Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-13
Cotton Net Fr0ckS for Vacations

when coaches and horses were used
A woman at White Sulphur this
summer-by way of a bit of narrative
wore pale yellow cotton net even
ing frock ornamented with faint blue
taffeta sash and faint pink roses. 1t
was copy of one that her great
grandmother owned when she went to
this resort as bride.
This young matron went as near
White Sulphur as she could in an air.
plane. Her mother and father had
travelled by motor. her grandmother
and grandfather had gone by train,
and her great-grandmother and great
grandfather had gone in coach-and-
four, with relays of horses at post
stations and colored outriders.
Colored cotton nets, to go back to
the main subject, were not only fire.
quenters Of White Sulphur, Saratoga
and Long Branch when women went
with sixteen trunks to those racing
headquarters. the fabric also fitted
through the small towns with their
commencement days and their moon
light dances.
They have been part and parcel of
much Of the summer romance of this
country. No town is too small to
know cotton net; no gayety of other
days was too formal to be on intimate
terms with the material. So when it
is revived it brings with it something
of the atmosphere of Victorian days,
of early social communal life, of frocks
that were made at home, of women
who were not millionaires
Today cotton net frock trimmed
with roses and taffeta ribbon, bought
at smart shop, costs as much as
Paris gown Of tulle and metal but
that is neither here nor there You
may pay any price you wish for almost
any gown; it depends on who makes
1t and who sells 1t.
No woman is beyond the skill Of a
coiored cotton net, or half dozen. for
her summer vacation. All she wants
to know Is whether the fabric is fash
ionable, what is prevailing silhouette,
and how the roses and ribbon are used.
1t Is we'll to remember that the first
quality of cotton net gown is full
ness. The same rule holds good with
organdy. The tight, scant skirt and
the fitted bodice are not for these ma
terials.
1t is probable that cotton net came
into being as a leading evening gown
for summer because fullness in skirts
Is tolerated and almost transparent
draperies are unrestricted. The cotton
net frock goes over tight foundation
OF thin taffeta, but it is usually draped
at the sides to give a wide circumfer-
ence, and 1t is sometimes run with a
hoop in the Spanish fashion.
This hoop may be covered with i'm
mense pinked ruchings of taffeta or. if.
the wearer is young and the social
occasion very gay, the hoop may be
covered with garlands of roses.
The bodices of these frocks are llsu-
ally slender; they are practically moth
ing but girdles. There are festoons of
roses over the shoulders and around
the arms. and puffs of net in between.
Mauve, Indian red. several shades Of
light blue, geranium pink, jade green
and lemon yellow are the colors used,
and the taffeta sash invariably pro-
vides an agreeable contrast.
There is recrudescence Of point
d'esprit for afternoon. This is bark
ening back to a fashion of twenty-five
years ago.
Some of these black nets look like
yelling. They have a lace design over
the wide meshes, or a triangle or
polka dot. They are made over thin
black taffeta and trimmed with
watered ribbon.
Again they are tucked up with
black pSnpcialIv ia b.p
weave. There are wide lace panels
dropping over pleated black net skirts.
there are looped-up skirts of black
net which hang over lace founce
as an underskirt, and there are lace
bodiceS with wide elbow sleeves and
fchu of lace.