The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-07-13
DRESS AND SUGGESTIONS ANNE n.4sa,Hor.n FOR WOMEN
Dotted Swiss has been revived by those who are searching on the shelves of the past for attractive fabrics.

New York, July 12.--Of course, gowr of dotted Swiss can be as expensive a. one of chiffon. The idea of economy does not go hand in hand with simplicity. Only the men who wrote novels and who had no wives or sisters to guide them in the dressing of their heroines, guilelessly talked about simple white frocks and blue sashes.
 By the way, there should be another occupation, and a serious one, opened ur for women. They should be paid good sal aries and put on the advisory boards In publishing houses, in order that the men who write novels do not destroy the ef- feet of their heroine by describing ridic- ulous and unfashionable clothes as worn by her.
 And these women should be the censors of every drawing that goes with a mod ern story. I once asked a famous illus trator of modern novels and short stories why he didn't make study of fash ionable clothes, and his answer was that they would so rarely harmonize with the kind of drawing he wished to make; that line and curve perspective and shadow, were far more important to the artist than skirt and sleeve, collar and boot.
 Now, in my opinion, that is why a woman should be chosen as censor in a publishing house. Fiction is read mainly by women, and six women out of 10 re- gard an illustration in the same light as they would a fashion drawing. If the heroine of 1917 wears the ugliest clothes of 1901, there is an involuntary feeling on the part of women readers that the man doesn't know how to write.
 Something should be done. The men in the publishing houses don't see the se- riousness of this situation, but the wom- en all over the land deplore it.
 All of this tirade is quite out of keep ing with the revival of dotted white Swiss as a fashionable fabric, but if one don t let the mind fly off at tangents, 1t would become like a squirrel in cage, boring itself and everyone.
 The way in which dotted white Swiss will be used this summer is not the way in which Mrs. Jefferson Davis wore it when she lived in Richmond, as first lady of the southern land. Today, we line cot ton fabrics with silk or satin, trim them with fine lace and have them cut by one who earns a hundred dollars week for her work; and for all these things, we pay, pay, pay.
 Of course, there are ways of making them cheaply and simply at home and it is this truth that appeals to the majority of women Yet even though one be strictly economical in clothes, one wants to know what the hundred-dollar-a week. cutter Is doing and what the woman who asks $50 for muslin gown does in the way of drapery, silhouette and manipu- lation.
 RENTING THE BASQUE All through the land in connection with the new clothes made of old fashioned fabrics, there is a tendency toward a fitted basque or coat or short blouse The loose, negligent waist that has stood us ir good stead for decade. appears to be giving way to a straight cuirass ef- feet that clings to the figure and does not end at the waist line.
 One sees women in short coats that have three seams in the back and darts in front, to keep the material pressed against the figure. and there are long tight basques of black satin fastened with jet buttons and ending in folded
 sashes that loop at the back These are
 worn over pleated skirts of black or plaid chiffon.
 FREE USE OF LACE The gown in the sketch shows dotted Swiss made over silk. with the new, tight