by
those who do not care to array
themselves in the glory of Solo
q mon after the sun goes down is
that il is difficult to find garments that
are suitable for the moderate social
gayeties that confront one from now
/ until April.
The American. as 4 class, finds far
/ more satisfaction in wearing what are
known as evening clothes than the
masses of people in other countries.
Even in England, where dressing for
dinner is an institution as old as so
. ciety the average woman of simple
means and pleasures is apt still to
confne herself to that accomm odating
system of having two hlouses for one
skirt: one for the day and one for the
night.
Not only is this the practice i'll Eng
lish novels: do not believe that the
only English women who dress in this
manner are those heroines who go to
a great house for a week end with
merely this style of clothing in their
bag; the real ones do ii.
the. average American believed in this
sartorial creed She stjll goes to the
theater in a dark tailored suit ana a
thin light blouse topped by a street
hat when she does not pretend to be IN
fashionable circles, but this is usual
" a matter of expediercy rather than
of ignorance.
We are rapidly becoming nation of
Suburhanites. and are inclined to
: crowd ali the pleasures Of life into a
twelve hour day when we are in the
city, and we do not find II convenient
to remain away from the theater or Il
restaurant for dinner. because we can
not go home to array ourselves accord
ing to the dictates of fashion. There
fore. the wearing of the coat SUIT and
hat from the first car in to the last car
out Therefore, the kind of combina-
tion.
The people who make and sell blouses
are complaining today that the demand
for these garments is falling on be
cause the one-piece gown has been
found so satisfying. and the topcoat
so comfortable. SO they are. The coat
suit was intended only as strictly
street garment: but il has been adopted
as a costume that serves all purposes
until one retires for the night. and
from the way that hundreds of women
wear it one feels they are depri"ed of
actual happiness by having to discard
il when the light is turned off.
= *
A falling off in blouses is always
threatened as each season advances.
and each season sees them selling like
peanuts at circus. Whatever one
wears one is brought up on the tradi
ton that certain number of blouses
are necessary to happiness: they fit in
where other garments fail to satisfy.
The men who make them. and nothing
else in New York. say they cannot take
another order for sIX months. and that
for six years they have not had
breathing spell even between the sea-
SONS.
Smart women who used to order their
biouseS from Paris. because of the ex-
quisite needlework. have found this
method made almost Impossible since
the war. and their orders have recently
made specialists in this country suffi-
cientiy ricn TO think of gong to Eu-
rope themselves.
The needIewo ork of our southern
now it is the fashion to say my under
linen and blouses come from Virginia,
or Georgia. or the Carolinas" Women
in these states who have their skill
with the needle handed down through
successive generations are showing to
the skeptics- that we can turn out
lingerie in this country that is reason
ably priced and without flaw The tidal
wave of tourists from the snow
countries who sent their baggage
down to the pines instead Of .he
Riviera found that they could replenish
their stock of haud-embroIdered and
rolled and whipped white clothing at
price that was comfortably near that
of France. and minus the customs duty
Every woman finds herself, therefore.
well supplied with separate waists. but
the significant feature of this part Of