New Britain Herald Newspaper, August 21, 1914, Page 7

PAUSE BETWEEN SEASONS TO TAKE STOCK OF WARDROBE UMMER, or, more properly, mid- summer, those. baking swel- tering, devitalized days when the thermometer soars and clothing wilts- and we ‘conceive a dis- taste for things sartorial and evince a desire to permit the dwindling summer wardrobe to take care of ‘itself;, is an excellent -time to take .ourselves in hand and force ourselves to take an interest in it % s The month of August seems to be a time when fashions are in a state of inactivity, to be sure, but even now there are sartorial hints flying about in the air which show the trend of au- Evolution was for a long ‘time held that the corset originated at the courts of itallan’ princes, but, as a matter of fact, stays had already been known in antiquity. The -Russian historian of civilization, Mme. Syebinoff, adduces in the Moskwa Trudi some interesting evidence to this effect. Alciphron, the Greek epistologra- pher, who lived in the second century A. D, in his satirical hetaerae letters, ridicules the fashionable’ ladies who had themselves by night so tightly swathed in wet clothes that they could hardly breathe. By day the ladies wore linen belts that were strained around the hips in order to produce wasplike waists. The physician Galen (about 130 A. D.) had in Pergamum frequent occasions to observe the evil effects of lacing; even distortions of the spine and bone fracture he could ascribe to such pressure of the hips. “They all now fain would be slim,” laments Terence (born about 185 B. C.) in one ‘of his comedies, “and neither hips nor breasts have the women, for they are Wrapt up in linen from head to heel. Three grapes and a glass of water 18 all their nourishment. And | it there really happens to come along a lusty female figure then the chorus of women will immediately shriek: ‘Lo, the huge woman. She looks like an athlete. And a body she has as an elephant calf. She’ll one day wrestle in the arena, the fat bug’" In imperial Rome lacing became & general custom. The high schools of the art of getting rid of flesh—and the Roman ladies owing to their idleness tended toward corpulency—were, ac. cording to the Roman author Petro- nius, the baths where painful massages removed the inconvenjent fat. At that time they invented corsets that were plerced at various places. Through the holes ribbons were drawn and tightly tied together. These cor- sets often reached from the shoulders down to the thighs. We therefore see how near they came to the modern cor- set. These bast corsets, though by no means cheap, were not durable and NEW BRITAIN DAILY HERALD, FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 1914. ” tumn styles.” And it Is the amount of thought spent upon the;autumn ward- robe rather than the sum of money spent upon it which will make it suc- ceasful. i To be badly dreesed is the most dis- tressing cross which a woman can carry. In an unbecoming frock she is ungraceful, self conscious, loses poise and is:altogether miserable, Some women consider it an indica- tion of mental superiority. to-announce that they simply cannot spend time upon a becoming wardrobe when there are so many things so eminently worth Wwhile'to do. Thus a woman permits her rendering thin, for Suetonius pokes fun at a bridegroom who, in embracing his bride, got his body. punched with holes by her protruding ribs: For:excessive- ly stout women the bast corsets were, however, still too soft, and we read of a consul's wife who had herself in- cased in a framework of soft willow twigs, which she wore with silent hero- ism until the straight line came out of fashion. Corsets, however, by no means fell into oblivion. Although they no longer served as a means of losing flesh, the ladies still used them as brassieres for the support of the bodily forms. And the princes of the church of the first Christian era had to thunder in their penitential sermons against the corset, the use of which had become general in the Byzantine empire. FOR THE INVALID’S TRAY JLLUSTRATED here s a unique ar- rangement of teapot, cream pitcher and sugar bowl for use upon the in- valid's tray where space saving is de- had to be renewed often. However, thay surely attained their objects of sirable. It is made of English Coalport china, with bandings of giit. clothing to become old fashioned, frayed and frazzled, and when some af- fair comes up to which she must pre- sent herself in suitable garb she rushes out to a shop and buys a gown for which she pays more than would have sufficed to buy the gown and all its ac- cessories as well. That is the point. 