Life — September 13, 1923 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

September 13 Uneue “Forecast of “fall “fashions PERCY 99 rue de la Prey ITH its unfailing Wa for the latest ? bit of éclat, Paris ha: taken up Autumn; h means that Autumn wil! be in vogue in exclu- si\. circles the world over; an eventually even the common folk will yield to Fashion’s dictum du saison. \leanwhile, Paris is agog with verve over its favorite hobby, horses. The ultra sei is sallying forth en auto and en metro to Le Trottoir to witness the crowning event of the racy year, the Dregs. Such an assemblage of frequently groomed women is rarely to be viewed outside the pages of this magazine. { noted the Duc de Soufflé strolling with Mme. Cadenza of the Opéra. Her toilette was bouffant, with oa) PARIS L Comtesse de Peignoir in a chic toilette of pea green purée overlaid with crotitons, as caught by our photographer and the sheriff. IT TER lithe-running English snip- pet hounds. She will be fas- cinated to note the trend of the mode and she will be relieved that the after-the- war slump persists only in the posture of the ab- domen and the droop of gowns at the shoulders. This continued let-down is attributed by interna- tional authorities to the falling-off in the Woman’s Exchange. Another reminder of the war is to be seen in the big berthas, which lend a lacyfaire touch. Worn over a full skirt they give the hangover that is so much sought after in America. Picquot is fea- turing cooing - duvetyne dropskirts embroidered with pumice stones and pistache braid. And I saw chiffon stalactites. This costume was short enough to display the famous ankles and feet of this idol of the monde musical. Baron Baden-Baden was also there. As I caught his eye he presented me with a view of a well-turned back. The American visitor in Paris will do well to take a many examples of the chiffon tiling which I had first observed earlier in the season on the plage at Dough- ville and around the parchesi tables at Monte Carlo. What hats! There, following the races through her lorgnette binoculars, while a young French of- ficier was squeezing her daughter’s hand, was momentary congé from the shops where she has heen dallying, and don a tight-fitting frock and hie her to the rendezvous of genteel trackwalkers, in order that she may oversee what is being worn by man and mannequin, and write back about it to the husband who sends those affectionate checks from Peoria. She may even witness tie races themselves: toe exciting Course aux /scargots, and the the Dowager Duchess of Mouton in a bronze cloche, looking very much the belle wether. Materials are as im- material as ever. The artifices of couturiers, however skilful, are easily seen through. And the riot of color is such that the police reserves have to be called out to quell it. Fortunately I was not there at the time, as I left the races early, having lost fifty cen- times. Should Milady Dress? Tris is a question which every woman has to face at least once in her career. Some women face it daily. As Montaigne says in “Arise and Shine”: She that hath petticoats, let her put them on. Failing these, let her array herself in pettibockers, and the other garments thereto. She that hesitates is lasy: or maybe _shiftless. To start the day, a simple tub frock will do, till the bath is over; when milady returns to her couch to ponder what she shall wear, and if so, why. Must there be raiment? Nannette brings the coffee and the morning mail. Hours slip by while milady fights her hopeless battle. At last she surrenders to the inevitable, and puts on her clothes. Thus has weak womankind done since the world be- gan. Always she has acceded to the shielded life. But what of the Woman of the Future? How will she emerge? comicbooks.com