Evening star., 1939-06-07

dred and tWenty-three institutions
and people before the publishers
lawyer made her change it-or so
says Miss HaWes. The more capi-
talistic and fashion-conscious will
connect the lady with her collec-
tions, which she designs and sells
with amazing speed. At any rate,
Elizabeth Hawes is both an au-
thority on fashion and a debunker
of the same. She debunked wom-
ems clothes in book number one.
Number two does the same for men.
Her second literary effort, Men
Can Take It," is described as "a
frontal attack on barbaric male at
tire and barbaric females who per-
petuate it, Published by Random
House, and amusingly illustrated bv
James Thurber, the volume points
out the fallacies of mems clothes.
the reasons for same and what
should be done about it. If this
writer takes exception to some of
Miss HaWeS' ideas it is probably
because they are too revolutionary
for the average person to accept at
the moment. Frankly, We found the
book entertaining and delightfully."-
non troublesome reading. If we
can't picture men wearing tights
la Robin Hood. or ballet skirts a la
Greek soldiers, it's probably because
We are not as far-sighted and
imaginative as the author.
The book is protest against male
attire in general, and coats, collars,
ties, hats with leather bands and
heavy shoes in particular. In ad-
dition, it is bitter outcry against
traditional dinner coats and tails.
as we'll as the cut, color and use of
practically every article in the
masculine wardrobe. Miss HaWes
wonders why men wear collars and
ties at all, since she believes that
most hate them: she visualizes the
day when all husbands and beaux
will attend the most formal func-
tions attired in the garb of bull
| hghter, or commute on the 8.15 in
slack suits sans collar, tie. coat.
hat and heavy shoes. She dreams
of the time when men will be COM
Portable and beautiful without los
ing an ounce of their herman
quality!
The first part of this volume is
devoted to The Dear Dead Past"
and Miss HaWes tells us that men S
garb has not changed greatly since
the industrial revolution At this
time the commercial men overthrew
kings and mobiles and consequently
banned satin breeches and lace
ruffles, substituting starched white
cuffs and collars and trousers. They
clung, however, even as the men to-
day. to heavy shoes for cobbled
streets and garments made of heavy
fabrics. The fact that we now have
paved streets and centrally heated
houses has had no affect on the
modern version, says the author.
Even the buttons on coat cuffs are
a hangover from the time when
sleeves had to be opened and rolled
up to fight a duel!
From this point the book pro-
crosses to the second cause of manly
clOthlng-Women. Here Miss Halves
goes slightly off the course, bringing
in the lives OF women, the average
family's income and the servant
problem. These. however, she feels
have some influence on male dress,
and in some way connects them with
the fact that women want their
husbands to conform to the rules.
She includes a discussion on what
is expected of men throughout life
and delves into the wondrous work
ings of the minds of Yale and
Harvard men and their conception
of "meatballs men who don't dress
as every one else. In fact, Miss
Hawes blames the discomfort of
men on decisions of women, early
training and the fact that they are
afraid of being called "sissies."
Our reaction to Elizabeth Hawes'