The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-04-09

signers, made skirts highly ornamental
and put plain bodices above them;
bodices cut on loose. wide. Grecien lines.
This trick is significant to US becsuss
we VIII see much of II. 1t Will be one
OF the features OF the season--the ornate
skirt. the slain bodice. with an immsnss
eirdle dividing the two.
The French designers, notably Beer.
do not hesitate to spread embroidery
over severe tailored suits. They ara
determined to give their handworkers
plenty to do. Over here the wise ones
realized that ubiquitous embroidery
raises the price of the frock. We Will
have to learn to say TO our dressmakery
what the American buyer says TO the
French vendeuse: How much Is 1t
without the embroidery"
Suits Versus Frocl<s.
erns a woman's choice between the
frock and the suit. It is not wise to
preach coat suits for busy hours to the
South or much of the West, because the
heat of their days gives them no chance
to wear tweed. homespun and serge.
they want thin frocks from April until
November. Northcrners insist upon one
good suit to each wardrobe. one for
each season. 1t Is the trump card
which they play In emergency. 1t Is
their usage of the suit that keeps II in
fashion through the six warm months
and it is bursting into full seasonal
glory this month. The time has come
to take off topcoats, put fur coats in
camphor, look lovingly upon thin
capcs and rejoice in a cloth coat and
skirt unhampered by q wrap.
The type of suit that America chooses
is not the three-quarter coat Of France.
nor is the elongated Russian tunic, with
immense width above the hips and slim
lines below. On the contrary. it IS a
slim little coat. pulling in the shoulders
and tightening the armholes until it
suggests Victorian lines that rules the
hour. 1t does not continue slim from
shoulder to hem, 1t flares out as 1t
passes. 1t is unbelted, II fastens with
link button, and has a slightly high
waistline. Tapped at tho wrist. fastened
with three buttons. There are belted
models. but they are second in fashion.
This coat was extensively worn in Eu-
rope last year, or rather one form of II.
and we have grated our model on
something that has been rather than
what Is. This Is we'll, for the American
woman would not be at her best In
some of the new French suits.
There Is a Beer model which IS good.
for it has the American line. 1t drops
snugly from the shoulder to a low waist
line and has tight hip peplum. The
disadvantage is in the sleeves. They suit
the French but not the American. for
they are too long, too wide and too
pointed to meet the activities of an
American woman--and when she is in
a tailored suit she Is out for activity and
not for leisure. Unlike the French
woman, she does not dance In the after
noon in a coat and skirt.
Every woman faces the struggle OF
her skirt belt when she chooses coat
suit. 1t Is an individual problem. II
she continues to wear tuck-in blouses
she must continue to keep her skirts
near tho normal waist line. If she
wears the overblouse she can drop her
skirt nearly to the hip line and save that
much thickness about her waist. The
shops continue to put skirts on tight In
side belts, but the expensive tailors fin
ish the top OF the skirt with two or
three rows Of stitching and let it go at
that
Whether the blouse goes over or un-
der the skirt, 1t must maintain the low
waist line. The new warehouses are
fashioned on the MILDLY blouscs which
the French took up a year ago and have
liked ever since. The fullness OF the
blouse is gathered into tight hip band
which Is plain or ornamental. X may
be of braid OF fur or simply Of cording
made OF the material.
When the underblcuse Is worn II Is
best to follow the pattern that was pu.
out by Doucet of Paris and was fol-
lowed by smart houses that make sport
clothes. This pattern produces a shirt
cut exactly like a mans shirt, long and
beltless. There is no danger OF its pull
ing UP above the skirt. even when one
lifts the arm, and the skirt can be belt
less and drop down nearly to the hips
II 1t Is finished with heavy stitching
at the top. The separate bot is not
worn with the blouse and skirt which
makes a part OF the tailored costume.
II Is left for one piece frocks, formal or
informal.