Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1917-09-14

Here is an evening gown on early
Flemish lines. The material is heavy
crepe satin, with grdIe of c!ob1 of
gold. The bodice and train are en-
broidered in Flemish design. The lin
ing of the train is aoId-brown velvet.
going to be narrow, and it is quite
as well that dressmakers and women
accept this fact without cavil.
Once before in the history of clothes
there was tight skirt which was said
to have been caused by the Civil war
in America. 1t became the fashion
after AppOmattOx and remained in
fashion for a decade and a half after
ward. 1t was also caused by the ne
cessity for economy in material, as the
four years war had nearly exhausted
the commodities of this country.
That skirt was called the tie-back.
The front and sides were pulled
across the figure so that the wearer
could barely step, and rubber bands
were put across the back below the
waistline to draw the material up
into a series of little puffs. This was
as much of hustle as was permitted.
Persistence Is Amazing.
The persistence of this fashion has
been an amazing thing to those who
study clothes. It's origin was in the
fashionable way of walking called the
Grecian bend which was the absurd
predecessor of the equally absurd de-
butante SLOUGH.
In the days of the tie-back skirt,
little girls would secure safety pins
by indirect means, and pull the fullness
of their skirts back and up, thus hav-
ing a little fluff of their own below the
waist. They were always caught at
this by their mothers and nurses, be-
cause the safety pins tore the material
and made gaping holes.
Again, in this day of elimination Of
waste through the necessities of war,
we are to be put into the tight skirt
with its fullness arranged at the back
in a series of slight flares.
1t is not possible to say with any
degree of certainty whether this skirt
will be widely accepted when the au-
tumn comes. Reporting, and not
prophecy, is the duty Of those who try
to give the news of dress as it comes
out week after week.
The American designer, as we'll as
the French one, has gone in for this
upward tilt Of material at the end of
the spine and it may be that the later
fashions will acCentuate it,
Whatever may be the fullness,
though, at any special spot on the
skirt, those who are regarding the
question Of new clothes must remem-
Der that the hem will be almost as
narrow as it was in the days Of the
hObble skirt.
There is marked tendency toward
the sheath skirt in several of the new
costumes. The material sinks into
the figure after it leaves the waist,
and the hem provides only a stepping
width.
The shortness of the skirt for street
wear is necessary. In the spring
there was a decided tendency to
Gengthen skirts, and many conserva-
Give women adopted the fashion with
enthusiasm, but if skirt is to be ex.
ceedingly narrow, it cannot be long
1t would be too utterly inconvenient
for women who are plunged into q
series of activities.
Jackets of TWO Kinds.
1t has already been announced that
two kinds of jackets will prevail in
the autumn. One Is hip-length and
one is hem-length. The latter is
called a polonaise and the former is
called a jacket.
The revival Of the polonaise is