The Washington times., 1934-11-19
FASHION SHOWS
PLANNED BY
ST ORES

A fashion program of great i'm
portance to Washington women
will be inaugurated Thursday,
when the first session of the
Fashion Congress of America"
takes place in this city.
The Fashion Congress was
founded to "give voice to the
fashion needs of American women" ="
and the local branch, which will
hold luncheon meetings every
Thursday at the Mayflower
Hotel, will study the fashion needs
of Washington women in par
ticular.
NOtableS To Be Judges
A group Of prominent Washing.
ton women will be chosen each
week to act as judges at the
Fashion Congress. The commit
tee will be made up of different
women each week, and they will
be selected from the Junior League
and from the social register, on
the theory that their good taste
and fashion knowledge should be-
available for less fortunate women
who have not the time and money
to study fashion at it's sources.
The way in which the Fashion
Congress works is this: Leading
Washington stores will submit cos
tunes which will be chosen from
the standpoint of good fashion
and newness. The judges will
see the dresses in review while
they are lunching, and from each
group they will choose, by ballot,
the one which they believe to be
the most outstanding. This dress
will be tagged Fashion Congress
Selection" and sent back to the
store. Each store will have, each
week, in consequence, a costume
chosen by smartly dressed Wash.
lngton women.
U. S. Designs Favored
Whenever possible, the Fashion
Congress will promote American
designs, American fabrics, and
American-made clothes. There
l as been a gradually increasing
demand for American fashions
which can no longer be disregard
ed.
We are now faced with the
question:
''Is this Paris business q
superstition? Is it merely habit
which makes us turn to Paris
again and again, when we have
competent designers in our own
cOuntry?"
The answer is an important
one, and iC will be worked out as
the Fashion Congress progresses.
The judges who have accepted
invitations for this coming Thurs
day are Mrs. Henry Roosevelt,
Mrs. Arthur O'Brien, Mrs. Will
liam Beverley Mason, Mrs. James
F. Mitchell, Mrs. Philip o. Coffin,
Mrs. James Clement Dunn, Mrs.
Leland Harrison, and Mrs. Mark
Bristol.
Four models, chosen from the
following permanent model list,
will show the clothes: Miss FL
eanor Roosevelt, Miss Alicia Rod
gers, Mrs. Halves Preston, Mrs.
j. B. de Sibour, Miss Mary Louise
Marsh, Miss Florence Harris, Mrs,
Jasper DuBose, and Miss Laura
Tuckerman.
Stores to Alternate
Most of the department stores
in Washington will submit cos
tunes each week. The speciality
shops will alternate. On next
Thursday the stores showing will
be woodward and Lothrop, the
PalaIs Royal, Lansburgh's, the
Hecht Company, S. Kann Sons
Company, Frank R. Jelleff, M.
Philipsborn and Erlebacher's.
The Fashion Congress is spon-
sored by The Washington Times.
and the winning costumes will be
photographed and shown by The
Times in place of the fashion
pictures which have been shown
for the past five years. The
Congress will be under the di,
rection of Betty Caswell, Wo-
mans Page editor of The Times,
and Wilma Laville, fashion editor
Of the same paper.