The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-11
Capes An Aid For Slender
 Figure
By rL0AGMcE CLARK

Once upon time it was fashionable to be plump. Indeed, it was. The cat tiest thing you could say about wom- an was that she "wore pads Think of it. It sounds fantastic in this day and time, but nevertheless. it brings home the fact that it is simply ''the fashion" to be slender these days, and where is the brave soul who has the courage to look different from any one else? One must be individual, of course, and individuality can not be too strong. ly stressed, but to look as though one stepped from the pages of an ancient and dusty fashion magazine is another matter. Therefore since we, must he slim, let us look today at tbe present styles and see what points. afe interest. ing to the woman who thinks she ought to appear more slender.
 First of all, there is the long. straight line dress. It is the basis of all the frocks of today and obviously 1t is the most important of all aids to slender ness. But since most of our dresses are built on these lines, we must look further than the straight line dress itself. We must look into the details of these dresses and find which of them will make the plump woman look slen-
 
 Effect Of Little Caps
 Did you think that . little cape swinging to the waistline at the back of a frock was not for you, Miss Hun- dred and Forty Poundsy We'll, you were on the wrong track indeed. It is one of the most slenderi3ing inven- tions of fashion that has come along in some time. It disgUises the outline of the figure, and it is amazing to note how prone we are to believe that the figure which it partly c0nceals is good and rather slender. Without the oblig- ing little cape your figure is thrown into sharp relief and there is no chance for the imagination to get to work at all. Few people observe closely. They give a quick glance and an impression is formed that is partly made up of what they have seen and partly imagi- nation. And that first impression is scarcely ever changed. The right sort of dress will do an amazing amount toward making that first impression one of slenderness. After that your personality will make few extra ponds seem of secondary importance.
 One Woman's Little Trick
 There is an actress playing in a current production who makes use of the little cape to excellent advantage on her stage frocks. She is not modishly slender, but she actually achieves that impression by having a softening cape at the back of each of her gowns. Her evening dress is a powder blue chiffon and it has a pleated cape that hangs from a point in front of the shoulders where it is just a few inches long and it gradually widens and ripples away to the hip line at the back of the dress.
 Now the cape and the body of the dress being of the same filmy material, blend together. making an indefinable line between the two parts. The whole effect is pleasing and the impression is there of unbroken line from neck to hem. Other of her dresses feature the little cape also, but since it is one of the latest and best of modish details there can be no objection to this young woman's choice of it as part of her gowns.
 Cape Of Several Uses
 One gown has clevery cut cape that may be worn as a dashing drapery that covers one arm like yoluminous sleeve. Or it may be drawn across the shoulders and snapped into place. fOrm- ing an uneven cape at the back, longer on the right side than on nAthe left. An unusual arrangement, is 1t not? And here another good slenderizing trick has been brought in. The lines are uneven, and such lines are notoriously flatter- ing to the plump woman. The draped skirt further emphasizes the uneven lines in the way that it hangs from the hip with long fold of material extend ing below the hem line. The fabric is splendid for any sort of odd draping. 1t is soft black silk crepe that looks we'll in big sweeping folds as well as in the tiny ones that radiate from the side where the drapery is fastened. The only ornamental touch to the dress is a band of cutout embroidery worked in black silk
 Absence Of The Belt
 Another thing to remember when you go forth in search of the slenderizing gown is that belts as parts of straight line dresses have almost ceased to ex- ist. This belt was often decorated with meaningless bits of trimming that only served to cut in two the long line from shoulder to hem, and in that way &C., centuate the waistline. phe newer frocks do just the opposite thing. The belt is thrown away altogether and line of trimming reaches from the neck line to the bottom of the dress, making an up and down effect. This trimming may be a fancy braid having well marked up and down pattern or it may be fold of contrasting color.
 As for colors. most people declare that black and black only is the one choice for the woman whose figure is of classic proportions. Undoubtedly, black is good but there are some shades of black that are quite as intense as q color would be. Some of the tan shades and dull grays that are incon- spicuous enough to blend into the back !, ground, Us it were, may be worn with happy rer~>>s. That tale about blacks being the only thing for the plump woman isn't quite true.