The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-02

| Washington, D. C., Nov. IA
composite photograph of a group OF
minor European diplomats is what
F.. the average American young man
F., will look like next spring. IL the
ta.lors and the makers of ready
to-wear clothes have their way, as
doubtless they will.
! 1t has already been announced
| that the clothes designers, like al!
the rest of the world will descend
upon Washington when the ,arma-
i ment conference opens, for the ex-
! press purpose OF studying the
| clothes worn by the delegates and
modelling their 1922 offerings after
! them.
! We will be treated to Lloyd
George collars and BRAND pockets
| All European diplomacy will be rep
/ resented in the spring style books.
But the clothes will not really be
| modelled upon what the great men
wear. Whether it is a significant
fact or not, great men are very sell
dom good tailors' models. BRAND
is anything but dressy, and Lloyd
Georges trousers seem often to
bag at the knees, according to the
photographs There is not any
thing striking about Clemenceau' s
garb except that he wears black
gloves in the house, habit which
even a European precedent prob
ably would not serve to popularize
in this country.
The clothes will really be remod-
eied after those worn by the young
StriplingS who will come over from
Europe in various capacities, secre-
tarial, social and purely ornament
al. These imported exquisites will
have trousseaux like brides. Their
great function will be to drink the
oceans of tea and other liquids set
forth by Washington hostesses, to
dance with the debutantes, and pos
sibly to marry few of the well-en-
dowed ones. thus cementing inter-
rational alliances and recouping in
dividuai European fortunes, as the
United States treasury has re-
couped the national finances of our
allies.
Why Not American Styles?
Doubtless these European at
taches will be very well groomed,
and doubtless American youths
might do worse than to look like
them, but the question surely is
legitimate, why in this, as in so
many other ways. we should be an
imitation of Europe.
apparently there is no such thing
as an American style. The highest
recommendation your tailor or hab-
erdasher can give anything is that
Il is now being worn in London,
jus: as the ladies look to Paris for
styles. It is bad enough thus for
the whole male America TO be try
ing desperately to look English
while his better half tries to look
French, but surely it will be con-
fusing If our daring and original
designers are going to try to make
rS look like the Wrole continent of
Europe all at once, with perhaps
an oriental touch thrown in .
1t is also curious that nation
which prides itself on its inventive
ness and its independence should be
content in so many matters to be
a mere ape of other nations For it
Is not only in matters of clothing,
bHt in manners and customs, in lit
erature and art, we are, or have
been until quite recently, docile fol-
lowers OF British and other Euro
lean models.
This is still more strange when
you take into account the wide
spread American shibboleth that
this is the most perfect country in
the world. Recently a part of the
American public at least has shown