Evening star., 1923-04-22
BY ANNE RTTTENHOUsE.

~ ASHTON is usually little skep-
l. tical of the ingenious. When
woman eQuips her kitchen
i she may look with favor on q
motor that will mix cake, beat eggs,
bufr silver. knead bread and peel the
potatoes. She may even view with
tolerance. born OF necessity, . device
that makes an impromptu guest room
out of the erstwhile drawing room.
But If she is one OF the discrtminat-
ing she has no such tolerstion Tor
presto-chango costumery.
The new three or four piece cos
tunes. so calIed-for sometimes the
words are misnomers and the three
piece costume has but two pieces and
the four-piece only three-manage ed
10 pass muster. They do verge on the
Ingenious. They do provide two or
three dress possibilities in single
costume. They do simplify the problem
OF dressing for possible changes Of
weather. and for the requirements Of
different occasions. But their clever
ness and ingeniousness are not obtru-
sive; they are merely incidental And
fashion has marked them with a big
unmistakable o. x.
They conform to no one definite
type.
Your three-piece costume may be
one thing and that OF your compan-
ion at tea may be made up OF an
entirely different sort Of combination.
Yours may be a three-tter brown
plated crepe de chine skirt, worn
will, a tan organdie blouse with
plated ruffles at hips, elbows and
neck. topped by a short cape OF
plated brown crepe de chine tied at
the neck with two-inch brown ribbon.
And that of your companion over
the teacups may begin with a straight
line printed silk frock overtopped
by a detachable tunic OF beige crepe.
The wrap she has just let slip over
the back of her chair-really an
integral part Of tho costume-ds. let
us say, a three -Quarter-length coat
wrap of beige marocain heavily en-
bellished with narrow tucks at shoul-
ders. at hem and midway between.
Then you look up at the striking
young woman passing your table, and,
If your eve Is keen for such matters,
YOU realize that she wears one OF
these new three piece costumes, but
hers is Of still different type. II is
OF blue crepe-marocain-an don't
forget that dark blue is gradually
gaining back some OF the territory
lost to black within recent years. II
begins with a skirt Of the dark blue
crepe drawn over toward the left
side and showing what your dress
maker probably calls cabot drape,'
the long end OF the ''jabot' falling
in point nearly to the floor. The
blouse (no doubt attached to the skirt
though this detail you cannot see) is
of beige georgette. and there is a
belted-in sort of overblouse with q
little short peplum that terminates
in the back in square cape.
X Il \
TSHESE three-piece costumes as pre-
i sented this spring are In some
cases evolved from the suit. In -
many cases they are the outgrowtf
OF the street frock.
Sometimes you may look upon this
new combination as the old-t suit
coat and skirt, with the third piece.
the blouse. usually attached to the
skirt. Again you may merely think
of it as a street frock. with a wrap
thrown In to complete the picture
and increase the dressmaker's profit.
1t has distinct advantages, however
you look at 1t.
It gives you insurance against your
own possible bad judgment IN Sc
lecting a suitable blouse to wear with