Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-12-07
Keeping to- the Straight and Narrow in Skirts But Sop Thrown
Fashion by Placing Soft Frins on the Hips > Concerning
Callot Drapery-The Brilliant Accessories.
done wherever women order gowns
for dinners and dances.

merely goes back to the old trick OF
holding UP yards OF uncut material
and drapins It over plain skirt. The
art Of making the drapery form the
skirt itself remains In the hands of
master. THIS II essentially Callots
work: the other IL the imitation. Yet
It serves In q fhounand homes. Often
amateurs rush In whore masters fear
to tread. you know. At least. It is a
pleasing Variant from the slightly fun
straight skirt that needs to be gath
cred at, the waistIine. and SO far the,
majority Of Americans have looked at
this feature with distrust. They have
no intention as yet of increasing the
size Of the waist, and box pleats and
gathers can be depended upon to do 1t.
y One of the frequent mistakes made
by dressrhakers in what is sometimes
called "the selvedge drapery" is the
shortening of, the sides. This is possi-
BILE on TAN figure. but on a short one
II is fault that carries no remedy
but extinction. Another serious mis-.
take is to use such drapery ON an un-
derskirt that is seven or eight inches
from the floor, unless the figure Is un-
usually slender. An older woman. one
who is under i've feet six. should
avoid drarery unless she sees to it
that the lower skirt sweeps the an
kles and the lines Of the over drapery
nearly touch It's hem. Then she gets
height or length which every woman
over thirty requires. II nature does
not give 1t to her, then the dress
maker must.
The accepted fashion for shorter
skirts which has come about since
September. possibly induced by France
and by the impression gotten b.
Americans who spent the peace sum-
mer In Paris. has upset the easy meth :
DDS Of drapery for women who have
not height, however. It has unsettled
them in q decided manner. We have
not adopted the Hfteen-inch skirt of
the French, but the eight-and-a-half-
Inch hem is the regulation length in
the fitting rooms. Extremists are cut
ting skirts even shorter than this, but
they use street frocks for the expert
ment rather than evening ones.
- ~
When, women wear high boots or
long, weli-fitting snats with the short
eneL street skirts the effect is inf
nitely more pleasing than the ankle
length. skirt with Its hitch under the
back Of the leg, fashion of the last
two yaara that was sadly missing In
grace and artistry. II the American
women. had the peculiarly shaped legs
Of the. French, without curve. built
like a: boys leg. with no break at the
ankle, then the very, short street skirt;
worn with oxfords might not offend.
But nature has formed the American
leg in a different way. Sculptors and
artists say 1t Is all wrong. and that
our tiny ankles are >opposed to all the
precepts Of art, but the American will
60 ON through the centuries. however,
considering certain racial character
istics lovely and desirable, regardless
Of the opinion of critical sculptors.
The trouble, about some Of the short
skirts on the street is that the .Ameri-
can woman does not seem to adopt the
high boot as frequently as she did last
winter, probably on account of Its
amazing price, but neither does she
take UP spats, which materially lower
the cost of footgear. All ones sum-
mer low shoes can be made to carry
through the winter by the purchase
OF five or ten dollars worth of uppers.
Possibly the incoming fashion for the
low shoe with broad tongue and the
blucher sides tied with ribbon or held
by a wide colonial buckle has turned
thoughts away from any other kind OF
street foot covering. The shoe shops
are thriving on the sale of this new
Shape. One shop has brought out an
exact imitation of the ornamental sill
yer buckle worn since Puritan days
in America and offers 1t as something
much smarter than cut steel. There is
economy in such a purchase. Steel
will rust, bend and break. Silver can
be polished and handed down to the
third generation. A broad buckle of
it is far more fitting on q suede or
patent leather shoe OF this revived
type than one Of steel or ebony, so its
advent is quite delightful. a.
! a %AA s> s'5s -H5st
- Speaking of shoes in relation to
short street skirts, the manufactur-
ers say there is a growing demand for
the round-toed shoe, low or high, with
d high Cuban heel. This is !compro-
mise between the French and the
American shoe. 1t is an admirable
model when IL is slenderly and cum