Evening star., 1917-10-31
OF Interest TO Women
BUsTLE GOWNS OF THE SEASON.
BY ANNE RITTENHoUsE.

Special Correspondence of The Star.
NEW YORK. October 30.-There is
no doubt that the hustle was the
significant contribution which America
gave to the seasons silhouette. The
name is SO ugly and the drapery itself
30 inoffensive that 1t is quite a pity its
designers did not feature 1t under
another title.
have read much Of 1t would be surpris-
ed to see how commonly 1t Is worn In
the thoroughfares of New York and
how little comment 1t causes. When
Ina Claire wears 1t every woman in the
audience sits up straight and fails to
catch every line of the play for fifteen
minutes, but the gown worn by the
actress is the most exaggerated edition
of this new skirt. 1t is quite worth
while to forget the play and watch
hour. In Japanese velvet. with two
black aigrettes sticking out over the
hustle and a half belt made Of open
Jet diamonds. this gown is extraor-
This is as it should be. The de-
signcr. the playwright, the actress and
the stage director put great deal
of faith in the riot this frock would
create.
However. the gowns which initiate
this one and which appear in an in
conspicuous manner from a soda water
fountain to a Red Cross meeting are
as an attractive but simple addition to
the silhouette Of the hour.
A Bit Of Drapery.
After ALL this far-famed hustle is
merely a bit of clever drapery arrang-
ed to break the silhouette. Last year it
appeared on the hips. This year is
appears over the spine. That is all.
There is not the least use in a conti-
nent Of women getting excited over 1t
and the critics calling it return to
days that were dreadful and styles
that were impossible. 1t is easy to
arrange by the home dressmaker-in
than the plain chemise frock, which
must be cut by an expert to prevent
it from drawing across the back in a
way that is both ugly and absurd.
Bulloz puts this hustle effect straight
across the front Of the gown, and we in
America transfer it to the back. His
new skirts. which are quite popular.
have two or three caught-up folds run
from hip to hip. then dropping in a
cascade of fullness at each side.
You can choose between the Ameri-
can and the French silhouette when
ever you like. Neither one is ugly.
Both use up bit more material than
-
the oressmakers who have been adopt
ing the hustle were a bit dismayed
over the quiet appearance 1t made
among the throng Of people. For this,
or for some other reason. they have
chosen to put the hustle on gowns OF
glaring colors. so that 1t will not es-
cape the eye. as 1t has been doing.
A Quantity Of Braiding.
On all these hustle gowns. as, in fact,
on all the frocks Of the hour. there is
SO much braiding that one wonders
who is to do 1t. The shops insist that
we have enough workers to turn it out
by the mile. It is constantly allied to
the hustle and brings back the Ameri-
can fashions of nearly twenty years
ago. Then we wore dark green and
red gowns, heavily braided, with
straight. short coats and high collars
that enveloped the chin and ears. To-
day we do the same. The gown which
is shown in the sketch today has the
hustle and the braiding, and yet it re-
mains exceedingly attractive in
modern setting, old-fashioned as 1t Is.
1t is a street costume that can be