Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1917-12-22

New York.-As the current of clothes
goes rushing by, one has a strong
temptation to reach out and grasp at
the straws that are swrllng along on
the top.eddies.
Standing on the bank and watching
the brilliant things borne down the
stream, one Is strongly reminded of an
alluring article by Mr.. Beebe, the ex-
plorer, who has brought back so much
that was worth while to the geological
knowledge in America.
Mr.. Beebe rests quietly on a bank,
as he tells it, by which passes a great,
swiftly flowing stream which comes
from the heart of the jungle and
which is full of mystery and color and
splendid exotic life. The stream has
caught on its top current parts of this
life, and as he studies it, keenly and
with knowledge, as 1t swiftly goes by
him, he is able to form in his mind
just what the life of that special
jungle is. Fauna and fora go by, an
opossum with its young, peculiar
kind of snake on log, bits Of wood
that explain the tree growth, birds
that have been caught in branches and
cannot extricate themselves. On, on
goes the colorful stream, rushing past
the fiat mud bank and explaining to
the zoologist and ornithologist the en-
tire life and personality of the source
from which all these things come.
1t Is thus In fashions. All the tu-
multi, the revolt, the color, the per-
cOnality and the life of a country flow
by In this semi-annual stream of
clothes that are symbols of their
sources. And the one who stands on
the bank wants to reach out hand
or throw out graphing pole, as Mr..
Beebe did, and bring In for closer OBJ
servation the peculiar and particular
things that can be developed into a
whole chapter of interest.
Sleeves From Every Epoch.
Sleeves, for instance. There is a de-
tail that one wants to catch at with q
graphing pole, pull into the bank and
study for week. They are represent
alive of the history of the world.
Each epoch seems to have offered a
peculiar phase of arm covering for the
designers to incorporate into modern
costumes.
We have the medieval sleeve which
opens after 1t leaves the elbow and
drops In point to the knee; we have
the Chinese sleeve which is roomy
enough for all the juggling we care
to do; there is the tight sleeve of the
Directoire that fits into an oversnug
armhole and stretches to the knuckles
of the hand; there is the Italian
sleeve that begins in an armhole that
Is nearly at the elbow and widens
itself out In order that 1t may drop In
cloaklike folds to the wrist, where 1t
is caught into band of white velvet
or cloth.
There is the sleeve that is slashed
from armhole to wrist, as Marguerite
and Faust wore 1t. and there is the
Oriental sleeve that Is formed from
the front edge of a cape and confined
to the arm with bracelet of tulle or
jewels.
Another sleeve is merely brassard
and, of course, 1t is on an evening
gown. There are sleeves taken from
the church, from comic opera, from
the Round Table, from Wagrerlan leg
ends, from the days of Dante and, one
might almost add, from the Sultan of
Sulu. There are sleeves that are moth
ing but arm bands above and below
the elbow, to which are caught swing
Ing folds Of colored tulle.
Possibly the one garment which the
sleeve-mad designers have left I'M
touched in their wild orgy of design
ing is the street coat which is part of
conventional tailored suit. All sorts
of liberties are taken with sleeves in
top coats, because this garment has
reached so high on the ladder of fash
ion that 1t gets whack of originality