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Right Dressing, Like Diet, Casts Off Pounds i f- ..By MART MARSHALL ■ — ■ -—---- ; MERE MAN THINKS FAT WOMAN THIN WHO WEARS WELL CHOSEN CLOTHES WILLOWY tall girls, daintily prportioned short girls, broad shouldered, straight-waisted girls of the obviously athletic type, young matrons who didn’t look their years and young matrons who did, mothers that looked like sisters and mothers that looked like grandmothers—they were all there trapsing over the campus in their chiffons and voiles, crepes and georgettes. It was class day for the class of 1930 at one of the historic universities and it was safe to assume that the mothers and sisters, cousins and aunts of the graduates had dressed with more than casual care. In many eases hats and dresses and accessories had been specially • bought for the gala occasion. “Rather better dressed crowd than last year." a graduate's Brother said to a graduate’s father. “The women, I mean. I suppose that la because clothes are so much more becoming now than they were." “Perhaps." saM the graduate’s father, glancing across the sun splashed campus, “but why is it that the fat women never know how to dress? You’d think they had their dresses and hats de signed to make them look as mountainous as possible. Normal Sized women always seem to have no much better Ideas on the sub ject •’ The graduate’s mother laughed a little, because she knew that the graduate's father consider*-.! her still normal sized, though she wasn’t and she knew he had a high r« g&rd for her ideas on the subject of dress. She thought at first that she would explain—and then she decided that she wouldn t —that the fat women who knew how to dress failed to register with him as fat women, and that the minority w ho were the clothes that made them look mountalrous were the only ones he thought of as not being normally sized. Enlarging Colors There was the important l-idy tn the iargj yellow-figured chiffon dress who flattered herself that because she was nearly six feet tall it didn’t matter if she did weigh two hundred odd. When she was tw« nty-one the man she later married had told her in a rash moment that she reminded him of a daffodil, and she had worn yellow ever since on impor tant occasions. Realizing. In the years that had elapsed since the tender compliment was paid, that thr girth of her waist had tn , * creased a little, she hnd decide® to retain the lowered waistline no matter where fashionable dress makers decided to place it. And there she was with a draped g.rdle round her ample hips, with th> ** e ef h r -’re-s looking prodigiously large in a season when our • s ’ v> become ac custom*- 1 to big! •’•r • - s. And rh-»r*- we* The flirtations lady in red ge. rgett* as gay and striking a* a - ar t ’anaeer. who had convinced her.-,rif that even if she was thirty pounds over weight she couli never look “large" hecar.se *he was le*§ than fl\e feet tall H* r first husband hnd told her twenty years ago that s lack was a depressing color. It vem« too obvious to bear re peating that large figures and strik ng rolurs are a poor selec tion for women of too ample pro portions and yet obviously these truth* bear repeating. There are shades of purple and a bright flag blue that should be avoided quite as much as red by women of this group. White and light pastel tones have a larger effect than darker ton. * but can often be worn advantageously by the short er stout woman. This is especially true of the prayed light tones of blue and pink. w hich are less ex pansive than the clearer, flower petal pastel tones. Oyster white Is a better ch e than pure white or cream white. For outdoor wear, especially on the golf course, certain shades of leaf green are wisely chosen— shades that might he striking in verdureless city streets hut that ■ink into the .green tones of the background when worn in the country. Details Count “Please gave me some specific ■Tiggettions about choosing my clothes." writes a reader who ad mit* to forty pounds overweight at forty. “What sort of shoes, stockings, glove* and hats would you suggest V* Opera pumps by nil means—so far a* shoes are concerned—be cause the line of the vamp un j broken by straps or lacings makes j for slenderness of outline. Fairly ! high heels give a slender effect to the ankles but should never be so high as to give an unstable effect. Black faille, with very little trim ming it any, is a good choice for evening shoe*, with dull black kid for daytime. Plain beige pumps are also well chosen because when worn with matching stockings they give an unbroken line from the hen* of the skirt to the toe of the .shoe. With black shoe* sheer gunmetal stockings should be selected when they go with the rest of the costume, and gunmetal does