Evening star., 1925-11-29
Clothes for the Little Girl Play Game of Follow the
BY MARY MARSHALL.

4 COMPACT seems to have been
~ made between the makers of
~ women's frocks and those who
a design only clothes for chill
dren-to the effect that no
matter how short women's skirts he
come, little girls skirts will become
a little shorter. Apparently there
must still he the thrill of going into
longer skirts when you grow up. even
though YOU never get into anything
longer than knee length. So YOU see
smartiY dressed little girls who look
as If they had wandered away from
home with abbreviated blouseS and
no skirts at all. These little trocks
are perhaps u little more graceful
when they hang straight from the
little round neck than when, as il
often the case, there is some sort of
kridle or belt with the Semhlance of
skirt section. But such a skirt
a Pew inches only and its brief mis-.
Sion is over. 1t could hardly be called
a runle.
France set the pace in this matter
Of short skirts for very little girls
end we We're quite deliberate in fol.
lowing. Now we are beginning to
feel the really smart effect it gives
little girl to dress her in the short
est possible frocks. You may feel that
the oNergrown girl of eleven or
twelve-the girl that we used to call
'Happer' until an entirely differ
ent construction was put on that
WuEd--Euu may feel that she looks
much letter If her skirts are u tritie
longer, al least to her knees. But
that j. not the fashion. apparently.
70 be sure. it is from France that
We have taken the persistent hints
about short and shorter skirts. But
France has been taking valuable suS-
gestions from her Anglo-SaXCn neigh
bors across the channel on this sub
ject IF dressing children. There is
no nonsense about children's clothes
today says a fashion observer in
Paris. The old-fashionad way of
dressing children as dolls Is slowly but
surely giving way to the English way,
and the children are all happier"
True in measure-yet if YOU have
tried to buy clothes for Your little
girl in Paris YOU may have discovered
that there are still more doll clothes
10 be had than clothes that appeal to
the mother of a normal romping
American girl.
The dressmakers in Paris who
specialize in childrens clothes seem
to take the keeneSt sort of pleasure
IN adapting every new vagary OF
sdult fashion to chidrens fashions
as well. They tread very, very closely
u
OF adults clothes, not realizing ap-
parently, that the dress requirements
and needs of the eight -year-old girl
re as different from those of her
mother as are the lines of her body
So when Il seems likely that a
more normal waistline IS coming back
1or women he children's dress ma kers
make experiments In raising the ju-
Nenile waistline. When godets become
q alt.+
they must needs work a lot of tiny
Eodets into the little girls frocks
Enormous flowers feStoon women 3
froCkS and so there are enormous
flowers on the children's frocks. Metal
lace is the rage with women and they
must needs find ways Of using metal
lace on the juniors frocks. There
are even party frocks of colored chif-
fon draped over foundations of gold
or silver lace among the party clothes
made for children in Paris. Still there
is tendency in the right direction.
x < X =
THIFFONS and lace we do not like
for childen, and at first thought
perhaps VelVets are as inappropriate
Yet women of undoubted taste have
been selecting velveteen frOcks for
even little girls this autumn and Win
ter and some Of the best-dressed little
girls have Worn party froCks of vel
veteen in dark colors. relieved by lace
cuffs and collars.
To be able tc dress ones children
well is a rarer trait than the ability
to dress oneself Well Even If YOU
want to do it-even if you have a
definite idea about how we'll ll-dressed
children ought to louk-eVen if YOU
are willing to help with the sewing
yourself. althering and fussing and
making little frocI<s, even if you have