Evening star., 1955-01-18
By Harry Boeos

pink shirt. black knit tie and
q charcoal flannel suit 80 mar
row -shouldered he looks like a
student at an Ivy League COLI
.lege. And his date may be
gowned like Rosemary Clooney
making a Las Vegas night club
appearance.
In school the students are
hardly distinguishahIe one from
another. School restrictions
against certain garments, such
as blue jeans. plus q desire to
keep the finery in good shape
for the evening. leads most cats
to wear q sort of uniform dur
ing school hours.
The boys wear sport shirts.
sweaters and Stacks Of some kind
to school. The girls wear sweat
ers, skirts. bobby sox and loafer
shoes. Almost nobody wears q
hat.
But It's between these ex-
tremes Of school and dances that
Washington,s cats really blos-
som into . style of dress all
their own.
Jackets Are Popular.
For example, the girls may
discard their usual long. droopy
coats. which sweep to within 6
to 8 inches of the ground. in
favor Of shiny white Upper
Jackets. made not of leather but
Of soft plastic.
The boys may counter with
their own black horsehide mo
torcycle" jackets. tight at waist
and cuffs, studded with silver
or. nickel ornaments.
Either may wear at the neck
q doppy string tie, usually black,
which goes by the name Of .sen-
ator bow" " Kentucky colonel
or just string tie"
For boys only are cut-down
black jackboots. Called engineer
boots" these come just above
the ankle: have a buckle at the
top and across the instep and
are often decorated with ornate
metal studs. No legitimate "en-
gineer" would be caught dead
In them.
Also for boys are peg pants. T"
which in one version or another
have survived through genera
tions of style changes. A typical
peg Is formed by cutting down
a regular 18-inch trouser cuff
to is inches and sharply taper
ing the pants leg to fit into it.
"A good peg Is so tight the pants
cannot be pulled on over the
shoes.
Dirty Bucks In Vogue.
Girls shoes are usually low
cut, laceless loafers or nnocca-
sins. worn over thick white
bobby sox. Recent entries In the
footwear field, however, include
dirty white huckskins and knee
high woolena stockings.
Boys and girls both wear
"team jackets" These are made
Of either satin or wool, have
stripes down the sleeves and
knit cuffs and waists. They de-
rive from ii garment originally
designed for athletes.
The T-shirt is q male GAR
ment. Boys wear 1t under q "
necked sweater In place Of q
shirt. A new model, the turtle
necked T-shirt, is sometimes
seen rising high inside the col
lar OF q sports shirt.
The most popular theme Of all
i-on which boys and girls alike
play many variations-is blue
jeans.
Blue jeans are either Of con-
ventionhl cut or of the Western
style, which is short in the seat,
narrow in the legs. tight around
the hips and generally gives the
effect of q cowpuncher5 whose
pants are falling down.
Fought BY schools.
Notifications Of the basic blue
jeans include plaid cuffs, leather
edged pockets, copper riveting,
red glass refiectors, silver studs
and o fit so tight that no belt
is needed. Blue jeans are not
quite CONNIE II faut for formal
occasions and have been banned
BY many area high schools, but
anywhere else both girls and
boys love to wear them.
They are so popular with the
high school set that principals
of some schools had trouble at
first making their prohibition
against them stick. At Wheaton
High School one day last Oc-
tober. 81 students were sent
home to change their tight blue
jeans. They had insisted on
wearing them even though q
school-wide ban had previously
been announced.
A principle which almost all
good cats follow in choosing their
costumes is to be colorful with
out being extravagant.
For example. very few indeed
would wear what one boy was
seen in q few days ago on q
Washington street---black shirt.
bright orange corduroy trousers.
pink belt tucked into hideaway
pleats, black and pink argyle
socks and blue suede rncccasins
with pink soies.