Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-02
By ANNE RITTENHousE.

E0WO important facts stand out in |
the fashions for winter which |
have just begun their career.
A The extraordinary display Of
peltry is one. and the juxtaposition of
different materials is the other.
The first fashion spells extravagance;
the second stands for economy. It is the
latter in which the great majority OF
women should be more interested, but
with that delightful Inconsistency
which makes the race charming they
pay more attention to the extravagant
fashion and allow it to absorb the bet
ter part of their thoughts on dress.
The last savage instinct to exist in
woman is her desire for pieces OF FUR
tc adorn her person. There was once a
time when peltry belonged to winter
ard was needed for protection. and this
excuse was used by wary woman who
could fitch money fro.a tho housekeep-
iEg allowance to buy SIT OF fur to go
has faded into the background since II
has been the fashion to be as prolific
with fur in hot weather as in cold
weather.
Much of tho interest ia cieSnes anG,
been weakened. from an artistic point
of view by the refusal of women to re-
gard the Importance of dressing in a
seasonable manner.
When summer had its cf-thss and
winter produced those that belonged to
itself. there was a sharp contrast in
feminine apparel. The SHOPS made
money by it. the women we're made
comfortable about it and they took to
themselves something of the joyous
changes of nature and presented the
Lot . b. hi MI
ing changes
over in Europe, however. the women
took it into their heads to keep to the
same kind of clothes throughout the
twelve months. merely because one or
more summers over there were dis
tinctly colder than they had been. and
the temperature demanded suitable ap-
pareL Here IN America, where the sum-
women grasped the European fashion. |
regardless of its lack of suitability to
our climate. and wore velvet hats and
foxes about their necks under the beat
ing afternoon suns of August
At the beginning of this fashion the |
shopkeepers were its most persistent |
advocates. They saw chance to re-
lease every garment in their stock |
without having to hold it over through |
the season: but commercial optimism !
on this point has shown signs of leak |
ing out for the reason that women and !
that they are not compelled by the sea-
sons to buy new clothes and that uni |
form dressing throughout the twelve |
months of the calendar permits them to |
economize whenever necessary.
The appearance of a group of women |
on the lSreet on a cool morning sug-
gests Tat some dynamic force has been !
peltinR them with pieces Of fur In a hit |
or mis1 fashion.
There is no plan of action running
through the scheme of dressing. Wher-
ever piece of fur has hit frock, there |
II remains. 1t may be on the head, the /
waist. the ankles or the back.
Unless, one sees through observing |
eyes that find amusing episodes in the
use of new fashions by women, one may
not see this peculiar effect that a large
number of women produce. spotted as
they are by the hide of every animal
that can be caught and killed. A car
toonist has called them "a human
menagerie. with the occupants walking
to and fro. clamoring loudly for what |
they want"
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