Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-03-24
Clipping the
Flapper's Wings
By Frederic ]. Haskin
By Frederic J. Haskin

New York, March 2l.--The day Of IN
overioyed. oycrdrcssed dear young thing,
full of sentiment and illusion, Is drawing
10 q close. "Gladness" and glad rags are
going out Of fashion.
According to Miss Jane -. Rppin, ma
tional director of the Girl Scouts, WITHIN
the next ten years women are gong TO
abandon all creative attempts at Illusion,
and live a peaceful, thrifty existence,
like men. They arc going to wear PLAIN
business suits and severe hats. abJurc high
heels and cosmetics and exercise q re-
straining influence on their eSuperant
gladness. especially while at work. Miss
Rippin herself is doing all that she can
to bring this admirable reform about
Every day." she says, we are tcacn-
ing the girl that her body isn q Chf'stinas
tree on which to hanga lot OF ornaments
The young Scout becomes accustomcd
to the weasing of her own simple unIorn,
and sees its value. OF course, she cannot
wear it always, but she is taught that the
next best thing is plain one-piece dress
with belt. Her scout shoes are big anu
broad with low heels,- and she knows
the dangers of high heels. AZ for cosmetics,
ever one of our girls comes to know that
girls who wear artificial things on the
faces have artificial things IN their charac-
ters.'
RESPECT FOR REALITY
Bv taking them while they are young
this way, and inculcating In them whoie-
some respect for grim and, even occasional
ly homely reality, it is hoped that the
"too-giad'' outlook can eventually ne
stamped out. Miss Rippin Is aided ana
abetted in this useful campaign by various
vomen's clubs, including the Wall street
Club the Irene Thrift Club, an organlza-
tion of chorus girls, and a. Mlcheli Pal-
mer. whose interest is in squelching not
SO much gladness as extravaganza.
While the campaign is invading even
our drawing rooms, with the IDEA OF
| clothing them little more fully and less
| fancifully, it is particularly directed az the
| modern working woman. Young women
| who wear distracting clothes TO the ONCE
whose gladness effervcsces and spihS over
! into the sober working hours, and who
n,ononolize business telephones for pro-
| tracted. mirthful conversations with their
~-ar;ous aco1aintances, and who insist
upon iovfully vamping the boss when the
poor man is ANXIOUS to get through the
| dictation and out to his golf, arc not ex.
nected TO occur in the future. The wal
| Street Club is taking these species o.
| cladness under its wing IN the hope OF
definitely saddening them.
Miss Elizabeth Sibley. President OF ths
| organization, has very decided views or
| the subject. which she confidently ex
pects TO impress upon thousands OF young
women employed in the Wall Street dis
trict, during the coming year
"Not everything that it is necessar,
To know If one is 70 succeed IN buslnes
Office is taught in preparatory schools o
business courses" declares Miss Sibtey
s1Tbere are questions of dress and deport
nent which sre most important. Olde
women who have gone through the stag
Of Office work, which these girls arc Jus
entering, can give them word or two Q
advice, which we feel should be OF SOM
value.
prApHASoUs ATTTRr SHOCKS.
As ii is. conditions are so shocking
according to Miss Sibley, that one wo
man, the head of large banking house
recently became so embarrassed at tn
diaphanous attire of the other feminin
workers that she raised all the windows
the office and then tactfully suggested tha
the girls put on their coats so that the
would not take cold.
At the recent convention of the Ns
tional Federation Of Business and Prt
fessionai Women here, where the subIeC
Of dress reform received a great deal
discussion, Mrs Christine r. kefauve
supervising Inspector of the Bureau {
Industrial Hygiene of the New for
Department OF Health, created nnl
stir bv her assertion that many a wife n
comes unduly suspicious of her hui
; band if he has in his employ a girl VII
dolls up like a fashion model. In h'
opinion il was UP to the modern buslnel
girl TO suppress her glad appearance
order that the boss's wife might rest
peace and comfort. Mrs kefauver Is NJ
especially Interested in the welfare I
boss's wives. except in so far as they Il
/ terfere with the success of business womel
: The business woman may not reaiii
I il, but il Is not fair 70 herself to dress t.
: the Office IN unsuitable clothes. she say
, The time has come when entering busne
with a woman does not mean merely Il
filling of gap between school and mn
riage IL means as much today to 81
I as II does TO her brother. She must theT
|, fore avail herself of every opportunity