Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-02-02
Blouse Said Be the Sarto,;a RobnTh So-Caed American Shirt
Waist Has Great Foong and 1t Is NonO Abbearng
Gues Although the Designers Produced No Nove1es in
Gut Trimming Fabr,c-Satn Considered Quite Smart


praise him more for this deed than
Tor putting tremendous corporations
on their feet.
1t would take too much space to tell
you Just what he did, but he made her
an lndiVtdualtSt. Men never believe in
INDIGESTION, you know, and they cannot
understand whimsicality in clothes.
Briefly, she wore stately evening
gowns made on certain pattern, in
BLACK in white, in gray, in velvet, IN
satin and in tulle, She eliminated
gewgaws beads and bugles, jet and
rhinestones, hanging cords, swinging
tassels, floating garlands, Intellectual
poses. She wore tailored suits on the
street made on mannish lines, and
certain cut of blouse that had been
arranged for her after half dozen
failures. She wore fiat, plain hats.
eliminated wells; also patent leather
SHOES and pumps for the street. He
carefully worked up a tremendous
contrast between her appearance on
the street and in the evening. but the
general principal of her apparel ran
nke an undercurrent through every
thlng she put on. Her comfort of
nina has been unusual She never
bothers any more about whether or
not she shall accept this or that
fashion Her dressmaker sees to II
that the kind of gown she wants is
ready for her.
the weakness in the whole structure.
The woman of average income has to
work very hard to achieve such sue
cess, But the episode is worth repeat
ing, because II may fall upon wor-
ried mind as healing suggestion.
OF course, there are new fashions in
the blouses this spring, They have
been shown to women: they have been
purchased for the unusually large
exodus to the south, and they will APP
me- tn bn ms y Of
the next four weeks, when ones
thoughts turn to the rehabilitation of
the winter wardrobe or the acquisi-
ton of new one
= i
There is no more paucity of inven-
ton in blouscs this year than last
France and America have both done
their best--aud it is in this vast va
riety that evil possibilities lie. If
women could be trained to regard the
blouse as something fatal unless well
chosen, they would go about the bust
ness of getting together half dozen
with the precaution and precision
necessary when walking on ice. They
would not buy georgette because 1t is
fashionable. tomato-red because 1t
was the style. nor would they choose
galloon embroidery, shoe-lace braid
ing or brass buttons because the de-
signers had chosen to exploit these
capriceS. They would go among all
the masses of waists with the pre-
cision of a bird flying to its nest. They
would take the nearest straight line
to what they want. If they did not
find it they would go elsewhere; If it
was not to be found in the shops they
would have it made by specialist or
a seamstress. from well considered
pattern.
AS long as this method OF buying
blouses is the true one, any other
method is waste of time and money.
What is gained by paying SIS for a
ten dollar blouse if it spoils fifty
dollar suit? Why pick up something
that is old, when the two have moth
ing in common? Why not carry an
organized mind to the selection of
blouses and remember that square
pegs will never so into round holes?
The part of a blouse that is very
often fatal is the collar. There are
few women who can stand more than
two types of neck line. A woman
should not rebel against this verdict.
She should accept IT and thus elm
mate trouble. She should not expert
ment with blouses that do not carry
either one of these neck lines, She
must remember that no blouse is
worth it's price If it hasn't the klnd
of collar that offsets the neck line OF
her coat. She must also take well into
consideration the difference between
blouse which is to be worn as part
of a costume topped by fur or cloth
coat and one that is merely shirt
waist and part of a tailored suit.
These are not all the requirements
for success in buying blouses. A wom-
an must have. or must acquire, true
knowledge of the juXtaposition OF
fabrics. She must know what ma
terial In blouse goes best with the ma
terial of her suit or her separate skirt
and topcoat. For instance: Georgette,
beaded in q bold design, does not go
with a homespun or cheViot SUIT.
That is merely one example out of n
dozen or two others that could easily
be enumerated,
The truth about georgette-Which is
worth repeating because the FABRIC
plays so dominant a role in separate
blouses this year---is that IL looks far
better as part of costume than as an
addition to a coat suit. AS peplum
blouse worn with skirt of Its own
color, or In harmonious contrast to II,
it is very good: not as good as satin
or silk Jersey, but commendable, II
may be ornamented. II one can adopt
that type of blouse, and even trimmed
with beads which is a debatable form
of ornamentation on separate gar
ment, but not impossible for certain
types Of women.