Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-26
BY MARY MARSHALL.

A II American woman may appear
~ dressed TO suit the demands OF
- =sa~sAASt- sultriest and
4 4 most suffocating Of American
weather and still be entirely
within the picture of conventional
fashion; while any man who ventures
far in a costume really suited to the
demands of tropical American days
has first to make a break with estab-
lished fashion, has to ride clear of the
barriers set up by London tailors and
must run the risk Of being set down
as eccentric and unconventional even
in his own country. Paris dressmak-
ers have shown a Willingness to take
American climatic conditions into con-
Sideration that has been quite un-
dreamed of by the London tailors and
ha berdashers who still to a great eX.
tent set the standard in masculine
fashions.
We may wear hats as light as
thistledown il we choose, soft plant
hats made from the thinnest of fabrics
or the lightest of straw with Innings
that weigh as light as feathers. There
are lightweight, wide brimmed hats
that cast a welcome shadow over head
and shoulders. And we may keep our
feet as cool and as well ventilated as
our heads. for the shoemakers have
made a variety of Summer shoes that
are light enough for the tropics.
*
THIs is all fairly recent develop
ment of fashion. Some 20 years
ago a woman had to exercise consider
able fortitude and determination to
remain in fashion through the hotter
DAYS of American Summers. There
were always days when the pursuit
of fashion was quite depressing un-
dertaking. But now no clothes are
too light in weight, too breezy, too
cool or too comfortable to suit the
mode And the interesting thing
about it is that it is the French shoe
makers and milliners and dressmakers
who have originated most of these
Summary fashions.
Frequently we think of new Sum
mer clothes in terms of our Sum
mer holidays. But the woman who
stays at home all or most of the
Summer really has greater need of
a special Summer wardrobe than the
woman who passes the torrid weeks
at some resort. For the Stay-at-home
there should be specially chosen yer.
sions of practically every garment or
accessory of the wardrobe.
Even for street wear shoes cut
down close to the SoleS at the sides. |
sandalwise, or with cut-outs on sides
and vamps. shoes of lightly woven
strips of leather, of raffia or of linen
are quite appropriate. and these are
a source of great comfort. The Wom |
an who spends late Winter and Spring
weeks in some Southern climate 1
learns by experience that shoes for |
such resorts should be ordered a half |
size longer or wider than shoes for |
cooler clinaes, yet this concession to |
climatic conditions is one that the |
woman who stays at home during the |
Summer seldom makes.
Stockings of cobwebhy thinneSs may
seem like an extravaganza as a usual |
thing, but they should be included in /
your equipment and kept on hand for |
the torrid days of Summer. It is in /
reducing to the minimum of weight |
the last detail of your costume that |
real warm weather comfort is to be |
gained.
NO woman nowadays needs to be |
1 taught the trick of wearing scant !,
and lightweight undertakings, nor is |
there any difficulty now in getting lin |
gerie of feather weight. The choice |
from GOODNESS seems to lie between thin |
silk or georgette and fine linen. The |
only sorts of hats that should be con- |
sidered for torrid days are those with |
extremely wide brims made of light
weight hair or straw and very small |
hats, brimless or nearly so, that are
made of some porous straw such as
visca, and put together with the light
est of Innings.
One is willing to carry about the |
slight additional weight of a brim |
when it is calculated to cast a shadow |
over head and shoulders as large as |
that of parasol-but the hat that /
casts no such shadow should be feath |