f Cerlae velvet, tlrlped with black norst*d, banded with ribbon and veiled with tulle. 1 urr i.iuic *o Checked uruj and black taffeta* trith \ 4BISQB W %i' StrlpMf Of course} and they so la * >rmrj direction. 11 lb bom—-black polka dot on nhlte—li the only trimming of this frock of blue, i * r ? The Sleeve's the Thing What is new in the realm of fash ions? Never was this question harder to answer than at the present time. To be sure there arc many suggestions, many models presented for autumn wear that show many new ideas in designing. But of all the new sug gestions not one stems to have the lead. In one direction we hear that skirts are becoming longer and nar rower, and in another that they are even fuller than before with no tend ency to elongate. In one quarter we hear that the waist is becoming more shapely and that at last the snug bodice is be coming a reality. In another quar ter the Venus de Milo figure seems to be agreed upon. Hats arc big in one shop and in another they arc smaller. One designer says that tailor-mades will not be considered at all for the coming season—that suits in fact will give way to long coats worn with matching frocks. On one point, however, fashion au thorities choose to agree, and that is that the sleeve is the most im portant consideration of the moment. For many seasons the sleeve has been in the back ground. For the last few seasons the skirt only has been the most vital consideration. Sleeves didn't signify. No one everi ( bought a new gown on the merit of 1 the sleeve; in fact, one seldom t thought anything about that part of 1 a gown, and in evening gowns they < were non-existent. 1 ?ut now sleeves have come to the < front, and from Paris especially we are receiving enough inspiration in i the way of new sleeves to make up i for the lack of definite decision in t other directions. I Next to the line of a well-turned 1 collar worn by a woman with a 1 graceful neck there is no line in woman's dress that possesses more 1 possibilities than the line of a well designed sleeve and a graceful wrist. No one ever knew this better than Sarah Bernhardt, who has always spent much thought on the fit of her sleeves and their arrangement about the hand. French women usually pay much more attention to this detail of dress than do American women, who spend no end of thought in having the skirt and neck line of a new gown fitted to perfection and let the sleeves go with almost no alterations at all. But now the sleeve is coming into its own, and the sleeves and cuffs on the new gowns will really command more consideration than this. For they are built in such wise that they must fit to be attractive, and they must be fitted more carefully than any other part of the new gowns. In gowns and waists the sleeve is usually long with a well-fitted cuff portion. In coats and many suits the sleeve, narrow midway below the elbow, flares at the hand Direc toire fashion, thus giving a tempting glimpse of the well-fitfcd waist sleeve beneath. At the shoulder many of the sleeves show a surprising amount of fullness. Leg o' mutton sleeves arc even seen in many of the new de signs, and there are puffs and frills and ruffles galore. In evening gowns the sleeve is sometimes merely an exaggerated puff introduced at the arm hole, though, of course, the sleeveless evening gown still has a certain claim on the attention of the woman with matchless arms. Fur Is Everywhere. Even on blouses made of spider web textures —voiles and nets and laces—we shall soon have fur trim ming. Some times the fur is in the j guise of a cuff and some times as a < point or banding above the elbow. | A good many practically inclined! and economical women last year re sisted the temptation of buying suits or coats with fur trimming, feeling that fur would be "all out" very soon and that a fur-trimmed garment would become extremely out of date by the time a second season had come. This was commendable cau tion, to be sure, for it did seem last winter that the fur craze was burn ing itself out. But, as a matter of fact, fur is even more apparent now than ever, and it is worn in a dozen ways that no one dreamed of last winter. Fur-trimmed sweaters are decided ly characteristic of the coming au tumn and skating costumes made sweater fashion of wool will show extensive fur trimming on the collar, and there will be matching woolen skirts also banded by fur to go with them. Milliners have thought of a dozen new ways of making fur attracti.ve on hats and designers of gowns are using it extensively in trimming event ing gowns. With silver and pearl trimming a short gray fur is used very effectively on some of the most dazzling of evening gowns. But the fur of this season is of better quality than the fur of last year. Fortunately perhaps for the back yard cat, whose lot we are told was so hazardous last winter, women of fashion arc demanding and pay ing for better fur than was the case a year ago. Accessories to Match. There will be a tendency this win ter to wear hats trimmed with the same kind of fur that the collar and muff is made of. There never has been anything very attractive about combining various sorts of fur in one get-up —white fox and sealskin or sable and squirrel, for instance—as many women did last year in their enthusiasm over the vogue for fur trimmings on suits and gowns. There is a strong tendency this year toward wearing the various ar ticles of dress to match. Quite fre- Ucgricelte rrfpe, rrlch rucbes, frill* and plcot eilKed ribbon to trim. Three Interesting nfternoon frorks of three Interesting; ■tyles, eh hoTV- Ing something netv. Thut tbe bouffant *Mrt still rules us, sHrtorlallr, these frocks ikon, quently the hat and the handbag match, the bag being fashioned from the same rich fabric with which the hat is trimmed. Some times a piece of Japanese embroidery is found on the bag and the same design and color in embroidery graces the hat. Many of the most elaborate even ing gowns are made with evening capes to match, and it is not at all unusual for the well-dressed woman to have special pieces of jewelry for each costume she possesses. For evening, hair ornaments are selected with jems match the gown with which they are worn. As Prices Soar. One might imagine that because the prices for all sorts of women's apparel arc soaring there would be a tendency toward greater economy in dress purchases. But such does not seem to be the case. When beef steaks become more expensive the housewife has them less frequently, and she learns how to make stews and ragouts that tempt the appetite of her family. When broiling chickens are prohibitive most folk acquire a taste for well-cooked fric assee. But when shoes jump from $5 a pair to $8.50, it really seems as if the woman who cares for her ap pearance buys two pairs where she used to buy one. Never before did women of all classes appreciate the importance of being well-dressed and never before did they realize also that to be .well-dressed one must also select clothes of good quality.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers