The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-15
I0 1P e S &a Latest deos From Pbris And NeYok On Nonons Aporel And Helpful Suggestions For The Household
 BY EkftE RtTTEnHousE
Not Every Dressmaker Can Success fully Turn Out the New Scarf or

Not Every Dressmaker Can Success
 fully Turn Out the New Scarf or
 Cape Suits.
 It's dangerously easy-the new scarf
 suit At least i, seems easy. No woman 1 Tn her right mind would think of en-
 gazing her little dressmaker,' who
 comes in by the day and turns out rather successfully many an evening frock ani afternoon frock that hold their own side 1 by side with frocks that are the output
 of the big establishments-no woman would, however, attempt to get her to pro | duce a suit She might get her to do the skirt; but then she would have the jacket done hy the best tailor she could afford.
 And there are many women bent on meeting the high cost of dress these days who do just that. But they wouldn't at ] tempt to get the dressmaker to do the | jacket
 ] If we are to wear suits in which the | jacket has been metamorphosed into scarf or scarflike cape we are tempted l further to attacK the high cost of dress 1 ing by getting the little dressmaker to do the whole thing It seems so easy just q strip of the material with possibly a little shaping at the shoulders. And doubtless by the time spring cones l there will be quite a crop of these home grown scarf suits. Some of them may be succsssful-but a good many of them
 won't. Recause after all the scarf of this sort is not at all easy. It isn't easy to take strip of the material out of which your suit is nade-serge or duvetyil or tricollette-and another strip of crepe dc chine or other lining material and weld them into scarf that will really look right There are difficult problems about
 it evon for the most experienced. It is said that the manufacturers ot
 less expensive suits are looking forward
 to the spring season with somewhat or
 misgivings concerning this new type of
 spring costume. It may be that the ques-
 tion of yardage enters in, for truly t
 takes more material to fashion one or
 these scarfs than jacket, and it may be
 just because they would have to master new trick. They have the trick oi
 making jackets down pat and they don't
 want to learn a new trick which may pe
 useful for only single season.
 However there is rot the slightest doubt of the fact that women are show ing much interest in this new type of costume; and at the winter resorts where
 1t is possible to go about without furs or heavy coats these new scarf suits are already gaining much favor among the
 smart women.
 Sketched today is rather striking ex- ample of this type of costume. It is made
 of navy blue serge and it is lined with
 hcnna georgette-for henna is the latest affinity of navy blue. The striking part
 comes in with the gold braid which edges
 the scarf-that and the strip of henna
 crepe de chine that appears at the bot tom of the skirt
 And the skirt, by the way. shows the
 new uneven line-this time the upward
 tilt coming at either side-and therein lies
 another bit of thin ice for the unwary dreSsmaker. She may feel that the un- even skirt length that has been so widely heralded is going to put an end to many of her difficulties and no longer will she have to worry about on the floor with her mouth full of pins trying to hang" the skirt with perfect accuracy. For she
 argues. if it is going to hang crooked, why, the degree of crookedness won't much matter. But take warning. The uneven skirt has to be handled with the utmost caution. It is all right. charming and s1i art in frock like the one shown that was made by a past master in dress making.
 Nothing can exceed the old-fashioned conventional Christmas tree in beauty Christmas tree decorations may be more elaborate and more brilliant nowadays
 but the old-time strings of popcorn and cranberries. with the wealth of burning candles, on the branch ends. and the few well-chosen spun glass and tinsel orna-