Evening star., 1918-05-27
OflntereSt to Women
STANDARDS OF WARTIME CLOTHES

even in face of calamity. may be the
| Iinterdependence Of the great BODY OF
business and trade which depends d.
rectly upon her attire. That question
| other reason may be the realization Of
those higher up" that a certaib stand.
ard Of life, and Of the things moss
| intimately associated with life, ike
clothes. must be preserved in spite Oh
the war.
It is true that more people are spend
| ing money for certain luxuries, even
in battle SCARED France and England,
! than ever before. Those at the top
are spending less. but those at the
other end Of the social scale are placed
| in state OF financial comfort Of which
they have never dreamed More pianos
and more diamonds are said to have
| been sold in London since the war
than peace records ever knew g.,
Ones financial condition is usually
reflected at once in ones clothes Inc
sudden access Of comparative wealth
among women who have never had 1t
before. the sudden indulgence In the
unlimited and unguided buying OF
much expensive apparel, may lead 70
grotesque consequences, unless some
one upholds the standard Of good taste
and moderation.
Standards Must Be Maintained.
In the same way that France is pro
tecting her art and her artists with
the thought Of future generations In
mind. the men and women interested
In apparel in a large way are pro-
tecting dress. Dress is an art: 1t has
a place beside painting, sculpture
America recognizes this the better.
Dress Is one Of the readiest mediums
for the embodiment Of good ideas
Of line. form and color. Long before
the war France realized this to the
full. Her artists looked upon the
ator. worthy to rank with them.
Young painters and sculptors. whose
names, perhaps, the catalogues OF
the salons never knew, worked hand
in hand with the makers of apparel.
proud to express themselvs through
the medium of clothes. French fash
ions have sadly missed this co-opera-
ton since the war.
American artists should be encour-
aged to think Of dress az . means Of
exploiting their ideas. as q worthy ex-
preston of their best efforts. The
interfere with our clothes. they are so
apt to make them "arty." Dreadful
visions are conjured up by the very
word. of steely, dun-colored wispy
gowns, untidy hair, and uncorseted
figures: Heaven preserve ;.s .. us from ,s such en-
bad for any ones morale, not only a
soldiers.
To come down to cases. The gown
in the sketch today is far removed
from the reproach Of being "arty;"
yet 1t is artistic, and it offers q won
derful opportunity to the home Dress
maker for the combining Of old and
new materials. The bodice is Of gray
satin, which appears again in the mar
row 1oweD skirt. The draped tunic and
the long sleeves are Of black satin.
To bind the two together ana make
them look as If they belonged to each
other. silver Is discreetly used. in en-
broidery on the bodice and for the
narrow ribbon which ties just above
the waist line. in a way as clever as
1t is successful. The bodice is cut
square, neck line which 10 creeping
into favor-and there IL collar Of
filet or Of old lace, which takes away
from the hard line of the satin against
the skin. Such frock has an almost
unlimited sphere of influence, for 1t
may be worn as an afternoon, lunch
con. theater or even restaurant dinner
frock, with or without a wrap.