Evening star., 1932-07-31
Miracle of Individualism
And Chic in Fashion Ideas

medium? He can give the impression
of cleanliness by keeping himself i'm
maculate; he can give an impression OF
relative prosperity BY the quality ana
numerical importance OF his suits: ne
can imply certain amount OF taste,
but this is as far as any can go ana
farther than most men manage to get
through the medium of what they wear.
Clothes are uniform for men, no
matter who the men may be, for this is
true throughout the entire Western
Hemisphere One has no real range OF
choice. The business man is limited,
more or less, to black, dark blue, gray
and brown. In Midsummer, II ne Is in
a favored climate he can for short
while disport himself IN white, but he
is Gagged in on all sides, whereas woman
there is no limit to the colorS,
from darkest to 1ightest, soberest to
gayest, that stretch out like magic
carpet before her choice, and every
whira can be satisfied History Is ram
sacked to hatter her fancies- Old 1tal-
ian paintings studied to md rare
blues and green's that were known 10
medieval artists old Greciarl sculptures
are scrutinized thoughtfully by experts
excavations in all antique lands are
quickly bent to the purposes of those
who design women's clothes. Out OF
the tomb Of Tutankhamen came
enough ideas to keep Partisan design
ers busy for several seasons.
T INDBERGHS fight across the At
lantic was reflected in womens
hats the following week. The Olympic
games contributed their influence;
school and Army uniforms have been
copied. and adapted; there is no event
that has importance in any sphere
whatsoever which has not also its cor
responding style importance.
This applies to line, fabric and color
ing. The men have no rights what
ever In the matter of line and fabric.
They wear the same serges, f1anneB and
cheviots frcm one generation to an
other, and the line is always the same,
varying slightly according to the ability
of the tailor who cuts the suit or coat.
Women can imply any age or degree
Of sophistication or ignorance they de-
sire through clothes. They can use
this means Of looking chaste when such
Ia far from the actual case, and they
can give themselves an appearance OF
education, of culture, of naivette, when
these attributes have never been in their
possession--all through the appropri-
ately chosen costume.
Read a history of costume and you
will be quickly convinced that every
thing is grist to the faShionmaker's mill
and hence to the wornans wardrobe.
The whole geography has been mort
gagged by dressmakers and modistes.
One season it is the Persian influence
and everything that ever existed in
Persia for men and women, for use in
field, forest or elsewhere, is woven into
the fashion program.
# 4
NEXT season it may be the jungles
" of Africa, the sands of the Sahara,
or the lighting effects of an Exposition
Coloniale, such as offered limitless in
spiration to couturiers in Paris last year,
and these, too. belong to the Royaume
de la Mode. Every animal, every flower
and unit Of vegetable life, every bird,
everything, in fact, Is woman's for the
asking. It follows that she is to dis
tinguish herself by choosing from this
infinite Assortment and combining what
| is most suitable to her own form and
! features in the manner most satisfying,
effective and seductive. Out of this
comes what we call chic" She has
been able to blend something Of herself
with these materials and evolve a mas
| terpiece, just as a skilled painter can
make an immortal picture out of colors
which, in the hands OF another, might
only have made so much mess This
Is the miracle of individualism and the
| road to chic
Chic is yourself, manifested at its
best, through rejecting personality in
dress.
(Copyright. 1922