Evening star., 1921-09-18
BY ANNE RITTENHoUsE.

@AR1s is coming out of her black
l. like an old-fashioned. quickly
consoled and rather merry
. widow.
For while black was still the ac-
cepted hue for morning. noon and
night, for debutante, brides and
grandmothers, even for weddings
worn in disregard of the old preju-
dice against the wearing of black
at nuptial festivities-while black
was to be found everywhere came the
mode for black and white. white and
black and gray. Then with rather
amazing suddenness Paris turned out
in violet, mauve, fuchsia. purple. That
was at the er-tobe-forgotten bal
de ropera early in the summer.
And there you are! Like the old
fashioned widow. Paris changes her
black for black and white, though it
is many season since black ana
white has actually been regarded as
at all suitable for real half mourning.
Then the violets. purples and mauVes,
though those tones. too. are no longer
looked upon as any more suited to
half mourning than navy blue or
brown.
Women are still wearing their black
and black and white clothes and some
of them speak of the violine tones as
quite new. The great dressmakers IN
their recent openings responded 70
the taste for black. for white. and
made much of the violet tones. In a
measure they were but singing new
song to an old tune. 1t Is long
time since that bal de fopera apd
most women who can wear mauVes
and violets have done so.
IT looks verv much If faShlOn was
going to follow the traditional steps
of the old-fashioned merry widow
who. having gone in mournful black,
virgin white or penitentiai violet.
. did before and bursts forth in rain
bow of color.
tical Americans-this may be
playing ahead of the band, all this
talk of rainbow colors. Perhaps. while
undoubtedly there are signs of a vivid
palette in clothes before the present
season is over, perhaps the American
who clings to all black, to white and
to the violine tones will carry more
of the chacet of Paris about her than
as if she blazed forth in almond green,
emerald, orange, rouge and indigo
blue.
Still prophesies are interesting and
1t is what is spoken of in a confiden-
tial tone that usually fixes your at
tention.
Your milliner assures you that you
must select hat in one of the
fNchsia tones. Black is smart and
brown is worn by women who like
it. To be sure, you will need two or
three dark hats of this sort. And
some one of the fuchsia shades for
more elaborate wear. Then she may
lower her voice. OF course, these are
the hats they are wearing now, but
they say-they say that the French
milliners are going to turn. about
and launch brfght-colored hats. Al
mond green. orange. black faced with
scarlet. royal blue-colors and. COM
binations of color that have been un-
heard of for seasons-at least. as far
a. mi3linerS are concerned. t.....:.
Somehow this expected interest In
bright colors is spoken of with some
welcome because when women select
their clothes from a wide color card
they usually buy more. 1t would
stimulate interest. 1t would be good
business. But the stage has already
been set for a season of black. of
copper vrowns and fuchsias as far as
milliners are concerned, and no new
developments are needed for the time
being.
No one feels that there need be any
hurry about it. There is always a
sort of satisfaction in knowing what
is going to happen next. In fact. when
you see a play for the second time
and know what is going to happen
in the second act you can dwell more
lingeringly on the first act. We can
enjoy our blacks and our violines and
our brown hats for the time, knowing
that when we grow weary of them
the time will be ripe for more bril-
liant headgear.
X X X x
WHEN we look back at the clothes
of today from the vantage point
Of a few years perspective we may