Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1921-08-05
Gay Colors in
New CretOnneS

The clever French designers, whose
study of the psychology OF dress mas
PLAYED so large part in making them
the fashion dictators of the word,
hive realized that this is the crucial
time at which to launch some appare'
of brilliant hues, writes fashion cor
respondent.
The love of color cannot be sup
pressed Ii Is inherent in every hu'
man being. A young child instlnc-
lively reaches for bright colored OBJ
iects. We all feel the cheer OF color
J1nconsclously we are eXhlarated by
beautiful painting done In broad
sweeps Of color or by gay flowers Of
brilliant hue,
There cannot fall to be n reaction
from back. After the simple black
dress which has been and still Is so
fashionable, women may not care for
n violent change to bright colored
street things, but they fit easily into
the scheme of country clothes.
The pendulum Of fashion usually
swings far in one direction or the
other. Those who give 1t Impetus
have decided that II we are to have
color we must have plenty of IT, And
where could II be obtained In greater
variety than In cretonnes? SO Tor
midsummer we have cretonne dresses,
hats, smocks. gilets and bags.
A great many children's clothes
have been made of this cotton mate
rial even to caps for babies. The
latter are distinctly In the novelty
class, but they are to be found In
many Of the French shops, and, al
though we may not advocate them,
they must be reported as an Item OF
news.
No FrilIs or FurbeIows.
A well.known Paris speciality shop
makes lavish display of cretonne
clothes. The dresses all follow sim
pie designs, for material embodying
so much in the way Of color and de-
sign itself must necessarily be made
with little or nothing In the way of
frlls or furbelows.
This material. which has been more
closely associated with house decora-
tioh than anything else, has great
deal in the way OF art to rely upoa.
All the richness OF design and the
beauty Of color seen in II did not just
hsppen. II Is an outcome of modern
talent coupled with ancient arts.
II has meant the study OF the art
Of Oriental countries and reproduc-
tion of their best although the fabric
CARRYING II is one Of the comparative
" inexpensive ones. AS far as art Is
concerned. II has much more to rec
ommend II than It's more expensive
rival. the plain piece of dull black
silk.
or course. nobody Is advocating
TINT all the world shall be dressed In
cretonnes and chintzes but they are
destined to play their part, and
would certainly be desirable II variety
IN dress had more advocates. Wheth-
er or not women are afraid Of looking
unlike other women, the fact remains
that each woman seems to look exact
~ like every other one
From Distant Lands.
This is the great criticism Of the
dress Of the American woman. The
head Of one OF the largest and most
successful dressmaking houses In
America recently said. II have been
making clothes for American women
for % years, but after walk on; one
Of Americas most fashionable thor
nuchfares one recent Sunday morning
| could not tell you what any Of the
many women promenadlng there wore.
II were divorced from one and mar
ricd to another" he said, ~ am sure
/ could not tell which was which
they were dressed so much alike
Cretonnes and chintzes appeal more
to the imagination than p obably any
other materials. The foliage that
grows along the banks Of the Nile has