Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1918-05-04
FLOWERY CLOTHES
IN WORLD AT WAR

New York.-The attempt to Dolly
Vardenize our clothes began in Palm
Beach In January. As soon as the
French openings began in February
we, over here, learned that they, over
there, had begun the same trick 10
costumery, asserts prominent fash
ion writer.
Organizes, printed voiles and flow
cred chiffons were the materials used
for these frocks, which bore close kin
ship to softer epoch than the one
In which we take our part today.
1t is of psychological interest, this
Introduction into women's apparel of
a kind of costumery that suggests
everything we are not at this hour.
There may be no reason than that of
tradition for us to associate lowered
muslins, big taffeta sashes with bows
at the back immense English garden
hats tied under the chin, and lace-cov-
cred parasols, with that part of wom-
ans nature that deals in coquetry, the
eternal appeal to masculine admira-
ton, helplessness, and all the accen-
tuated tricks of femininity which the
world thought II had wiped out to
certain measure.
Yet we do connect these clothes and
these traits. The world always looks
upon woman who is frocked In
figured muslin, her eyes shaded with
a huge hat, her arms half bare and a
rose at her belt, as one who Is out for
admiration.
The Leopard and His Spots.
There cannot arise critic so fool
ish In these days as to suggest that
the militant woman is not capable of
looking like Vatican shepherdess II
she takes 1t into her mind to do so.
Therefore, our surprise is not that the
women Of the moment should appear
well in the English garden type Of
clothes, with which one always asso-
ciates Strawberries and cream, low
voices, waving hair parted in the mid
die, and shy, almost gauche manners.
but that they should elect this flowery
and futile fashion at this hour.
Yet they are doing 1t. Both France
and America are heaping figured fab
RIGS upon its womankind Lace is In
stalled again. Immense bows of taft
feta ribbon, sashes of every kind
flowing, elbow sleeves; surplice necks
with wide handkerchlefs Of colored |
fabrics, are shown and worn by women
who have probably spent the morning |
at class In nursing at q hospital and |
will spend the evening ut a canteen.
Isn't this q curious psychological |
thingf Here we have preached for
two years the strengthening tendency
Of women to dress more and more like
men In the day, and either very sim
ply or In an Amazonian fashion in the
evening.
We have tried to standardize clothes,
but earnestly, throughout all
channels of dress. We know that one
'f the most important leagues of
young women In America Is circulat-
ing a petition, signed by its members,
10 the effect that they are to buy only
Ihree gowns season, one for each
division of the day, the price to be
s30 apiece, and the uniforms to be
If standard pattern. And yet these
very girls, right on top OF such an
as this to conserve and
fling themselves into flow
,red voiles with pink and violet taft
eta sashes tied with deep hustle bows
It the back. and huge hats of Milan
traw heaped with flowers
1t may be that the leopard cannot
hange his spots, but women can GER
ainly change her type at will. She
Gems to shrink and grow thin, to
urve out and grow full, to stand
higher or lower In her boots, and to
ssume at will the militant or the
oquettish air. In this spring of 1918
/ looks as though she were going to
10 all of these things at various times
I the day. ;
Chinese Influence Preferred.
There is not much feeling of salts