In the meantime Paris has sent designers to Great Britain and the United States to get in touch with the various tastes and she learns that whereas in the United States the war note is not appreciated the reverse is the case in England, upon which, however, she hopes to impress the fact that. if trousers are worn they should be good ones, and that trousers in any case are not the last word in topical clothes.
Pockets on the grand scale, introduced by Schiaparelli, have become the rage. You may have either saddlebags or a marsupial pouch. It is significant of their popularity that handbags are actually being copied from them, with the result that the size in bags has increased. Perhaps the most becoming are those which seem to add an extra flounce to a spreading coat. They are suspended from a strap on either hip and reach almost to the knees, greatly exceeding those of the officers' sent The marsupial pouch is like a gardener's apron from which anything might be produced. Tue era of pocketless clothes for women is past, and pockets are really the excuse for the garment.
Some features are outstandingly warlike apart from colouring, such as black coats faced with pale khaki, or a plethora of air-raid blue—a cross beween purple and deep brilliant blue. One is the belted suit, with buttons all the way down from the turned-down collar and a buttoned pocket on each side of the belt. The skirt that goes with this is divided, but it hangs straightly and looks as though the division were merely a big inverted pleat. It is not unlike the better-cut shorts, made a little longer. Made sometimes in deep beige, it has brown leather fittings, buttons, belt, and the finish of the pockets. It is also made in Air Force blue. Although the coat could be worn without a blouse or shirt, one is provided of extremely simple cut. It has a small turned-down collar with rounded points, plain fitting sleeves, and the opening is finished with gold buttons, the high light of the whole. A soft, clinging wool jersey is used in air-raid blue.
Capes Are In The complement to this is an ample cape. Capes have been out of favour because they were supposed to hamper the arms. In times of stress, however, they are warm and go on over everything, as people are finding out with the long mackintosh capes. The cape reaches to the edge of the skirt, which is not necessarily very short, and it matches it in colour.
Capes are worn with dresses as well as suits. With the new front fullness in dresses the cape goes well and the fullness swings out at the opening. unless they have some very special decorative effect in mind, as, of course, they harbour dust and are difficult to clean, but a number of more or less sanitary and straightforward devices are possible, made both of hard materials and stuff. As a broad general rule, those of hard materials, such as wood or metal, look best either on, short or severely architectural wināows, and stuff pelmets on medium-sized windows and those of no particular character.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.