Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-04
BY MARY MARSHALL.

TO put up rigid barrier between
what may be worn in town. and
what may be worn at resorts OF
l. in the country may seem some
what unreasonable. Certainly
there are days when the sun shines as
brightly and as remorselessly In the
streets of New York, Chicago, Washing
ton or San Francisco as 1t ever does
along the likeside or ocean beaches,
and there are times in midsummer
when the holiday spirit is just as keenly
felt by stay-at-homes in town as by
those who, while Summer lasts. look
forward to trip to town from seaside,
mountains or country estate as q most
depressing and unnatural procedure.
One cannot feel that any rules Of
fashion banning parasols or sleeveless
dresses or light sandals for street wear
in town show discrimination. In France,
as we'll as in this country, there has
been a lowering of the barrier within
recent Summers and women whose hol1-
days are short can go about town on
warm days in perfectly comfortable at
tire without feeling that they are break
ing every rule of smart dressing.
And yet there are some distinctions
that should be drawn between town and
country wear, between what is suitable
for the crowded city and what is suit
able for the small suburb, between
clothes that are appropriate for resorts
and those that are appropriate for busl-
ness wear in town.
/ oppose the coming of the longer skirt
you should not wear excessively short
! skirts in town-because the only &C.
casions when the very short skirt Is
considered really smart at present are
/ for active sports and the more informal
sort of resort wear. In France the
/ longer skirt has come In earnest, the
only exceptions there being the sports
skirt and the tailored street suit, which
is still made to come two or three inches
below the knee. And If you would be
/ ons the smart side you will not wear
sleeveless frocks for luncheon at a smart
restaurant In town, nor will you wear
there the more spectacular sort Of shoes
that were designed for wear at shore
resorts.
The really well dressed woman con-
siders the time and the occasions in
I connection with the clothes she wears,
knowing full well that in wearing
/ clothes of definite, well defined sorts
she not only feels more at ease. but adds
to her own infinite variety. Well
chosen. appropriate clothes for rainy
weather are as essential to her as
clothes for fair weather. and, having
chosen those that are smart and be-
coming she faces gray, threatening
skies with as much good nature as those
that are cloudless.
{ colorful rainy-day clothes come as o
relief after generations OF very dull,
irAb badly fitting waterproofS but the
overoriate. overcolorful raincoat looks
little cheap in contrast to the we'll
fitting. regulation raincoat and hat OF
In I1t,c5 ftSA
Fer the informal sort of evening par
ties that are the rule in this country
thfonghout the Summer months. jew
elnyAof the very precious sort is not in
favor Some women put up their dia-
mSr1dss and emeralds and sapphires for
this Summer as they would their sables
and ermines. and wear instead less ex-
pensive ornaments more in keeping
with the lighter, less formal sort of
clothes they choose for Summer. AL
ways jewelry Is worn more Sparingly in
the evening In the Summer than In the
Winter.
The beige era may be drawing to .
/ close. Already 1t has far outlaSted the
decade usually allowed to q color DOM
4 nance, and one hears rnurmurtEgs here
and there to indicate that women are
be& &nlrg Just little tired OF this neu-
i trklN cdldr that we have come to regard
aS eeherally appropriate just because
! we are so entirely accustomed TO IT,
p, Conservative women remark that they
never feel badly dressed in beige, when
they mean that they never feel con-
spicuous.
Really, Of course, beige Is very wide
term. There are as many sorts OF beige
as there are petals In daisy, and the
! reason that It Is as neutral as 1t Is Is
/ because it may contain blends OF so
many different shades. There Is the
| very pale beige like sand in the desert
/ and darker, unpleasant shade like
! wet sand by the sea. There is beige the
/ color of an almond shell and beige al
most as dark as hIbert. There 4
beige with q definitely yellow cast, rose
/ beige. beige almost as gray as putty and