D

Frocks

O you not unconsciously separate in your thoughts the costumes

you wear before five o'clock from those you don at the tag-end of the day, when the more serious cares and responsibilities may be forgotten in several hours of congenial amusement? There is naturally a link of association between the good times and the frocks worn while enjoying them, but this psychological reason does not completely solve the problem. The after-five frocks

different different in coloring, in mode, and even in feeling. The daytime costumes, especially the tailored suits, are limited by conventionality; fashion prescribes certain styles, and as long as they are comfortable and practical, the majority of us follow them. In public we wear a mask, as it were, and not the least part of this mask is our clothes.

With the after-five frocks the situation is changed. To begin with, the environment is different. Instead of being on parade we are among members of our own social set, as a rule people with whom we can be ourselves, and this feeling of intimacy-camaraderie, if the former term is too strong may be expressed in our clothes. We can dare to be individual in a way that only the most radical would attempt in street-costumes, and it is this individuality that gives the charm to the after-five frocks.

There are various types of the after-five frocks; there is, for instance, the informal tea-gown, which many of us have adopted from our English neighbors. This little "in-between" gown into which we may slip after shedding the heavier street-suit, and which we will in turn shed for the more formal dinner-frock, is a most individualistic creation. There are so many styles that one must necessarily exercise a certain amount of individuality in selecting one. Of these there is the very informal robe, which, strictly speaking, is not good form beyond the confines of the boudoir; and there is the more dignified gown, so similar to the dinner-frock that many women do

not change it when
dining at home. This
more dignified type is
worn largely at house-
parties where tea is

served late in the afternoon in the library
or great hall. Developed in chiffon and
satin, with drapings of lace and discreet
touches of embroidery, they are gowns full
of charm.

Then there are the dinner-frocks, which when worn at formal dinners differ but little from the ball-dresses, and when intended for an informal dinner are similar to the delightful bridge-frocks. The transparent bodice and extreme decolletage, now considered so chic in an afternoon dress, aid in making the bridge-frock admissible as a dinner-gown. Even long sleeves of chiffon are shown in evening gowns, making another point of similarity between the afternoon and evening frocks.

Though the dinner-gown may be dignified with a train, it must be a train that can be quickly hooked up onto the gown, for the gown that cannot be transformed into a tango-frock will never find favor with maid or matron this winter when even the hostess with silver hairs among the golden is as keen about the dance as her daughter.

It is to the tango-frock that we owe the increased fulness in the evening gowns. It was impossible to perform many of the more intricate steps in the restricted skirts of yester-year; hence the increased width around the bottom in this winter's dress. To be sure, this additional fulness has been accomplished mainly through skilful draping, and the effect when the wearer is standing is not vastly different from the narrow, straight silhouette of the past, but the fulness is there, as one will be quickly convinced as soon as the dance begins.

For dancing, the flounced and three-tier skirts are ideally comfortable, also the accordion-plaited skirts. The more extreme minaret tunics, especially those with a wire to aid them in standing out boldly from the figure, are not practical when the frock is to be worn for dancing, though if the tunic is desired, a bouffant effect may be procured by

.