The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-04-06
Shirts, Hard Finished WOOIens
 And Tropical Suits Are Scarce
ny 6. BURTON HEATH NRA staff Corresponaenas

WHAulu1ton, Apfil 0s-Ine aver ne adult hes c wardrobe to last l1r about 70 months if every manu- Iocturor were to close down and every retail shop were to withdraw It's stock from the market, the Omce of Civilian Requirements says.
 children are excluded from this statement because they outgrow their clothing, so that it cannot be judged on tthe wearabiity basis. But there isn't going to be any such complete shutdown. While there won't be as much clothing made as we would like. to buy, and much of it won't be first choice as to color, style or finish, we could go on for . long time maintaining Wardrobes almost as complete as they arc now.
 Hitler has held on long enough now 90 that mems fall and winter suits are going to be scarce next season. Cutting should start by mid- May, and the big tailors doubt that they could hope, even if VIE day were tomorrow, to get enough mate rial. A recent canvass indicates that various major producers expect to turn out from g to 50 percent as many fall and winter suits as last year.
 SUITNGS SCARCE
 There won't be any significant quantity o6 hard-finished wOrs- teds, but the OCR believes one should have no great dimculty find- ing pretty satisfactory tweeds and Unfinished worsted suitings.
 As for this summer, tropical wor- atetds, which are what most of us would like, will be pretty scarce. There won't be more than a fifth as many even as last year. But other summer suitings, notably cotton rayon, will be in better supply. Over all, there should be more than half as many summer suits in the stores as last year. But many of them will be delivered late, and you won't find them all on the racks at the beginning of the season, as you used to do.
 Mems shirts are tight. Production last year was about 70 per cent of normal, and with the difncult cot- ton textile situation 1t Is going to be hard to improve this. The OCR made a years-end sampling that showed supply from 90 to 50 per cent under demand The Labor depart fnent's survey shows supply from 90 to 90 per cent behind demand, with some panic buying causing artifl- cially exaggerated shortages. Both can't be right.
 If men will take it easy, and not upset the apple cart, the OCR believes tha tthe shirt-supply can be brought up to 30 per cent of de- mand, which would give every man ali the shirts he really needs.
 To get around the tendency of manufacturers, when textiles are limited, to use them up in the more expensive garments and run short on low -priced items, the WIPE has issued . series of "M-388" orders, backed by OPA price regulations, that have provoked storm in the garment industry but appear prom ising to laymen. AVW WsKhAOEO CAV1hEO
 Four-fi of all woolen and cotton fabrics available for civilian use, and three -fourths of all rayon and three-fourths of all rayon and other synthetic fabrics, are set aside for use in low and medium-p priced garments and for children. For men. tfas means that any manufacturer. whose suits wholesale for $3225 or less can get priorities on enougi, wool to make up to 50 per cent of the suits he made in the correspond ing quarter last year.
 For women 1t means, for example, | that manufacturers will get priority | assistance on slips retailing up to | $5.75-and the lower the retail price, the more priority help the manu- facture can obtain. For girls, dresses wholesaling at $3.75 or less will be encouraged.
 There will be left over, for hene- fit of new firms and for the making | of higher-priced garments. one fifth of the cotton and wool and . quarter of the rayon.
 This experiment obviously is not designed to increase the num- Der of garments available, but rather to help the family budget by enforcing new emphasis upon the price classes the family of or dinary income can afford. It also should help to eliminate an ex- apperated impression of clothing shortages that comes when a buyer who is accustomed to $32.5O suits, and now thinks he might pay $50. can find nothing under $70 or $8O and walks out to report that there isn't a suit in the stores"