THE SHIRT BLOUSE.

Evening Post, Volume LXX, Issue 79, 30 September 1905, Page 11

THE SHIRT BLOUSE.

Tho old idea (says Melbourne Argus) that a blouse was a loose, handy sort of garment, that could be bought readymade at a moment's notice, because it was not necessary that it should fit anywhere particularly well, has now been abandoned. In these days we know that the simplest tailor shirts must be well cub and finished, particularly about tho nock and shoulders. Tho skirt and blouse are two distinct items. One must be neat and plain, whilst tho other may depend upon tho taste and fancy of tho wearer. But neatness is the watchword of the day, and one cannot be too particular at the neck, for it is the collar which 50 often makes or mars the appearance; and as no two necks are exactly alike, no hard-and-fasb rule- can be laid down, for what suits one is often most unbecoming to another. For those' who can wear" the high linen collar nothing can be smarter or nicer, but only very few find them comfOlf 01 table. A good, substitute is tho col-lar-band, so cut that it keeps high up (the amateur shirt-maker usually finishes with a straight neckband, which is always a mistake; it should be shaped like a dress-collar), and a little einbroidlered slock, with «a tie to match the skirt or belt, always looks nice and is cool. The sleeves of a shirt blouse must be rather full on the' shoulders, but there should bo very little at the wrist where the cuff fits. The "Gibson" style, with its broad tucks going over the shoulders, is still popular, and is smart ; but the tiny pm tucks at spaced intervals are newer for muslins. For stout figures the arrangement of tucks or pleats on tho cross is very becoming. For the most part blouses fasten up the front, and the narrow knife-kilted frills, which edge a. strip of Madeira insertion, are a frequent and pretty change from the ordinary boxpleat.