Evening star., 1925-07-12
es Alone Remain Utterly Frivolous in Days of Dress Reform
BY MARY MARSHALL.

T HE shoes that women wear to-
day constitute the last stand
of frivolous feminine apparel.
4 To be sure, the frocks and
hats of today achieve all the
ends that frivolous apparel was ever
designed TO achieve. From our point
Of view they are as frivolous as you
The point is this: During the last
years OF the last century and the
early years of the present, the dress
reformers dreamed dreams of rev
IA shion in dress-sensible. -hygienic
thoroughly emsncipated from the old
order Of things. There should be no
more corseted figures. High. tight
collars should 60. Skirts should
I've short-no more trains-and they
should he scant-no more foolish pet
tiCoats. Hats when worn should not
sit foolishly on top of the head. ready
IN he challenged by heavy wind.
Hat pins were an abomination. Long
hair was foolishness.
So far we have, in spite Of our
selves. achieved the dream Of these
reformers But there was one more
clause-oue more tenet to their
credo. Shoes should he fat and
broad. built as sensibly as a Grecian
sandal. And here alone we hold back.
Fashion permits such foot covering
only for those who actually partici-
pate in sports. The high heel is al
most a necessity In achieving what
We regard as a smart silhouette. We
go without stays, at least so far
appearance goes, we bare our necks.
we even SO gloveless, and petticoat-
less, and trains we know not. But
we must have our high heels. Our
shoes alone remain utterly frivolous
and probably quite unhygienic.
And it is q pretty safe prophecy 10
make that so long as we maintain the
other sensible characteristics of our
dress we will cling to this last incon-
ststenCy. We are not quite ready for
the millennium.
OBSERVERS in Paris seem 10 agree
that never in their memory have
women appeared SO beautifully "hn.
tshed' in their dressing as Al present
This is. no doubt. because present
day clothes are so easy to wear so
comforts hle-always save the shoes
And never before. say the observers
In Paris. have women who aspire TO
fashion been so well shod and so well
stockinEed. The same comment might
truthfully be made Of women in fash
ionable centers in this country With
skirts as short as they are now. shoes
and stockings assume paramount i'm
portanCe. And women seem to de-
light in giving them what they de-
emand. You cannot make any sort
ot comment on the clothes worn at
any smart gathering without men,
tlon1nS the shoes and stockings
This does not mean, as one might
at hrst suppose, an ideal situation for
the shoemaker. In fact. next to the
harbers-who are dreadfully over
worked albeit more prosperous with
hobbed and shingled heads still in
the majority-the shoemakers and
shoe dealers are the most harassed
of ALL those who contribute to fash
ionahle feminine apparel Fashions
in shoes change as often as fashions
in hats-oftener sometimes-and it is
an expensive proposition TO change
an entire line of footwear as often as
mtlliner changes her showing in
hats. Sometimes with the very smart
shoemakers in Paris they find that as
soon as they have laid in complete
line of a new style OF shoe something
quite different has become the fash
ionahle rage.
We hear repea tedly. that simpler
styles In shoes are coming into style,
and we are assured that many of the
smartest of women have given up the /
extremely elaborate types. But deco
ration still runs riot in the shoe shops
and women still wear shoes that are
far more ornate than their frocks.
Gilt leather, bright .colored suede, !
alligator skin, lizard, vari-colored
ena mel buckles. hand painted heels, |
mother-of- pearl heels, heels set in
hrilliants and gay-colored stones. satin
in all the fashionable shades. brown
kid in various shades. pigskin. ostrich
skin, sequins-all these materials and
more form the materials Of the fash
ionable shoemaker. And once a few
staple shades of leather, with little
sa tin. was enough.
The time may come again when