The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 20, 1903, Page 18

18 THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL —CHRISTMAS NUMBER. . HEAY Y EMBK SHIRT waist makes the most ao- ceptable of all Christmas pres- ents, and for several reasons: First, it is a thing which 1s al- ways needed; second, it shows & direct personal thoughtfulness, and third, it is the fad to give a shirt waist for a holiday gift. Beyond this there is a something about the new waists which affords an oppe ty for a personal touch, a ¢hance to embroider, to cross stitch, to Zagot, to decorate in some way which will give the waist an individuslity which is very flattering to the one who receives it. While the silk waist, the waist of taf- feta, the peau de sofe, the ombre silk and the crepe de chine and all the other fancy evening fabrics are dainty and ble in every way, still it must be told t, after all, it is the wash waist which holdz first place in popularity. And for a Christmas gift this is par- ticularly true. The wash waist, while it may be very inexpensive and usually is at this time of year, can also be costly; and to say thet you have purchased a tubable DERED S BAND SHIKT WAIST WITH BUTTERFLIEDS winter waist is not to argue that you have bought it cheap, on the bargain counter. 1 The new cotton waists, far from be- ing inexpensive, are positively high in price, and some of them are asg dear as velvet, while a great many make taffeta seem like 30 cents in matter of cost. . These very expensive cotton walsts are in cheviot, in cotton canvas and in very thick Marsellles. They come in very heavy weight and are as warm as wool. Many are, to use a colloquial- ism, “as heavy as a board.” The great virtue of these waists is that they will wash. Made of stuff that will not shrink nor fade and which will not lose its texture in the tub, they can be cast into the water every week and scrubbed with abandon. On being taken out they are pressed and when the process is completed they look, if not like pew, at least very nearly as good. The New Tub Waists. In the tubable shirt waists can be counted the heavy new, mercerized stuffs, with a wonderful glory of finish; and there can be mentioned the glazed white cottons, with brocaded figures, £0 T oF S\W¥&2 which cannot be told fromt Brocaded satin at a distance. The cotton canvases come in 2ll col- ors and are really wonderful in the per- fection of their weave. They are love- llest in Gobelin and in wood brown and in Indian red. But for that matter they look well in any shade. They look very soft, but when taken in the hand they will be found as heavy as the stoutest wool. B w fact that Jack Frost arrives in winter, bringing with him the nipping days, has hitherto kept women from wearing the wash shirt waist in ' De- cember. But with the advent of the heavier cotton fabrics this objection has been waved aside. And they who could not think of putting-on the wash- able fabrics in winter thme are now reveling in them. Perhaps the prevailing tendency to mannishness in woman's attire has led the winter girl to copy her brother in this respect: “If John wears a wash- able shirt in the winter time, why not Mary?"” asks the winter girl. And, fail- ing to answer the question; she has wrought out a satisfactory solution. Perhaps when the truth is told the tubable waist is more welcome in the winter time than in the summer. In the winter a heavy coat i{s worn and it is certainly jarring to a woman'’s feel- ings to put on a heavy cloak over a nice waist. There is always the thought that the waist is being crushed into nothingness and its trimmings ground into ribbons. The wash waist, on the other hand, being plainer in its con- struction and stouter in its constitu- tion, suffers nothing from the crushing and comes out as fine as ever after a day’s wear under the fur coat. All Waists Are Blouse. And a still further argument in favor of the wash waist is its prettiness, for it Is certainly made upon the very pret- tiest plan. In its shape it leaves noth- ing at all to be desired, for thin girls or fat; and in its style it is more than excellent. Both the thin woman and the fat wo- man can wear a waist that is very full .upon the bust, and to secure this full- ness there are plaits laid wupon the shoulder to widen later into a Gibson- jan front. Or there are box plaits which give the fullness at the bust where it {& most needed. All waists, thin and thick, have the full blouse effect directly over the belt in the middle of the front. But this pouch, instead of being wide and heavy, is narrow and rather pointed EVENING, RAISED 80 t’t(! tHe figure Is rot visibly thick- ened thereby. Sleeves are made in all sorts of ways, but perhaps the prettiest is the debu- tante: sleeve, which shows a fuliness as far as the elbow, where it is met by a very deep cuff which extends down to the knuckles. This cuff must be unbuttoned to admit of the hand slipping through. Another sleeve, just as pretty and more in favor, is the sleeve which is the genuine shirt waist sleeve with narrow