Life — January 18, 1912 — page 13: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

‘LIFE: The New Regime in Washington Life's Fashion Reform League Designs Some Wonderful Creations for Govern- ment Offictals—Army and Navy Con- sumed by Jealousy O UR recent announcement that we have opened a Men's Department has been greeted with great consterna- tion in Army and Navy circles. There seems to be a feeling on the part of some of our most prominent military and naval officials that in super- vising the costumes for the President—who has now placed himself completely in our charge—we are encroaching upon a province which has heretofore been peculiarly their own, We have great respect for the Army and Navy, and we confidently predict that in a very short time we shall be able to design some new costumes for them that will place the old ones in the shade. We furthermore predict that they will enthusiastically take up these costumes. In the meantime, our new Men’s Department has received the highest compliments from prominent people all over the country, and we may say that it is only the beginning of a propaganda which will place our officials, so far as the public eye is concerned, just where they belong. Our trained corps of tailors and dressmakers—also our special artists—have now been in Washington for some time designing costumes for some of the Government offi- cials. Hereafter you will be able to distinguish a Senator of the United States as soon as he looms above the horizon. Our basic idea is to design costumes for each official which will enable the public to place him at once. This had heretofore only been done in a crude and barbarous manner in the Supreme Court. “In our robes for Justices of the Supreme Court, we have striven to combine the dignity of the English tradition with the sans géne of the republican tribunal” “A Senator from Boston wearing our ‘ Minerva’ toga, a New York Congressman in a ‘White Light’ chlamys, and a Chicago lawmaker in an Armour-proof limitation.” We have changed all this. For the past three weeks we have been measuring the Supreme Court justices and try- ing various effects upon them, until we now have a cos- tume which is not only in good taste, but pleasant to the eye. It will be readily understood that the design for an or- dinary Congressman must be somewhat different from that of a Cabinet officer, Our artists—each one of whom has made a special study of our political conditions, history, cte—have designed these costumes especially to bring out the idea of the peculiar kind of dignity which attaches to each office; and the result is that we have been getting telegrams of congratulation from all over the country at- tendant upon the new _ sartorial régime. Up to the present time we have created costumes for the following: Corporation yer. Pelisse of maroon-colored chinchilla with brass braid on the front two inches wide; pantaloons of crushed salmon-colored velvet; and moleskin boots. Ordinary Congressman, Lounging costume (for use in tariff discussions) of corduroy mother hubbard com- pletely enveloping figure; pigskin slip- pers and a cavalier skull-cap orna- mented with Wall Street ticker de- signs. Supreme Court Justices. Knee breeches of cerulean blue watered silk with flowing anterior, blouse effect; bronze-colored chiffon shirt waist, and over all a Roman toga of violet crépe de soie bifurcated in rear; black satin high boots, and an official wig com-