The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-10-17
DRESS AND SUGGESTIONS ANNE .,isBb,-o,.. FOR WOMEN
The question put before women today is, when is coat a frock, and when is frock a top coat?
ANNE RITTENHOUSE

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 l New York, October 16-As an instance l of how confusing some of the new gar
 ments are, the following is told. A group of women in very smart Fifth avenue 1 dressmaking house were looking with de- l light upon Premet model of deep brown velvet fastened in an odd manner with :, large enamel buttons and girdled with :, two narrow reins of black and white satin ribbon, pioot-edged. After the women had discussed 1t as l to it's service as topcoat, the head Of l the shop looked at them with surprise and I explained that it was not a coat, but a one-piece afternoon frock. But" they objected, it is not closed 1 from neck to hem. How can it be worn as a gown?"
 Why, it laps so far over in the front that 1t is not necessary to have it's fronts detached There is satin petticoat of the same or of an opposing shade to go beneath it, and Premet has designed this frock as the absolute expression of con- fortable, wartime clothes" Evidently, the American buyers had thought well of Premet's effort, for one has seen this particular frock at every shop for the last three weeks. Any wom- an who wants to wear it as coat over a chiffon gown can do so, for it Is loose,
 
 tirely charming in silhouette.
 PREMET HAS FOLLOWERS
 Mme Renee, the head designer of the house of Premet, which turned out Q re- markedly good collection of colthes this autumn, would be amused, or discour- aged, according to her temperament, if she could see the way in which her idea has been copied in this country.
 The gown itself has, of course, been copied by the dozen, for that is the pur- pose that a French model serves on this continent: but the idea of cheating the public into the belief that coat is g. frock and a frock a coat, Is game that goes merrily on its harmless path.
 The difficulty in substituting a coat for frock in this climate is that the garment which is warm enough for our cold streets is too warm for our hot in door places. A woman cannot shop for an hour in a velour coat with an inter- lining across the body part. She must be in the fresh air when she wears such warm clothes.
 However, the trick of making frocks and coats alike is rather fascinating. Both look comfortable. Both seem to serve every need and demand of the American womans active daytime fife, and the suburbanite finds in this kind of coat the happiest garment she has yet chosen, for she can wear beneath it thin, delectable theatre frock and yet appear sturdily and warmly dressed on the train or in the motor.
 THE DAY OF THE TOP COAT
 Surely, there has never been such a sea- son in American life when top coats sold like the traditional hotcakes. There Is that same, breathless hurry in their de- livery to the public that one finds on the face of the man who is turning out hot pancakes as fast as he can for greedy customers.
 And if you remember your Paris, isn't there an instant vision of the little pam cake man down on that gay, gay boule- yard in the Montmartre, the Montmartre of Louise and also of the Apache, where all the Americans stand after midnight, in greedy groups, waiting for the long. thin hotcakes that are quickly powdered with sugar and cinnamon and rolled into a scholl?
 And the cinnamon pancake of Paris and