cuff. The cuff fastens with a long point which laps over and s caught with a little button or with a hook. Miss Roosevelt’s Luncheon Waists. Miss Alice Roosevelt is reveling in pretty shirt waists this fall, for each time she appears in public she wears a new one. She chooses them for lunch- eons, morning calls and 5 o'clock teas. They are in every shade that can be imagined, with a preferente for the tans, the browns, the deep reds, and all the shadow tones. / One waist was a marvel in prettiness, being in an Indian red canvas worked by hand down each side of the front. The design chosen was the conven- tional chrysanthemum, which was car- ried out in rose colors with the stems in green. Surely this gave an oppor- tunity for a very nice exhibit of handi- work and the woman who is handy with the needle could do a great deal in the way of embroidering her shirt waist fronts. Another wash waist, worn recently at a girl’s luncheon in Washington, show- €d bands of narrow canvas, put on as strappings down each side of the front, each band stitched with machine stitching upon each edge. A great many of the tubable waists are trimmed with brass buttons, which are removed for the tub's sake. And the putting on of the buttons:'is one of the self-appointed tasks of the win- ter girl, THey are taking the old white waists of last summer and are working them down each side with a great pattern in dark red, either a big diamond pattern * or a Greek scroll. Then, down the front, they are setting brass military buttons, thus giving the finishing win- ter touch to the waist which is to be worn until Christmas and afterward. Still another luncheon waist, also worn by a Washington girl, was trim- med with simulated box plalts, very narrow and running from the shoulder seam right down to the belt. The walst was buttoned invisibly under a wide box plait, and upon this plait were groups of brass buttons, in little rows of three each. The Christmas Waists. If you are going to give a shirt walst for a Christmas present it is essential that it be one that has the touch of your own hand upon it. The personal thought is thus expressed and, antici- pating this, there come the most beau- tiful waists, of very heavy quality, with a large pattern stamped upon the front. This can be worked by hand in silks or in wash cottons, until the waist is a work of art, as well as of utility. Mrs. T. C. Platt and Mrs. Chauncey M. Depew are both adepts at waist em- broidery and the former 1s seldom seen without a needle threaded in coarse cotton, pulling the threads through the stock which matches ner latest walst. She wears the Indian colors a great deal and is very partial to the Indian reds and the Indian blues, while deft touches of white are used to bring out the tones more prominently. It must not be supposed that the OF SILK. MUSLIN SOWN OF LACE WITH FLOWERS OVER. A LINING fancy for embroidering these heavy cotton waists has driven out the open- work fad, for on the contrary there are more walists trimmed with openwork than ever. A great many of these have lace pleces set in, with the foundation cut out bemeath the lace, while others have the lace applied and a little hem- stitching is used around each lace plece. ‘Wheels of Indian manufacture can be bought and applied to the yokes of walsts, while, for the nicer walsts, the Mexican thread wheels are ideal. The wash walst goes beautifully with all the separate skirts, and the fact that it comes in all colors makes it one of the most desirable dress adjuncts of the season. 3 The open canvas materials, while they look very thin, come heavily lined, or so arranged that they are worn over a heavy lining. They are, for the most part, in cream celor; and the na- ture of their weave is such that they admit of the most elaborate needle- work. Roses, Armenian patterns and: /Assyrian designs can all be worked in the criss-cross mesh of this cream col- ored canvas. Christmas Belt and Stock. If you want to give or make your girl friend a Christmas present of a belt or a stock, with or without the shirt waist, you cannot do better than study the new fashions in these articles before venturing forth, for'it is a fact that these have so greatly changed in the last few months as to be scarcely recognizable. A stock made of calf skin, with the red hair of the calf left on, was a nov- elty recently seen. This crossed in the back, while the straps came around to the front and fastened under a har- ness buckle. Another leather stock was made of morocco of the same de- sign. It was round and straight and the ends of the straps slipped through each other in the back and were buck- led in the front in very neat fashion. A great many of the new stocks are of the “twice around” variety and con- sist of a very long canvas strip, which is passed twice around the neck and knotted in front. The most approved knot shows one end passed in under the other, while both ends fall to the waist, in over-and-over style. - Then there are the very dainty made- and-stitched bishop stocks, with varia- tions, one