New Britain herald., 1930-04-10

New York, April 1o.--A French man has discovered that 5o,000,00J women can be wrong.
 He is Jean Patou, renowned Paris couturier, father of the new long -skirted, high -waisted silhou- cite. Arriving in this country for a visit, Monsieur Patou is horrified to find that American women wear trailing skirts before tea-timc, the magic hour at which they were meant to be lonned.
 Americans abroad do not make this mistake. They understand from the first that the glamorous, trail- ing garments were intended for 1 teas, formal dinners. the opera and balls, that they were meant for leisure hours and leisure class people, not for offices, the subway, the streets and shopping.
 "I do not want to talk about clothes. however, Patou insisted. 'On this trip I am a Frenchman coming back 70 America because l think that modern business man should do so rather frequently in order to keep himself posted on how things arc going with an im- portaut part of his clientele
 Hes the Business Man
 As d matter of fact, patou in persons, looks far more like sue ceSsful modern executive than the usual conception of how An artist in dressmaking would ap pear. He is rather tall and slend- e. with that hardness and deep sports. He doesn't seem in the least temperamental but easy, pleasant bit matter fact and forceful.
 His dark gray business suit, light gray shirt with self-collar, and checkered gray tie were most becoming to his dark hair. slightly touched at the temples with gray, and his sray-blue eyes.
 As d 'dilnttante,' Patou con tinuod, modestly, T want to sec at first hand the modern art move ment in America. Also l want to see the modern movement in it's other aspects, the side of practi- cal organization and the changing American life. For styles must represent the epoch in which they are conceived and America is i'- i nucncing the world tremendously today"
 Patou qualities the cNaggcrat2l 2l expression the art of the con- 1 turicr." A couturitr, he admits, l aust be something Of a painter for his colors and an architect fo, his structure. But he insists thcrc is d third factor in the art oi clothes and that is the quality of life" in a costume which is sup piled by the woman who wears Il. Present styles arc not designed primarily for American women. Eut Patou insists that the true American type, the long-limbed, slcnder-hipped, graceful Dlanas, wear them to perfection,
 | The real revolution in the new | styles lies in their war against standardization, according to ra- toI, They differentiatc between the elite and the masses, the lei sure and the working classes.
 \mcTica Influences Styles
 "BetWceu 1918 aud l92S-2l styles were strongly influenced by the American clientele and were simple in line and in workman- 1 ship he said. The short skirt = ed, straight boyish fashions suited | the American Woman's bobbe1 hair. straight-up-and- down lit!so figure perfectly and were most ap- propriatc for office and street wear, But in many cases they Ntrc so lacking in character and go easily copied in ready made | dresses that standardization | threatened the drcssmakiug world. | The new styles, of which I was one of the originators, arc more dressy, less of a ready-made type | They require more skill in design irg, more craftsmanship in the handling of the materials. more 1 fittings and cannot be so easily copied for mass production. Alter 1 all, q dominant trait for any high
 class style is that it should be re-
 served for the few for whom it
 was designed ny the art of the spc' cialist. A fashion should be q lux ury, not capable of being worn hN
 cN crybodN or produced in stand ardizcd form for everybody.
 In the Elegant MNlc
 l Tt is my belief that the effolts