Evening star., 1923-04-22

your suit or wrap to wear with your
street frock. There 10 q sort OF
economy about 1t, though the three
piece costume will always remain
listed among tho moro expensive
offerings Of the dressmaker. But In
these costumes one has something
suitable for vagaries in temperature
and tho demands of different hours
Of the day.
Some OF them do come very near
to the ideal OF the busy women who
few years ago sought to work out
the formula that would do twenty
four-hour-a-day duty, starting you
out quite appropriately attired for
war work or golf course and, with
the skillful adjustment OF snapper
here and there, as the hands of the
clock went round, keeping you suit
ably attired for luncheon. for shop
ping, motoring, tea drinking. informal
dining and more formal dancing
These gowns that never quite reached
perfection might possibly have done
so. and would perhaps have solved
the problem beautifully, had the
problem not faded off into thin air
like will O. the wisps in the sunlight.
Nobody really wanted that sort of
dress. The woman who didn't have
time to stop for a change Of attire
once from the hour OF rising to the
hour OF retiring usually solved her
problem by getting into something
that would do and then avoiding aft
ernoon and evening diversions that
would make this something inappro-
pirate.
But those three-piece or four-piece
costumes, without making any pre-
tense at solving any problem or lift
ing burdens of dressing off women's
shoulders or satisfying the hopes Of
a single dress reformer, do in a
measure offer the advantage OF one
costume with two or three possibili-
ties.
CrILK, both crepe and satin finish, is
- the material chosen for the wrap
OF the three or four piece costume
this spring far oftener than the
woolen materials that we once asso-
ciated with the making of spring
suits. This 10 not difficult to explain.
The wrap itself is apt to be more
voluminous. 1t needs a more plant
medium and a less weighty one if 1t
is to be worn with any sort of COM
fort after spring air has lost the
tang Of winter. The regulation
wooden suitings are remaining in
favor for the strictly tailored two
piece suit. but that is an entirely diff
ferent proposition. The line of dis
tinction drawn between what the
French conveniently dismiss as a tail
leur and the suit costume is wide and
definite this spring.
Tho suits that we choose to call
"mannish" have by no means suffered
eclipse. Patou, in Paris, has been
sponsoring them and has set the
vogue for the straight, simply tail
ored suit worn with a matching cape
for early spring sport wear. But
fashion no longer permits US to match
our tailored sport suits with the ver-
dent lettuce leaf. canned salmon or
lavender hyacinth, as some of US did
last spring. Any left over of this sort
that we may have on hand from last
spring had best remain q leftover
or take . trip to the dyeing estab-
lishment. for the mannish suit OF the
spring Is mannish In coloring as we'll.
1t is gray OF the sort that We asso-
ciate with we'll bred English tweeds;
1t is fallow brown; 1t is beige: 1t Is
occasionally, not often, navy blue, and
It 10 white.
Tucking must be taken into con-
sideration. Perhaps it is q natural
outcome Of plating. and much Of the