of which has a turn-over edge with space for a ribbon to be run under. Another shows the ends com- ing together in the front with a button. It is a fact that women particularly like the neat, stiff neck fixings, and for that reason the linen collar with the ribbon stock continues in favor. It is possible now to buy these ribbon stocks, made in layers of silk, with a knot of silk in the front, the whole intended for wearing with a stiff linen collar. The linen stocks that are round in the front and fastened in the back aresseen a great deal. The back is closed invis- fbly, while the front has two or three points, one overlapping the other, with & button in the center. All of these linen stocks afford ample opportunity for hand work, and so can be made up Into charming little Christmas testimonials. The Question of a Belt. The belt question is one that worries woman from season to season and from day to day. A belt is so essentlal to a shirt waist, yet so difficult to manage. 1f narrow, it must not be too narrow to cover the skirt band, and if wide it must not be wide enough to disfigure the walst line. : - The narrow belts are very becomingly made of patent leather and of rough ~and rough leather belts wide colored leather; they come tn red, or green, or white. These belts are very neat with the tailored walists and have the marvelous advantage of being very easy to adjust, and they wear well also. The cuestion with the narrow belt is one of diplomacy. How shall one pre- serve the diplomatic relations between shirt and waist so that the two shall not part company at the critical mo- ment, leavng the belt in a position which can be described as on the fence and betwixt and between? The Countess de Castellane has a French modiste who makes her shirt bands of suede, exactly the color of the leather belt which is to cover them. Now should they part company it would be no harm at all. But it s the wide beit which is de- cldedly #in,” and this comes in kid, in suede, in soft morocco and in satin. The belt may be a full finger depth in width and it can be a little wider if one prefers. There is no buckle used in the back, but the front is fastened with a big harness buckle. The modish colors are moleskin brown, automobile and Indian reds, mushroom brown, ecru, castor gray and all the odd or off shades of the paler colors. In adjusting a wide belt for the first time one should have a full length mir- ror in which to view the back of the waist, for it is a fact that the leather will take.folds of its own, and unless guided by hand these folds will be un- graceful. They should be folded eor- rectly and each time the belt is put on it will take precisely the same lines. A woman who dresses very well makes it a practice to spread her suede and smooth in the back, while on the sides she crumples them a very little, let- ting them down flat in front. This gives the waist a very pretty slope and makes the figure look trim. The Buckles and Slides. She who wishes to give a pretty Christmas gift can select one of the new buckles and slides which come in sets. The siide, which @5 iE Yuches long and not more than two inches in width, is arranged upon the belt so that it curves around the bagk. The buckle is fastened in the middle of the front. The woman who wants to be very fashionable upon very little, and who cannot even afford the wide satin rib- bons that come for belting, can make herself a crush belt by cufting up ap old moire skirt or wajst. Let it b doubled, stitched upon both edges an if possible, let it be made on the bias It need not be shaped, for it will ad- just itself to the figure. It should be four inches wide at least and should be crushed down to the shape of the walist. Those who make these belts at home will be more successful if they take heed to a few small items. One of these is that it is best to adjust the buckle after the belt is on. Arrange the belt around the waist, slip the buckle In place, hook it and then tighten it prop- erly. A natural dip will be secured thus which would not be possible were the buckle sewed on before the belt had been-shaped to the figure. Do not think that because the wash shirt waist is in vogue the wool waist is out of style, for this is from be- ing the case. The new wool waists are not only very well made, but they are splendidly adapted to the figure, dom- ing in all the neat and becoming pat- terns and made in the very latest styles. There are silk flannels that look so much like satin that you could not teil the difference, and there are soft wools that are the exact understudy of glazed silk. These come in all the pretty col- ors, but are at their best in the pastel shades, pale blue, light pink, soft mel- low green and the moon shades of yel- low. They come embroidered in a tin dot, or decorated with a conven!loal flower or stitched, fagoted or hand made in some manner. The Christmas shirt waist, far from being monotonous, is filled with variety, and one could purchase a great many waists without once repeating one’s self in making the selections.