The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-07-20

The Tendency Toward High Collars i on Blouses and Frocks Is Not Con
 fined to France, as Smart Women
 Are Appearing in Them in This ] Country.
 | New York, July 19-There was a ru- nor from California last month that the
 women on the fashionable Pacific coast
 had adopted high collars that flared away from the chin. Then, like summer l lightning, came flicker of fashion through all phases of society, revealing
 the high necked blouse.
 It is not passing strange. as the critic of clothes would think, that high col lars and long sleeves should be taken up during the hot summers of this con- tinent One need only review the fash ions of a century to see that women pay very little attention to the thermome- ter in their acceptance of styles. CLOTHES AND THE CLIMATE sweaters are worn all summer. re- gardless of the heat; women play golf Ill them when the thermometer IS neal 90; velvet hats are worn ill the dog days chiffon gowns and paper soled patent leather pumps are worn on zero days in January; luIs are worn whenever con- VenIenl. Few women see anytnIng 1uol- lsh Ill wIping perspirauon from tnelr faces, fannIng with d Dlt of paper, and stl1l bearing on ther shoulders 1ur scarf,
 surely, in the light of such absurdi- ties, the mere idea of wearing long sleeves ana q hign collar III summer sinks into insIgnitlcance.
 The kind of high collar that fashion has brought in has not one-tenth of the oiscomforts of bit of fur around the shoulders or a silk, woolen or stoekIn- cite sweater on a midsummer day.
 The only question to consider Is whether or not a womanS face can stand the kind of high collar that has flick cred into the fashions. The experts be- lieve that it will continue to grow i'll importance as the autumn descenos upon us.
 We have nothing to do with the pro cesses of the weather, and the scientists who are supposed to know much about these things enlighten us very little in regard to the changing seasons; but we do know that warm weather rarely comes until mid-June these days, and that autumn delays its coming until Thanksgiving.
 1 HIS Cdn L De SdlQ Ol every part O4 America, for where temperature is con cerned we have states rights, but as a general proposition we wear our warm clothes ater each year and fail to dis card them when the calendar says it is November. Therefore, to break thegsea- son into two parts and get some variety into our lives a large majority of women begin changing the styles in August. This is the month of forerunners.
 THE FENCE COLLAR
 The new kind of neckwear which has been brought to this country from France has been called the fence collar by the experts It has nothing in com mon with the tight stock of other days. It is rarely boned, which is pity, for it gives amateurs a canoe to do much mischief. It stands out from the neck band and flickers away into space around the chin and ears It is made of stiff fened lace, or organdy and of starched muslin, and it resembles the kind of col lar that Sarah Bernhardt made fashion able here more than quarter of a cen tury ago.
 It is not for every woman. If she likes the idea of the new cuffs, which match the collar in some measure, she can accept these and then invent a cer tain type of low collar to go with them.
 The sketch shows new blouse which has this collar. It is wonderfully well worn by the modern Anglo-Saxon type, which has the curves of a planked shad and the suppleness of a snake.
 The blouse is of white voile and the double plaited ruffles at the neck and sleeves are of Mailens lace. Both the cellar and cuffs are touched with nar- row black velvet ribbon, into which a tiny bouquet is thrust. There is a full