The sun., 1918-09-01

bdsQues!
l have saved the best until the last.
The best is W. l.. George, who, when he
takes needle in hand and clothes the
women of his books does so with an ex-
actness of detail which mail order eata-
logue might envy. Mr.. George is, / be-
lieve, the only living writer who sets him
self up as knowing everything about
women He is always speaking his mind,
fatty and frankly, concerning the weaker
sex, and that it is the weaker he has not
the slightest doubt. How much Of this
is sincere and hoy much of it is clever
seeking of publicity l would not dare to
say, but suspect most of it is the latter.
Too often he writes as one who has said
to himself, Now, Bennett and Wells and
Shaw and Chesterton each has his sep
arate lay, and if don't get hold of some
thing distinctive and controversial I'll be
Just in the common ruck of young Eng
lish writers. Aha-women! I'll do the
knowing superior to them in a metieulous
way-quite unlike Shaw's broad slashes.
It'll make the little dears perfectly furi-
GUS, and they'll read my books forever
and ever, amen"
Accordingly he did it. But this is get
ting away from Mr.. Georges dressrnaS-
ing Behold Sue, in The Strangers We'd
ding, dressed for her first dinner party.
"She wore the draped evening frOek Of
the day made mainly of, cream ninon,
with a eharmeuse silk underskirt. cream
also, thinly striped with orange; the hips
were draped in orange chiffon which ran
up under the corselet and repeated itself
in touches under the short sleeves.
The orange and gold hand
which the Russian ballet had inspired, lay
perilously low across her breast
little black shoes and cream stockings
with which FLASHED buckles of orange Rus
sian enamel"
Now this is sartOrial vaudeville, nolh-
ing more, and yet Mr.. George assures US
that Sues dress was chosen by her charm
CultuICu 1HcIcody WIN
later stole Sues husband from her.
Maybe the selection of this cream and
orange horror was the beginning Of
Theresa'stplot.) As for Theresa herself,
at the same dinner, she appeared Every
thin, very long EARNED, very white in a
black silk gown without a waist, touched
in unexpected places with little rosettes
of red and silver" These unexpected
places" Mr.. George goes on to say were
at the breast and knees 1t does not sound
seductive-it sounds like country dress
maker.
Grace Is Blooming.
And then there was Grace in The Sec
ond Blooming. Grace goes on a sartorial
spree, and among other things buys herself
wonderful dress, a dress of Dreams
Here is its description. No, / did not make
it up. You will find it on page 81. ANY
woman who can read it without. either
tears of pity or screams of laughter ought
to be condemned to wear overalls for life.
Indeed, it was wonderful DRESS"
rhapsodizes Mr.. George. "She carried
out in green the necessary correspondence
with the warm tints of her hair. OF
course, it was an Empire dress.
Long folds of pongee silk fell from the
high waist, so that when she walked, her
limbs free, she seemed to undulate. From
waist to breast she hung in the broad
girdle of blue and silver The long mar
row sleeve of heavy green satin made an
unexpected contrast with the thin cloud
like material of the skirt. When it CAME
home she thrilled, as for the first time she
put it on. Its clasp was warm and exeit-
ing as the embrace of first lover
1t seems almost shame to break it to
Mr.. George that pongee is never thin and
cloudlike and that outside of Greenwich
Village it never appears in evening froeks.
What, never? No, nerer, and no hardly
ever about it, Probably he meant chiffon.
l have often wondered whether some one
of the women of whom Mr.. George knows