'That same woman may be 4mterested in °domestic econ- omy. She doubtless can write reams and reams upon how to reduce the high cost of living, but has not sufficient common sense to practice what she preaches. As Portia puts it, “’Twere easier to teach twenty what were good s i 33 Hne ;’5:2 4 & gebusss ety to be done than to be one of the twen- ty to follow mine own instructions.” So from the viewpoint of economy as well as aesthetics we should exercise a small portion of our gray matter upon the question of wherewithal we shall be clothed. Illustrated here are several styles which might be used to eke out a' de- pleted summer wardrobe and still serve till winter brings the entire fresh sup- ply of frocks and fixings. ‘With the wig of colonial days, mar- celle waved and coifed high, milady is wearing the most modern garments— a gown of white golfine, a material originated in Paris In the spring, and by way of protection from the chill of summer evenings a wrap of black pussy willow taffeta, with flaring col- lar, flaring cuffs and flaring peplum. Next to milady of the wig is a pretty little trotteur frock usetul”for cool days. Two different materials are used in its development, " black satin and moire. Any two. materials which would combine well could be used. Next is a jaunty little outing tailleur suitable for a young girl's traveling costume. * It is built of black and white checked suiting, with a Norfolk Jacket just like “big brother’s” and the Delicious French Recipes Brioche Cake. THE ingredients required are three- quarters of a pound of sifted flour, half a pound of butter, four eggs, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, half a tea- spoonful of salt and one yeast cake dissolved in half a cupful of tepid milk. Mix half a cupful of sifted flour with the salt and the dissolved yeast and the milk; then beat to a batter and set in a warm place until very light. Meanwhile stir the butter to a cream and add.the sugar and the eggs, the latter one at a time. Beat the mix- ture hard before the addition of each egg, and as soon as the ingredients are very light add them to the yeast bat- ter. Now mix in the rest of the flour and work with the hands on a floured board to a light, elastic dough. Cover, set in a warm place and let rise to double its bulk; then knead again and set aside for the last rising. Butter well a deep round cake mold and cover the bottom with a piece of thick but- tered paper. Take one-sixth of the dough off and lay it aside. Shape the remaining dough into a round loaf, put it in_the pan, make a hollow directly in the center, form- the piece of reserved dough in the shape of a pear, put the pointed end into the depression you have made and place | in the plate warmer of the range for twenty minutes. Brush over the brioche with the beaten yolk of one egg mixed with a little water and bake in a moderately hot oven. This recipe will make two good sized brioches. They may also be baked in individual sizes, following the same directions. Baba Pudding. The ingredients required are half a pound of butter, twelve ounces of flour, half a cake of compressed yeast, four eggs, half a cupful of chopped raisins, half a cupful of shredded citron and half a cupful of chopped candied fruits. Add to the yeast that has been dissolved in a quarter of a cupful of lukewarm water sufficient flour to form a soft dough, Makg this into a biscuit, 00000000000000000000000000 cut a deep cross in the top and put it into a bowl of tepid water. As soon as the biscuit floats, which will be in about ten minutes, take it out, for it is then ready to use. | Soften the butter, beat to a cream, |add it to the well beaten eggs and then gradually stir in the flour. Mix well, add the drained biscuit and knead with the hands to a light dough. Now | raise the dough and throw it down with force on the board and repeat this untll it leaves your hands without | sticking; then add the citron and rai- sins; mix them in thoroughly, lay into a well greased ring pan and put in a | warm place (about 72 degrees) for two jand a half hours. ! When very light cool directly on the |ice for twenty minutes and bake for three-quarters of an hour in a quick 'oven. For the sauce chop the candied fruits, put them into a saucepan with half a cupful of sugar and half a cup- ful of boiling water. Let it boil for five minutes, add one teaspoonful of ,caramel and two tablespoonfuls of brandy. When the pudding is baked turn it from the mold and pour the sauce over it. ——— CLEANING HINTS TAKE a teaspoonful of powdered French chalk, put the gloves on the hands and the chalk into the palm of one glove and rub the hands and fin- gers together as if washing your hands. Take off the gloves without shaking them and lay them aside for a night; then put them on and clap the hands or wipe the gloves with a clean cloth. Fuller's earth will act nearly as well Every one has experlenced the an- noyance of having a suit wear smooth and shiny in spots, but every one does not know how to restore the material to its original condition. The remedy is simple: Sponge the spots with strong indigo bluing water; then press under a cloth while damme —— CHIC SILK SWEATER WITH SASH OTHING more jaunty has been evolved by fashion this season for outing wear than the sweater and ac- companying cap illustrated