Evening star., 1928-04-08
BY MARY MARSHALL.

i shop bearing in neat letters on
the window the words, Young
Girls Shop-or something to that
effect.
The owner and director of this little
shop Is woman of social Importance
who opened the shop because she felt
that girls between Is and 20 needed
sl,ecial help in choosing their apparel.
she had long studied their problems
and felt particularly we'll qualified To
helm solve them, So to begin with she
laid In q stock of 'jeune file" frocks
and wraps and hats and the window
blazone6 with the sign that it still
bears But for every one young gir,
who entered her shop door came 20
older women. and every day came more
older women--hsrdly one who might
not have been grandmother.
Il was the sign on the window that
had drawn them, They wanted to
look Young and they felt that the best
way 10 do that was to wear clothes
Of the more youthful sort,
If this amateur Sllopkeeper had been
a better psychologist she might have
worded her sign differently, She might
have chosen The Sophisticated
Woman" ilsteao--then the young girls
would have surely come. But having
chosen the Sisn she Gid. and having
attracted the eranGnlas. she adapted
herself 10 the special problem that had
presented itself, Now, with the sign
unchanged. she considers herself an
authority on dressing the older women.
But while many older women so to
this shop there are q great many more
VINO woul6 never dream OF doing 50,
Il is 8 matter Of pride with them
that they avoid fashions Of the youth
fssN S~r-e ~ t-~ .gA 90 n
dress & 6ay Younger than they are.
There are these two types OF older
wcnsn-thoSs who want 10 dress like
i6-vesr-oldS snd these who would
rather be oowoy than 70 wear anything
t1st might hide tbs fact of their age.
IN recent book on wonan's dress
= by one usually counted as an author
tty On such matters is this statement.
The woman over 80 can sfTord to
6isdain any prevailing mode
That, it seems 10 me, is exactly what
the woman over so cannot afford 10
CO, When the iS-vear-old giVl wears g
short -walSted frock with s drawn-tn
bslt--w hen every one elSe is wearing the
long vaist--ths effect may be extreme
" picturesque She may wear her
are wearing and may even wear mitts
on her dainty hands If she likes. But
the woman over 50 may not with i'm
pUnlty indulge any Of her fancieS for
things which ale quaint and pictur-
eSque, True. she should not be the
first 20 try a new fashion but she
Should be ever on the alert 10 keen
from looking like back number. be-
cause. Of course. no woman over so
wants 70 be considered a back number
Ny own experience has been that
whsthsr woman from SIS on looks older
O. younger than she really is depends
to g very great extent on her clothes
more so than with younger women.
OLDER women for some reason have
a singular unwillingneSs to conform
% the prevailing fashions of hair ar
fangemert. They wear their hair
parted when every one else wears 1t in
bang, they cling to the bang when
every cne else wears il IN pon4pacour:
and then cling to their pompadour when
every one elSs has it parted or straight
back. When the fashion for short hair
came IN elder women were given 10
understand that 1t was rot fashion
ior them. Now. of course. short haired
"a A1 VI 50 04iAE AHual ana
oddly enough short hair has proved to
be decidedly attractive on older women.
The short hsncut makes il possible
for the older women to wear their hats
with snaTtness thing which few older
women DO when they have an old
1aSnzc1e0 heao6resS 70 glrmount And
there Is nothing that does so much to
Improve the general gatup Of the older
woman as the right adjustment of her
hat
THE very short skirt, OF course. never
Tas meant for the woman of so or
80, but there is no reason Why 2 won-
ar need wear her skirts inches longer
tasn the fashion p-es>ribes Just be-
Gauss she happens 70 hare grandchil-
cTen- The fact Is that most American
c2ce- women have very well shaped
anEieG-2rad there IS nothing that
makes On older woman look dowdy so
surely as tae ove-Iong skirt Flesh
color1a Stockings may rot be a good
selection With black shoes, gun metal
4soca1ilg1 gray shoes gray stock
l2zs-Eith brown SHOES brown stock
tngs. With silver slippers. silver stock
f1gs and with white shoes either white
CT gray or Gull b2sge stockings. depend
tng On the accessories.
After al. age doesn't make 50 much
difference. II Is absurd 70 say that
s-onsn over so. 90 or 65 should dress
any differently than the women under
s0. 60 or IS. And for really practical
purposes lis a woFnsns weight far
more than neT years that makes Ger
tain fashions OUT OF the question
Take. fer inztsnce. Mrs. Jones. who
admits 20 50 years OF course she'd
look ridiculous Ia shorter dresses-Sno
SHE'D look absurd IN a straight sport
frock and knitted Jumper or a sports
Dyeri1louse and il would be q crime
for f9er % attempt anv of the new
1sred skiTls. Liaiat stockings simply
wouldn't O.. and high heels would be
too amusing A. first thought such
things seem TOO youthful-but it's the
pounds that Mrs Jones has ACQUIRED
rather than the years tfaat make II
recessaFY for her 20 dress IL way
tnat seems old fsEhioned.
ffS,sss.rtzrs gaess