Evening star., 1948-01-14
By Elem
Fashion Editor.

NEW YORK.-Every January and
July leading New York designers
participate in a weeks showing Of
their spring and fall designs.
Today marked the opening of the
10th New York Dress Institute week.
Newspapers that had sent their
fashion editors to the very first press
week in January, 1942, were singled
out to be cited lover $50 editors
are now attending press weeks in
New York;. Those who sat in on
the first press showings of the New
York Dress Institute were presented
with a gold corsage pin from the
institute with the dates 1942-1947
engraved on 1t. The Washington
Star was among the newspapers
honored.
Now for the spring styles!
We mentioned trends yesterday.
Now we have seen those trends of
the whitfield waistline, cape-backed
Jacket, full swirling skirt, and the
fused silhouette achieve reality in
the collections of Pauline Trigere.
Eta, Maurice Rentner and Tina
Lesser.
Relax, ladies! This spring of l948
does not stress radical change as
did the fall of At. Clothes now are
significant in that they are very
proper" looking, modified and.
above all. soft, pretty and feminine.
The reason we know these spring
fashions will meet with your ap-
proval is because they make a woman
feel elegant and appealing.
What else could you expect with
f1irtatious petticoats, stoles, face
framing portrait necklines, shirring,
frills and flounces?
OF the collections seen today, the
first day of couture week, we believe
the loveliest one was Eta's. Run
ming close second, in our opinion,
was Pauline Trigere's.
Both were devoid of absurd"
dress silhouettes. When they were
full, not very, very full, and when
they were slim they were nice. Eta
placed emphasis on clothes slanted
to the American woman and for her
way of life. For her theme Eta
chose "the American accent" which,
she claims, is frankly romantic and
sentimental. Also running through
out her collection is another style
theme-the American beauty rose.
She uses it as major accessory &C
cent for her simple town dresses and
for her fragile evening dresses.
These roses are drawn through slim
belts and lend a definite charm to
the dress.
Eta's suits and two-piece dresses
In crepes, sheers and shantungs are
decidedly couture" clothes, all with
fine details. Exaggeration is un-
known in this house. Whether it's
the simple but elegantly styled navy
dress with fagoting in horizontal
lines for fabric interest, the ro-
mantle formal dress of lace with
yards and yards of billowing skirt,
or the wedding gown with medieval
feeling to it, Eta manages to be
subtle and at the same time dy-
manic in the manner of her styling.
The thing that so impresses one is
that Eta's clothes possess a great
deal of fragility and timelessness.
They are just plain beautiful,
whether executed in crepe, cotton.
eyelet, organza, or linen.
Pauline Trigere, acknowledged by
many to be one of Americas greatest
designers, has a spring collection Of
which she may well be proud. The
fused" silhouette is Trigere "sig-
nature" this coming spring. She
makes sleeves flow into back yokes,
the TERED back of a dress suddenly
merges into a straight, slim front.
Suspenders appear out OF a skirt
1t would seem to be fashion magic,
but it is not! 1t is good design.
This collection featured no pads
The cape and the "paulinette," a
separate tringular stole of wool lined
with taffeta, were introduced A
new summer fabric, cotton taffeta,
was also featured in several charm
ing dresses. Other fabrics spot
lighted in the collection were georg-
ette, chiffon, metallic knits and taf-
feta faille.
There's very covered-up look to
Trigeres afternoon and evening
dresses. One of her best designs Is
a pink and -taupe chiffon in a short
er-than- ankle length that has push
up sleeves. Much use Of chiffon Is
evident and one especially effective
dress is her full-sleeved, small silk
chiffon dress fashioned into shirt
waist dinner dress.
Collars interest Pauline Trigere
very much. Little ones, big ones
and middle sized ones dot her COL
lection. Expert tailoring, precision