here. At seaside or mountain resort such an FOR A YOUNG GIRL. outfit would prove invaluable to its owner on accouht of the many cool nigkts and mornings. The sash gives sa the sweater an adorably Jaunty air, |most mannish pockets Imaginable. The costume is completed by a boyish white felt hat swathed with a brilliant Roman striped scarf. Metal embroidered silk lace in the sheerest of weaves forms the excuse for a bodice, and the long draped tu- /nic, while the really substantial por- tion of this reception gown {llustrated here, is constructed of pussy willow taffeta of changeable blue and yellow. To offset the meagerness of the bodice yards of silk are utilized in the bouf- fant drapery of the skirt. The gown upon the extreme right was worn at a recent Annapolis gath- Poiret Says Sap Some Dashing Midsummer Fashions ering. Tt consists chiefly ' of laces shadow and fillet, but has an overskirt |in which is introduced the finest of batiste, heavily machine embroidered in floral design. A corsage of brilliant hued fruit is the only color note. 4 Velvet is coming into its own again and will be much worn the coming winter for evening gowns. %%ww Is Extracted From Period Styles OIRET never really cared for the revival of the dress periods of the French kings, and now he says that the designers have extracted all the sap from them and every one should be a-wearied of their repetition. He feels, as he did in the spring, that we shall return to the untrammeled vet modest costumes of the Greeks for our autumn inspiration and that such movement will be in accord with our craving for the natural figure. He points to the popularity of the moyen age basque, which began as a fitted mid-Victorian garment and has been transformed into a youthful affair of straight lines. He points to the increasing vogue among well dressed women to wear shoes that are almost heelless and the evident determination not to pull in the waist, no matter who says it must be done. He draws attention to the eager- ness with which the wide hip drapery was accepted, and later the accordion plaited flounce at the bottom of the skirt, and now the incoming all over plaited skirt with its straight line from waist to ankles. He feels that our next psychological turn is to the Greek. When he cos- tumed the play of Pierre Louys, “Apro- dite,” he felt assured that the straight plaited skirts introduced there with their graceful tunics would undoubt- edly be the fashion for modern women later in the season. Callott, who plays along with Poiret much of the time, although she is more “fashionable” and caters more to the multitude than he does, also took up the Greek idea and produced several gowns that were distinct copies, mod- ernized, of the “Aprodite” costumes. It is from this play and from Poliret's frocks for it that we get our plaited skirts of the moment. One notices that the world usually comes around to the thing that the genius in creativeness advocates or ex- ploits. Will Greek Ideas Prevail? It is trué that the world of fashion is quite tired of the artificial fashions rgvived from the Louis perioda jn French history. There was never & timé when they could be called really popular, but the pannier, like the wi steau hat with its tiptilted brim and wreath of small roses, had many fol~ lowers. The former was finally modi~ fied before general acceptance out of all resemblance to its origin, and the Louis XV. hat had a short life. The world was too much dominated by the orient at the time of the first introduction of the Louls fashions to take them up seriously, and, again, they, like the Premet-Victorian fashe ions, demanded quite a revolution in the figure of the hour. Poiret's Greek revival fits in perfect- ly to the life and the physical meas- urements of the average American fig- ure, but the Frenchwoman may be & trifle too small for it. However, its essential features are all that we need bother our heads about. The chief of these is the straight plaited skirt that does mnot touch the floor, for we cannot copy the Grecian women in the flowing quality of their skirts in this day of incessant walking and dancing. . ABOUT THE WHITE GOWN T old superstition about a “gown of some clinging white stuff” has quite disappeared. Nowad: there is nothing really clinging. What s more, there is nothing really white. Take, for instance, the lingerie gown. Once upon a time it was en- tirely devoted to purest white. Today the designers won't let it go without some rousing bit of color. Even Ro- man stripes have slipped up on this discreet territory, and at one of the smartest New York shops you find on a gown of lace and net a tunic of Roman striped ribbon in omsnge and black, combining with touches of the same figured silk on sieeves and bodice to remove all traditions of the smewy lingerie gown. Another gown of white embroidered net has each of the five flounces which cascade the skirt edged with blue tate feta echoed on the upper part of the costumey " ¢ .