The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-09-20
GONE IS THE GIRDLE IS THE WORD FROM PARIS
Nothing Like Waistline Appears
 Among New Creations

For the last three weeks there has been a tremendous hub-bub in the great dressmaking and style-creat- ing salons of Paris. Having been an eyewitness to the launching of the new winter styles "chez" Patou, Worth, MolyneuX, LanVin and hume rous other "grandes maisons," I ven- ture to prophecy that no launching of a fleet of battleships will have any more real significance in the world of affairs than will this prepa- ration for womansss War arssofslaefsuaslons for the coming season. Fortunately, however, there is little as sinister in the construction Of the mode" as in the building of destroyer-it is only somebody's bank account that will be torpedoed.
 The opening of Jean Patou-like most formal openings" in Paris meant an elaborate ''soiree," with flowers. champagne, soft, hidden music, and us, the enchanted guests, all in our hest bibs and fuckers, seat ed on gold chairs around little gold tables, while the graceful name quins undulated and glided past us displaying creations that made our own rainent look somewhat stale and back number like. My com panion, who was not half so bored as he pretended to be, was quick to ob- serve this fact, and being cynic, began to speculate on how the de- signers, knowing the uncertainty ,ot feminine nature, had the courage to stake so much money on the actual production of an entirely new "col- lection" Of womens clothes-new, every year, both In general lines and details. Suppose they made mis- take or guessed wrong? What then?' were his skeptical queries.
 I informed him that Paris coutu- N Q n sense and knew what they were about every minute. They realize that woman loves above all else to recreate herself in her own and in some one else's vision and therefore demands variety. What was the rage last year appears merely bor- ing this-and the courturier displays his genius in proportion as he anti cipates in what direction the reac- tion or development of tastes will go and likewise just how far.
 Take the new silhouette for ex- ample. It clings to the long, straght, narrow lines which in general way were established last season. yet It's emphases have quite changed. The most emphatic feature of this change caused me to think that the old game og button, button, who's got the button?" really should be replaced by "girdle. girdle, who's got the belt?" since so many of the truly tout au fait" new dresses and coats have lost that time honored append age altogether and continue their perpendicular course from neck to hem without any horizontal division whatever.
 An interesting and entirely new feature of many of the 1925 frocks for winter is the double skirt. Some times it is part of a complete un- ,tra int n overdress; at other times 1t is merely a tight, supplementary undersklrt, showing from two to four inches be- low the dress proper. The division between the two skirts is always dis tinctly marked. either by band of fur, or by contrast of color and ma terial, or often by both. t5
 Velvet and fur--no wonder the American buyers chatter about them! For trims every possible conceivable thing, while at the same time every possible conceivable thing Is made of velvet. Often these two plutocrats in fabrics are joined by their sister, em- broidery, in one single garment as in the case of a second sketch, a heavenly "peignoir" style of cloak, from the "maison" Patou. LuXuriousnesS is one of the key notes of the new season. and in cloaks of this type the climax Of luXurlousnesS Is reached. Patou also illustrates his favorite multiple skirt movement in this cloak, one of the prettiest of all of them, I think.
 Although embroideries are still go- ing strong for the more elaborate types of clothes, they are not nearly so promiscuously used as last spring. In addition their colorings are usual ly qLieter and confined to two or three harmonizing tones. Dull gold and silver embroidery is much used for evening wraps and gowns. And the happy day-on evening, rather- of the simple little dance frock 10 past the dictators have decreed. Never have I seen more resplendent evening gowns than in this years 'collections nouvelies." Apparently the aim is to mark a sharper differ epti&tion between gowns for formal