Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-11-09
~ Prot. Atom Ben,e,f,
Assistant Professor of Fine Arts,
Teachers' College, Columbia
University.


Assistant Professor of Fine Arts,
Teacher College. Columbia
University.
\ - KANY Americans are inspect
IN ing with wonder and aston
- ishment, tinged with some
d -ision and occasionally, perhaps,
blush, the newest creations Of
Paris. say derision advisedly,
for never before has the present
generation seen such extremes in
brevity Of skirts and in scantiness 4
and fiimsiness of bodice, even from M
h the most eccentric and original Of
Partisan couturieres.
Az to the blush, there are still
among us citizens who are honestly M
shocked to see anything like i'm
modesty associated with the sex
that they have always loved, cher
ished and respected
France, as dictator of fashion,
has, after nearly century of good
taste, cast aside her restraint and
appeared before the world in the
Summer of 1919 literally CARRIED in
immodesty. Rumors Of these
changes had come to us early in
the season, but the buyers and de- The
slene's VIZ W. ao.o ~ a the
they found. Here and there a Ia
newspaper notice had reported that
certain celebrities had, as a protest
against rising prices, appeared. in public
without stockings, but as it is one of the
well-known prerogatives of celebrities to do
unusual things, very little attention was
paid to these notices. The first outdoor
gathering at Deauville demonstrated that
these reports, instead of being exaggerated,
were really understated, for there it be-
came apparent that most Of the ladies
were without hosiery, and more than that,
their gowns were short to the knees, scant
in material, and cut astonishingly low at
the neck.
This fashion. rather than being a burst of
eccentricity at the beginning of the season,
to be moderated and improved upon later,
grew more and more pronounced as the
season advanced. By Summer it was being
copied by the other European countries,
and had been confirmed by the best
modistes OF, Paris itself SO when the
American buyers and designers returned
In September, each with his quota of model
gowns and designs, they were of such an
extreme type that they brought down upon
themselves immediate criticism from the
American public. who we're still unpre-
pared for this revolutionary style
In considering this strange outbreak of
fashion we must not regard it simply as a
caprjcious, senseless, shameless desire to
catch the eye. There is evidently deep
seated impulse among the women of Eu-
rope to wear clothes that expose the
figure. l find that in ordinarily sensible,
well-balanced England, the girls are wear
ing new costumes that are fully as scant
as any to be seen in Paris In photographs
of fashionable race courses and regattas in
the United Kingdom | observe girls and
young women of the British aristocracy
displaying an unusual amount OF charm.
The evidence satisfies me that in every
European country greatly ravaged by the
war, these scanty fashions prevail And
there you have the key to the mystery. The
fashions are a direct outcome of the war.
philosophical consideration of the sub
JCCl lCduo souc ilcNtduly " tHC NohSiuoioh
that European women, now in an enormous
excess over the men, are engaged in fierce
competition to finds husbands, made scarce
by wars ravages. These women are in
spired by nature to replace the enormous
loss Of life. The racial instinct drives them
on to seek men by any means in their
power, at the sacrifice of ordinary delicacy
Of feeling. Strange to say, scarcity of
clothing is caused by scarcity of men. 1t
Is noticeable that these cost INES seem to
aim at the brutal revelation of substantial
charms rather than at the delicate semi
concealment, which at ordinary times
proves 30 much more alluring than bold
exposure
\ do not overlook the fact that some of
these freakish costumes in Paris are worn
by women who were not modest even in
normal times But am also satisfied that
respectable young women of good family
in France and England are wearing them.
The historical evidence shows that after
every devastating war seriously endanger-
ing the life of q nation the women have
made extraordinary efforts to attract the
surviving men. In many cases their efforts
were aided by the State. In ancient Athens
when long foreign wars had reduced the
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