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Show jSjy " " , , , . , , i mm : ; -Q(liiLS-------- -- . edited by ULAN CRA1GEN ADAM jmm 1 1 i '' " i III j ') NO Freedom Of DreSS Here -- M Least So Declares a VlsIUng French M vuu xxvic . Woman, Who Criticises Us It TTf LADY who ls vJsltlng these Unlt- S t. SJm ed States.' none other than I II Madame Catullo Mondcs, by the H way, declares that out of 100 young women whom sho saw on tho streets of Now York ono morning during her visit not less than slxty- I ,. seven wero dressed in gowns of dark f : blue taffeta silk, precisely as if they . wero orphans In an asylum and that f " was their uniform. W ' Tho Frenchwoman who 1 our critic V ; says that Bhe rather likes blue taf- :- feta frocks; sho finds them quito at- tractive and generally bocomlng to J their wearora, but why, sho inquires, why do wo Americans show so little Individuality in our clothes? "Why ahould every woman havo cxaotly tho eamo sort of a gown in her ward- ; robe as every other woman? It Is a very pointed question and no one answers an-swers It And yet there Is an answer. - It is, to bo exact, that tho average American woman has not tho courago , to do other than blindly to follow ' tho fashion of tho moment, Sho doe to not da.ro doviato by so much as an &J- extra buttonhole In her tunic for fear 2 T that Bomoone will suspect her of bo- 8p t, ing behind tho times; of not knowing TR 1 what is the mode. And so though she Jlgl i is short of staturo and weighs two ! .1 hundred pounds sho wears precisely 7--j tho same sort of garments as her jSJ! ; daughtor who ls eighteen and slim. fit At any summer resort you will find jjjjl l gathered on tho boardwalk or tho JUjf I beach In the mornings a throng of lltff ' eninlno persona eacb bearing a strong ft ' family resomblanco to tho other in J-jfl '' tho matter of costumo though thero ,SJl aro school girls and whitohaired ma- ($ ' trons and scrawny spinsters and suf- jjjf ) fragettes and flirts and grandmothers fj I among them. Each white skirt Is a !l$ circular one, oach white blouso is open fgl? ' at tho throat and is covered with a of sweater of more or less brilliant hue, Tf , flat-heeled white shoes cover tho feot 4jK of each. Only In the hats is thero jy any real diffcrenco and not even the "Why Do Americans Show So Little Indivldualltv in Clothes?" grandmothers wear black bonnets tied under tho chin with black strings any more for there are sport hats for them as well as for tholr descendants. No wonder that Madame Catulle Mondes is surprised at what may bo called the unanimity of our tasto in clothes, for sho would novor in Paris see flixty-soven young women out of a hundred wearing the samo sort of frock. Tho Frenchwoman chooses her clothes prayerfully with reference to hor own peculiar style. Sho is not afraid to strlko out for hersolf along individual linos. Low collars may be tho fad of tho moment but if high ones aro more becoming to her aha puts on one that comes woll up around her ears, winds a few yards of black tulle over It and appears undisturbed and chlo among her dccollcto friends. Though skirts aro worn as short, as short, sho will allow hors to trail if sho looks better so, such ls her independence in-dependence and bravery. But tho American woman, though sho believes in freedom of speech, sho would not countenance for a moment that awful heresy, freedom of dress. |