Middletown transcript., 1918-07-20


ment is interested in the exploitation
Of sealskin. That is a sentence preg-
nant with significance. It means one
thing: to Hnoverize on the other furs
and use the kind which the Pacific
coast produces, writes leading fash.
ion correspondent.
It Is said that the dyes and the pre-
paration of fur for costume usage are
exceptionally good. The story goes
that quite degree Of sharp irritation
has been caused among certain groups
of individuals concerning the dyeing
knowledge that st. Louis has made her
own. Whatever the outcome Of the
Irritation, the fact remains that the
fur people say that women have moth
ing to fear from the grade, the quality
or the coloration of the fur that will
bear the American label.
Everyone does not know the extra.
ordinary situation which was develop
ed in the fur trade before the war
broke. The simplest piece Of Ameri-
can peltry that an American girl wore
had probably made little journey half
around the world and was far more
Travelled than its possessor. You could
catch a coon in Georgia, send it to
London for preparation, across the
English channel to France to have
style and finish put into it. then. from
q port in France to an Atlantic port,
and finally journey it across the con-
tinent, drop it into various places, well
known and unknown, and sell it to an
American woman.
Such was the fate of a piece Of fur.
Today our peltry stays at home. We
can catch coon in Georgia. an opos-
sum in Alabama, trap mink In New
England, get togethe- all the cats and
rats the nation does not need, and turn
them out between St. Louis, New York,
Chicago and San Francisco into mot
ley array of admirable furs.
Will Push Native Sealskins.
Fostering this condition is the Amer
ican government. Our native seal
skin will be pushed to the limit Of ex-
ploitation as a fashionable fur, and
there is no reason for women to linger
far behind THE government in its de-
sire to have these skins sold in steady
fashion.
The reason for the enthusiasm on
the part of the majority Of women for
this soft and pliable fur, is its effect
upon the human face and figure. 1t Is
attractive to flesh and bone.
1t falls into supple folds; it brings out
the best in a complexion. Raccoon,
opossum, skunk and all the other long
haired furs are stylish, one admits, but
they are not becoming. Silver foxes
are graceful enough in their undula-
lions and the hairs are soft enough to !
keep a woman's face gentle and fem
mime. but when stiff haired fur is put |
against the chin, the features are hard
ened as though q cold wind had passed |
over them.
Paris is augmenting the use of seal !
skin. Capes are made with Is and 20
Inch borders of it; skirts are made |
with floating panels of it lined with
ck..4son; medieval cuirasses of heavy |
satin that show CLINT of |
silk and metal in the design have long, !
medieval sleeves of American sealskin
which flare over the knuckles.
The sealskin sacQue will come back
with the ostrich feather. These have
always been associated in the minds
Of those who remember the days of old,
when the height of bliss to fashion
able woman was summer in Sara
toga, pair Of drop solitaire earrings,
4 short, urtrimmed sealskin sacque
and a hat ornamented with two or
more long. floating ostrich plumes.
The diamond earrings will not re-
TURN to fashion, but the ostrich feather
and the sealskin coat will come out on
he primrose path Of fashion in the
Early autumn.
The women of England and France
nave led the way. The ostrich plume