go with navy blue or black. With brown or beige, beige stock ings are a better choice. Rose tones of beige are not so favorable as grayish or brow-nish beige, and the new crepe silk stockings with a dull surface are i a better choice than those of a \U±_K Vd_I [ The white linen suit with belted jacket la a wise choice for the slender woman while the unbelted coat and blouse worn on i the outside of the -kirt is more becoming to the larger woman. The skirt and jacket are of light blue shantung and the blouse is white, embroidered In blue. For tin* slender, toons girl the brown linen dress nt the left with white buttons ami binding of linen is nnu>uall> smart, while for tin' woman with a not too slender figure better lines are achieved bjr the printed dress with draped waistline indi cated at tin- right. glossy surface. A neat clock at the side of the stocking con tributes to the slenderness of the ankle. Gloves of the pull-on sort should be chosen in preference to 6hort gloves or those finished with a cuff. If worn drawn up over the sleeves of .he dress they give a slender appearance to wrist and hands. And of course suede gloves are preferable to those of glace kid—black suede, light. beige or white suede but never the yellow ish tones of natural chamois gloves. About The Hat The choice of a hat depends 00 much on the proportions of the face that it is hard to give any specific ruley that will apply to all women who call themselves stout. Generally speaking the very large cartwheel hat, the hat that droops well down to the shoulder, and the small hat that makes the face look wide should be avoided; and usually black hats are best. If a light effect is wanted to go with a thin summer dress there are lightweight black lace straws that are amazingly flattering. C McClure Newspaper Syndicate J The normal waHtllnr Is a<vented in the short-sleeved dress at the left made of navy bine and white printed silk crepe worn with two kid belts, one navy bine and the other white. Two types of waistline ha\e been chosen by the mother and (laugh ter sketches in the (enter. Daughter wears a white organdie dress with Mack velvet *a*h tied closely at the normal waist line. Mother wears a beige lace dress with draped waistline and bolero effect which hides the actual breadth of the waist. The black and white pin dot georgette dres* at the right, with vest and cuffs of white georgette. Is becoming to larger figures. REMEMBER, IF YOU’RE OVERWEIGHT— V Necklines in preference to round or square necks— Surplice necklines— Single-breasted jacket closings—with button® and buttonholes placed below the waistline— Overblouses rather than tuck-in blouses— Skirts with draped fullness—rather than pleats— Elbow sleeves finished with a flaring drapery over the wrist rather than very short puffed sleeves— Sleeves that come well down over the wrist for daytime dresses— Drapery extending over the upper arras, draping down slightly at the back— * Narr w belts of self material placed an inch or so below the normal waistline, rather than wide, high belts— Bodices made with drapery not too tightly drawn over the waist —rather than the very long waist and hip girdle of a season or so ago— All these details are flattering to the woman inclined to over weight For sports wear there is the'high waistline achieved oj tuck-in sweater and the lower line of the sweater worn over the skirt. SKIRT LENGTH MAKES MATRONLY FIGURE SEEM EITHER FAT OR SLENDER IF you are young and slender and perfectly proportioned the question of skirt lengths is easy to answer, because it does not much matter whether you choose a sports skirt that comes four inches below the knees or one that merely covers the knees or whether you choose an evening dress of the short sort or with a rkirt that touches the Hoor. You will look well anyway. But when you are not so young, and not so slender, and not perfectly proportioned then the question of skirt lengths is impor tant and choosing precisely the right length may save you from looking dowdy or grotesque. When short skirts first came Into fashion we were ah rather surprised—were we not?