The New York herald., 1922-03-12
Models on Exhibition Have
Never Been SO Restrained
in Taste.

r I really seems as IL the designers
| had taken to heart the old French
- proverb, PLUS ca change. plus
c'est la meme chose" and had decided
that, II this is true, 1t is no use trying
| to change the fundamentals of the
present mode in its essentials. The
very variety of recent years mitigates
against sensational novelty. In TIE
old days some one launched a balloon
sleeve, and Immediately all the sleeves
| In the world ballooned in concert, even
! those on nightgowns. But laterly we
have seen the sleeve SO long and tight
that one could hardly bend ones ell
bow side by side with sleeves of
gigantic proportions, and women have
chosen any type which they thought
becoming to them. This eclecticism
continues. but it is remarkable. In the
new collections, that a general wave
of what one might call sartorial san
ity has swept over the whole situation,
for the collections, as a whole. have
| never been so restrained In taste.
There are hundreds of attractive mod
els; there are tailleurs which embody
the very spirit of the spring morning in
town; others which bring the country
club veranda vividly before us; others,
again, that are soft, silky crepe affairs.
There are trim little frocks. often with
charming lingerie touches, Of which
fashion has deprived US for so long. all
ready for our morning hours; while Tor
afternoons the play of draped crep 8,
silk laces, Georgettes and chiffons with
ravishing details of trimming kas never
been more tempting.
short Coats Featured.
To take the tailleurs first. the triumph
of the short coat Is established. Most
collections feature 1t exclusively. We
find the short, straight jacket, comm
to the hips, with or without a belt, and
the little paletot shape which falls
freely from the shoulders with an al
most circular flare in the back. Stand
ing band collars and the turn up and
turn down variety are often added TO
them, and ribbon cravats are numerous.
A few are belted in the front and have
loose panel backs, sometimes square
and sometimes rounded. There are. OF
course, classic tailleurs and straight,
long Jackets. Jean Patou especially gets
away from the belted suit by mary
amusing means, except for his sport
models. which are invariably belted.
Short capes complete some of the tall
leurs, removable at will, and are OF
varying shapes. rounded or square IN
the back. Other houses seem to be try
ing to push the coat instead. Jenny
shows many quite straight coats, loose
and plain with mandarin sleeves. some
OF which reach to the knee, though
others are shorter. These complete
either crepe Georgette or chiffon dresses
and are designed TO wear cover any
frocks. Last summer there was not
black crepe dress which did not have
Its matching black crepe cape. but to-
day many houses, among them Doeul-
let, make a special feature OF black
crepe coats. Worth has very novel
idea In coats. He shows one Of black
cire satin entirely covered with heavy
black lace. SO that the effect Is Ike thaf
of a new broche tissue. A few houses
favor satin coats, but the general vote
Is for mat crepe. Premet completes az
ternoon frocks Of lace and chiffon with
capes OF silk rep In soft, rich quality
or OF matching chiffon. Madeleine ct
Madeleine, who use satin great deal.
are making capes for evening and for
NAL afternoon wear to be worn over
lace and satin frocks. These capes are
draped and are edged around the neck
and down each side with ostrich feath-
so universal In the nineties.
Three Piece Suit I'm Favor.
The three piece suit comes in for
greater favor than ever. When the
short coat is removed the effect is that
OF n frock, often with a top OF different
color and material. Several couturiers
use matching color for the upper part OF
the frock. contenting themselves with
lighter material such as georgette or
chiffon with silk crepe or crepe de chine
with serge or reps. Renee and Doeuilet
show very long, quite elaborate blouses.
With the classic tailors we have the
"chemisier" type OF blouse or the waist
coat effect OF piuie. and chez Madeleine,
the fine white linen blouse with high
straight collar and rufies down the
front and In the sleeves
All the collections show top coats for
morning on simple lines with very re-
strained details OF trimming. made OF
plain coiored wooden materials. Beige,
is a rose-tan, are most frequently chosen
for them. There are also odd brown
shades the chocolate shades. tans. few
bright green's and navy blue. the latter
frequently trimmed with red. Madeleine
et Madeleine show a good many COM
binations OF coat and dress In two coiors
and two materials. the coat being re-
versible. made OF one material and lined
with the other. the dress combining the
two.
II would be mistake 10 say that the
designers had given UP black. Doeuiilet.