The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-09-16
DRESS
Copyright. 1919. by the Me
Spanish ShawIs Are Arranged Into
Attractive Street Frocks and a
Certain Grace of Drapery Has Been
Achieved
BY ANNIE RITTENHoUsE

ACnleVeQ.
Paris. September THE day that an
American woman saw several antique
Spanish shaws arranged in an aisle of
the Galleries Lafayette she wondered
why it was done. What was the call
for Spanish shaws? Were they merely
offered to operate Carmens or for cos
tunes, at fancy dress parties? Soon she
found out The women were wearing
them as afternoon frocks when they
were in brilliant coloring and as morn
ing frocks when they were black. Now
to the average mind there Is something
impossible about a Spanish shawl ex-
cept a table cover or a bed spread.
The Anglo-Saxon mind grasps the possi
bllities of such a shawl on the Spanish
woman, but she cannot see how it would
be possible to arrange it into anything
graceful and becoming on her own fig
ure. We are not people for drapery;
we need straight lines. IT is the south
erper of Europe who can manage dra-
perry. and also manage to look well in
it. Even the French have to handle it
with care. although their small figures
can assume coouetry. The Anglo Saxon
woman Is not a coquettish individual.
She might wear the Roman toga for
time she has kind of senatorial duty,
but her aim is to keep herself from look
ing mannish and all her efforts are di-
fcttcu toWdTu prlnSlnS more ana more
feminity into her face and attire. There
are Anglo-Saxons who do not try to
Danish masculnity from their appear
ance. and the American is more apt to
err in this respect than the English
woman. We as a race, especially out
side of the southern countries, are so
easily masculine in our stride the
breadth and swing of our shoulders, the
long, supple lines of our waist, the
a efftta nJ<i
that il it were not for the fact that
America is a melting pot of nations and
that many types are reproduced along
side the pure American. it would be inn
possible for us to accept Paris clothes
AS it is the pure American does not look
well in a French gown, and the Paris
people have realized that for the first
time They have seen the rank and file
of Americans over here as workers, and
not just merely the exotics who come
here to buy colthes and reproduce the
French silhouette. All OF which discuss
sion leads to the statement that the
Spanish shawl Is piece of coquetry
that the American woman discards; she
tries for coquetry in other lines of dress,
but few of our women struggle with ma
terial that has to be thrown over the
shoulders and wound about the hips.
SIMPLICITY OF SPANISH SHAWL
descence of Spanish drapery is that the
shawl is ruthlessly cut into two pieces
This would produce satire from the
Spanish women and it would probably
hurt them to see one of their wonder
full white shawls massed with colored
embroidery, and thickly edged with
fringe, cut into the form of frock to
lit the figure of a woman Yet this is
what is being done in Paris and with
good success. A woman at distin-
guished garden party wore an antique
cream colored shawl made in two parts
the upper was of the massed embroid-
cry, cut out slightly low at the neck
with short sleeves and following the
lines of the figure to the hip The mar
row short skirt was, of the plain part
of the shawl trimmed with two rows OF
the deep fringe. There a was a slight
girdle about the waist made of tuIe
carrying out the colors of the roses. The
immense cream colored felt hat was
heaped with roses that matched those
on the shawl. The black shawl makes
an admirable frock for the street. A
Parisienne wore one with telling effect
at a lunch at the Ritz. The embroidered
part all black. fitted the figure from
collar-bone to hips without any appear
anceof stiffness; the back was cut longer
than the front and the edge was
finished with the deep fringe that grows
on the shawl. The skirt was the plain
part OF the shawl trimmed with two
rows of fringe that went up in the
front and down in the back The sleeves
were long and tight and wrinkied gray
gloves covered the hands THE skirt was
moderately short and the stockings wer~
that shade of aluminium that Is ultra.
fashionable in Paris. Black pumps and
q black hat completed the costume. II
was one Of the best had seen in Paris
this summer There was none of the &c
centricity, the crudity, the touch OF vui-
garity that has prevailed In so much of
the French costunrery since the arfnis-
tice.