The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-01-22
DRESS AND SUGGESTIONS
 ANN. .,Iqs,Hov.. FOR WOMEN
By ANNE RITTEyHoUsB
Waistcoats of brilliant materials are used to keep women warm, as well
 as to give ornament to the costume.

] New York, January 21.-Ever since
 we have known of the Chinese custom of
 putting one garment over another to
 keep warm, we have laughed in the ar
 rogant Anglo-Saxon way, always amused
 at any tradition that is not accredited
 to our race.
 | Now we must stop laughing, for there
 are various symptoms on every side of
 the compass that the Chinese fashion will ! have its introduction into Anglo-Saxon
 methods of keeping warm.
 There are two things that must be
 faced while the war lasts and probably
 after the war, if the pessimists are right;
 there will be scarcity of coal and a
 limited amount of wool. The climate does not change because there is war In truth, there are some who think it | has grown more bitterly cold since 1914 Whatever the Americans may think | about the weather, the French are quite satisfied that there never was a winter as cold as the last They tell much worse stories than the American school 1 boy reads about the cold at Valley Forge Their sufferings were acute and t,ey looked with envy upon the Americans
 who were able to wear warm clothes and
 have warm houses from November un- til April
 CLOTHES UPON CLOTHES We in America did not regard this suf- terlng of Paris with an acute personal l interest It is rarely possible to look at anything with a degree af acute sym pathy when it is 5000 miles away and l does not touch ones personal interest
 O. comfort.
 But today, tie American woman has | gone into the war whole-heartedly, and she realizes the sacrifices that the French women have made and wants to prepare to face these with the best hu-
 mo1 and the finest intelligence. There | fore, when she reads that the French women, aided by their designers and dressmakers, have no hesitancy in put ting one gown over another to keep warm, she is alert. She sees in that the possibility of keeping warm her self.
 Mime. Paquin, along with other cele- brated dressmakers, has devised the method of wearing one frock on top of another by making the under one of soft material like crepe de chine or Jersey and the outer one of velvet, vel veteen, velours or thick cloth We cannot use but 41s yards of wool if we are to be patriotic and stand by the government, and there is no thought of being otherwise If there is any re- bellion by the individual in this measure or conservat tion it will quickly be re- ported to those who may have the power or the persuasiveness to stop such ex- travagance.
 With the slim wool gown and with unheated houses, the custom of wearing two or three frocks does not strike the ear unpleasantly.
 THE PROTECTIVE WAISTCOAT Naturally, the warm medieval waist coat or short chemise tunic, leaps over the horizon as first aid to the freezing, The French and English women have employed it for year in every capacity It could serve to keep the chest, the
 back or the hips warm
 We in America have not seen in 1t a protective garment, because we did not
 need anything last winter, as the tenn perature and the amount of indoor heat were agreeably balanced; but this win ter is different, especially when we face the fact that the less wool we use the better. We are begged even to cut down the 4a-yard limitation and try to see just how warm we can keep without any worsted whatever Therefore the heavy