—to find that they were flattering rather than the reverse to most stout women, or at least to those stout women who had rather nicely proportioned legs and ankles. And a skirt short enough to show the slender lines of the leg toward the knee was found to be very much more flattering than the not so shor» 9kitt that terminated jus' where the calf of the leg was thickest. Longer Skirt Helps The return of the longer skirt—j now that it is an established fact —has certain disadvantages for the stout woman, and these are most apparent in the rather full afternoon or fvenlng skirt that ends midway between knees and ankles. Our personal opinion is that skirts of this length should be stricken from the list of things wearable for the matronly wo man. For sports and street wear we | 7,6 | The printed silk dress at the left has a belt slightly below normal—an arrangement becoming to the woman with large waist. Flattering to the slender fignre Is the normal waistline as Indicated In the dotted silk dress at the right. Becoming Clothes! Just between ourselves, don’t you think that fashions this sum mer are more generally becoming than they were a year ago, and isn’t ft your opinion that for a strictly limited expenditure you can buy clothes that are more to your taste than ever they were before? And aren’t yon glad that in spite of protests and indiffer ence the dressmakers finally did persuade us to wear normal waistlines and longer skirts? A New Frill! This week we have one of the becoming neck frills for you to use on a dress or a sleeveless blouse to wear with a separate skirt or jnder a coat suit. If you would like it. send your stamped, self addressed envelope to Mary Marshall, care of this paper, and it will be forwarded to you. suggest skirt* that hang three or four inches below the knees—long enough to look up-to-date, yet not at all longer, and for afternoon and evening skirts that hang to the ankles or below—skirt* that are long enough to hang In a little toward the ankles. Jacket Costumes Good 'Ve have in mind a chiffon Jacket costume that will give a slender contour to any woman that w*srs it. it t* made with a perfectly plain, sleeveless bodies extends to a deep hip yoke, with a narrow belt of the material, worn loosely enough so that it r 'S’s loch below the normal waistline, with a very slight bloua ifig of the bodice above. Prom the deep, shaped hip yoke the akirt hangs almost to the floor with circular fullness falling in long, unbroken lines from the back and front and swaying as the wearer of the dress walks or dances. There is a straight chif fon jacket, made with long sleeves, extending well below the hips at bark and sides. Skirt ruffles may not seem ap propriate to the matronly figure yet there Is a certain sort of skirt ruffle that Is decidedly flattering. " * speak of th* circular ruffle four or Are Inches wide that is sometimes arranged in two or three tiers from a low hip line to the knees. These ruffles hide the dipping in of the dress below the hips and accentuate the slender n*-«=s of the skirt drapery from the knees to ankles. Blue Serge May Be Used For All Coats IT Is a little difficult to decide Just what sort of coat to give your children for hot weather. Perhaps they don’t need new coats at home, but when they go away on vacation, they do need them. There is always something trim and neat and becoming In a sim ple blue serge coat. Moreover, a whole family can be coated *ln blue serge, from little to big, and the result Is decidedly good to look at. So consider blue serge when you are making your de cision. Blue serge coats can be bought j in any shop for any age. almost. The clever needle-woman cgn ma nipulate this fabric herself to the making of serviceable and smart coats. It needs a little skill and a good deal of patience to get the small eca’s pressed properly. Perhaps yo~» tailor will, for pay ment, do the pressing for you. Some tailors will do this sort of thing. Jersey cloth coats or sweaters are also a good choic*. Dark gray is always a good color in this Jersey cloth. The shades of tan are usually good, too, though they show soil more quickly than a darker color. Blue or green are more likely to fade than the dark gray, but they, too, are a good choice. These coats can be bought with neatly buttoned fronts and with pockets and turn-back col lars, or else with a banded edge j and no collar. Snch coats, with the flat edge, look especially well when the suit or frock beneath them has a white collar to turn I back over the coat. Dress to Live or Live to Dress 1 Some people eat to live, while others—tt Is said—live to eat. I And so some women s objective In buying clothes is to have suit able raiment for the various hours of work and play which comprise their days, while others look upon * the various Jottings in their en- » gagement books simply as op portunities to display their care- j fully selected clothes. The first class of women Men 1 *1 have accepted an invitation to a dinner. Now I must see whether I have anything to wear. * If not I must buy something new.-* Toe second class of women say: “I have bought a new dinner « dress. I hope that some one will • k me to p dinner party before ! the week is out." ^ Tlie crepe de chine blouse at the left is worn over the skirt to (five slender lines to the hips. The tack-in batiste blouse at the right is in the new doll -.hade of pink and is worn tucked into the skirt by the woman with slender hips.