Evening star., 1925-07-19
BY MARY MARSHALL.

~ ONE one prominent in the milli-
merry business recently remarked
that while the Bible states that
~ the sins of the parents shall be
visited upon the children unto
the third and fourth generation, now
adayS the sins of the children are Wis
tied upon their parents, at least as far
as styles are concerned. Mothers,
grandmothers, possibly great-grand-
mothers, are seen wearing hats and
frocks and wraps designed for women
OF youthful form and bearing that are
quite, quite wrong when worn by
older women.
The very first and best thing for
the older woman to do in solving this
problem of suitable clothes has pos
sibly more TO do with diet and exercise
and daily habits than it has to do
with clothes. The whole veXed ques-
ton becomes almost simple when the
older woman has not put on many
pounds since her twenties. 1t Is better
to be Sii5Stly underweight than even
a pound overweight, according to the
life insurance authorities, and with
this the makers of fashion agree. You
can get along without curves now
adays, but you'll have a hard time to
look smart and fashionable if you
have no straight, slender lines about
you. SO really, quite seriously, why
not begin at the very beginning in
solving your problem of dressing very
we'll and looking very smart after 45
or so or so or 65 or so, and take off
all extra weight. Your doctor will be
as gratitied as your dressmaker.
Apparently the dressmakers have
no room in their dreams for women of
too solid flesh This aftermath of war
is period in France when the slender
woman is supreme. This is not ap-
parently a condition that prevails else
where in Europe. The story goes that
when a celebrated French dreSSmaker
was allowed in Berlin not long ago to
show his new clothes with a flock OF
young mannequins of fashionable pro-
portions he created quite a sensation.
The overweight German fraus watched
these Svelte young mannequlnS ad-
miringly, though perhaps with pity.
Poor things, they had apparently had
not quite enough to eat But 1t did
not seem TO occur to them nor to the
German dreSsmakers who sought In
spiration in this fashion show that
these overweight ladies should not be
dressed in the same styles.
Surely clothes were never before
quite so trying to the fat woman, and
as nearly all women gain weight as
they grow older, it follows that the
present mode is often very trying for
women of mature years. The new
clothes do look dowdy if they are not
short and snug, but there is always
danger of seeming ridiculous when
woman who is not slender wears one
of these new frocks that is skin tight
and of ankle length.
x X *
OF course the only answer to the
problem is that the older woman
whose figure is not slender and youth
full simply must apply moderation
but only as much moderation as is
necessary. The very long skirt or
the frock that is too full only attracts
attention to her disqualiications.
The boyish hair cut, while popular
with many older women, is most ex
acting. No woman with a fat neck
should ever make the mistake of
adopting this fashion. However, there
are some older women with well
shaped heads and graceful necks who
look very, very well in this rather
trying mode.
Never before has the problem of
making frocks and hats for the older
women received so much attention as
it does at the present time, apd this
is because most women nowadays re-
fuse to be old women when in reality
they still feel the enthusiasm atId ami
nation and ambitions of youth. They
won't solve their clothes problems by
wearing hats that are Just few
years out of style, because they know
that this gives them an unfair handi-
cap.
One thing that. the older woman
should bear in mind is that her goal
in most cases should be smsrtness
rather than prettiness. VerS few
women past 80 are really pretty.
though very often they are really