The “New Look” Of 1948 Steps From The Old Magazine Of 1850

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 14640, 8 April 1948, Page 5

The “New Look” Of 1948 Steps From The Old Magazine Of 1850

Town And Country Women

THE MODERN MISS FOLLOWS STYLES OF YESTER-YEARS

Call it “new look” if you will, but it is actually a cenfury °| C G Ba ck in the middle of the 19th century Peterson’s Ladies’ National Magazine and Godey’s Lady’s Book had handsome double spreads of coloured pictures of which current fashion illustrations might well be replicas. There were wasp waists, extended hips, draperies, ruffles, furbelows, voluminous petticoats, writes Jessie Ash Arndt in The Christian Science Monitor.

Remember how we used to look f}. pictures and smile to mink our great-grandmothers could nave been so misguided as to allow themselves to be burdened with all those clothes?

, Today there is no need to turn t ++v la ® az^nes ' .^ a ded pages. A look at the shop windows, or maybe in our own mirror, is enough. So far, so good. As lone as the dresses are in the shon windows or on ladies of this era wnose duties do not take them out of their homes, there can be no serious objection to them. But has anyone yet tried them in a rush hour on the subway? The familiar, “Step lively, lady,” cannot hurry a subway patron, if someone else’s foot is planted firmly on the floating folds of her long business suit.” Neither will a “dust ruffle” protect the same floating folds from the city grime which their swishing and dipping will accummulate. Laundering of Garments Just the other day, a friend of mine had a slight alteration in the length of her new skirt. It did not hang quite right so she decided to fix it herself. The glamour of the “new look” grew dimmer and dimmer as she measured and basted and sewed the yards of material around the hemline. And who is going to launder the crisply starched ruffles on the smart and fashionable summer petticoats which are expected to peep coyly out from under the still-wider skirt? In great-grandmother’s day, the hired girl was expected to include such little chores in her household duties in return for board and room, or possibly a dollar or two additional per week. Today the help situation is a little different. Business girls do not have hired girls to keep their wardrobes in order and few of them have ironing facilities adequate for pressing skirts that are three yards or so round. These are just a few things-to-be-thought-of by the enthusiastic “young shopper who hopes to swish to work in fashion’s latest. And what of the traveller? Luggage manufacturers have made no startling announcements so far of new designs intended to accommodate the added lengths and widths which will have to be folded in and crushed down' to permit the lid to close on the ordinary travelling bag. Imagine tucking one of the enveloping new nightgowns into a 14-inch overnight case. And who is expert enough at packing to get that extra dress —to'say nothing of the beruffled petticoat that goes with it—into an 18-inch week-eqd case?

Maybe it will be fashionable to ship a packing box ahead by ex-

press so one’s party dresses and things will be there when one arrives. The girls undoubtedly will find a way to get both themselves and their wardrobes to their destination, but it seems an appropriate time to point out that certain things have been considerably complicated by harking back to the horse and buggy era.

Perhaps we will have trunks again with those nice high, rounded tops. As we look at the hoops around some of the hemlines, we can see a reason for the shape of those old trunks. But luggage manufacturers are wary of fashion changes. They are in no hurry to change designs for a passing fancy. Hatboxes, like other kinds of luggage, must necessarily be commodious or stay home -this season. Feathers, flowers, and large ribbon bows will .trim big, wide sailors and lovely face-framing bonnets that will tie prettily under the chin. For sports, the styles have made a 40-year jump to the gay ’9o’s. There are trim shirtwaists and long, ample skirts such as the older teenagers of the Gibson Girl era wore for their tennis games. Of course, with the acceptance in recent years of shorts as appropriate for sportswear, the girl of 1948 may slip out of their long skirts when they expect a game of tennis. But on the other maybe they won’t. Maybe it will be fashionable to see how well one can play despite the long-skirt handicap. The Wasp-Waist Appearance

There are also the fashionable little waist-pinchers, which may be added for either daytime or evening wear, or for both, to give the coveted wasp-waist appearance whether or not it is natural. So far these have not been shown as an accessory to sportswear, but perhaps they will be. It remains to be seen just how much independence the young women-—and the older ones—of 1948 will assert. So far, the “new look” has overwhelmed the loud, but short-lived country-wide protests which were heard when it first appeared. Not only has it outstared the protesters but it has stretched itself longer and longer, until if Great-Aunt Susan could see us now, she would thing she was looking at herself in the mirror! The next few months will show just how far modern American women are willing to be pushed backward in the matter of dress. Will they sacrifice comfort and freedom of movement in an active, demanding business aM mdu. o *rn( era so they may look like their great-grandmothers, or will they decide 1848 designs were never meant for 1948?