The New York herald., 1921-02-20

less be banded about in the mouths of
those who wear and sell suits until we
shall have TO revive some other term to
indicate that particular historic style of
clothes worn during the period when
Napoleon was beginning his brilliant
military career, just before tho Empire
One well known American house that
creates clothes for tho few and cares
not whit for the many has produced
a type OF suit that its designers speak
of as a modified Drectoire, using the
term transition. as il they expected to
launch something more purely Directoire
later on. The essentials of this suit are
extremely straight. fiat lines. long,
smooth. tight fitting sleeves with very
slight flare at the wrist. straight, scant
skirt with jacket showing a slightly
raised waist line. parting or merely
linked together at tho front.
Often these suits are made without
revers. the collar finish being supplied
by wastcoat or giot with high collar
flaring up around the throat like a Gala
lily. Sometimes the Jacket extends only
to the hips. In one or two most dis
tnrtive models the coat, hanging per-
fectly smooth and plain from a slightly
raised waist line. extends quite to the
bottom Of the rather short skirt. For
the skirts In these suits are not pcrccpt-
blN l6lEtT imam lHDSe We nave Detn
wearing. Perhaps a longer skirt Is 10
be part Of tho more definitely Dircctoirc
mode. Blu, for the transition Directoire
tile fairly short skirt seems to prevail.
Eminenuy a mCde for the youthful
and the slender. YOU may say. Per-
haps, and yet certain singer who
weighs more than two hundred pounds
has recently ordered this long coated
Directoirc model made up in beige. and
20 fgr from accentuating her girth Il
gives her almost slender proportions.
Yet II II usually only the slender woman
and tho woman Of youthfu figure who
rcjoiccs when the high WASTED straight
lines OF the Dircctoire are suggested.
suits W. Frocks.
Whether or not one selects suit
in place Of a frock for the mainstay for
spring street wear sometimes wisely de-
pends on whether or not one can AFFORD
TO have this made by good dressnakcr
or must be content with getting some
thing ready made. Of the two tyres of
garment the suit Is the more adjustable.
for the adjustment may come In the
Jacket az well as the skirt. The long
WASTED. broad shouldcred woman is
miserable in ready made frock because
sho knows that tho length with which
line ride inches upward. whore fashion
meant the waist of the frock 20 lie With
a suit especially tho straight line sui
of tho present season. she need have
no such uneasiness. The skirt may be
placed All low aS she wishes, while therc
Is no very grave fault IN style II q
straight line Jacket slides little above
tho line where il was meant 10 tor
inmate.
Last spring there were two typos of
suit of which women bought freely. One
wos the short Eton jacket over q straight
rtaitcd skirt The other was tho ripple
hippcd Jacket. usually single breasted.
with long gored body Both those
suits are hopclcssly branded with thu
mark of 1890 Of COURSE, II yol nu
you viii 81 ~ wearing this type or suit.
far there is no reason why p etn
should not wear last springs suit = sho
has to-
We have lost our curious feeling tha
We used to have that there was almost
something indecent about wearing last