CLOTHES FOR MEN.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1947, 2 January 1914, Page 7

CLOTHES FOR MEN.

BOND STREET FASHIONS. i LATEST LOUNGE STYLES. ' Fashions in men's clothes do not vary liko a weather-vane. Tho present year, according to the London correspondent of the Sydney "Sun," has not brought any very vita; departure from the modes which were popular last year; yet in » dozen different ways there havo been modifications and amendments and slight- changcs and improvements by which one can almost tell at a glance when and whero a suit was cut. It is in the plain and simple perfection of tailoring that the well-dressed man of to-day stands apart from his fellows. 'I'iie Goths who attempted to capture London with fancy materials, and cjueer socks and hats havo had their day, and havo vanished amidst derision. Tho American invasion, with its formless looso and sloppy clothes, has spent itself in vain. 'Iho average Englishman is still the best dressed man in tho world.

Grey and brown remain the most popular colours. You must have a suit of one or tho other or bo out of it. Of greys there is an infinite selection, and the shades of brown are amazingly diverse. To be quite correct, you should also havo a quiet navy blue, a hat cloth for preference, and a morning suit. The lounge snit lias emerged triumphant from its contest with the morning suit for everyday wear, but when it conies to a dress occasion the morning suit is indispensable. It seems only yesterday that our fathers would never be seen abroad except in frock-coat and tall silk hat. To-day tho frock-coat is tho rare exception and not the rule, while the lounge suit has provided tho old buck with an oasv means to renew his .youth'. The most distinguished, tho most notable, and the most impressive of Empire builders sees no objection to wearing a lounge suit for ordinary city purposes, and it is surprising how many years a clover tailor can cut off its wearer's age by jauntily abbreviating the skirt of the coat by perhaps only half-an-incli.

Less Padding. There is much less artificiality about the clothes of a mau of to-day than there was even ten years ago. I mean, adds the correspondent, that tho tailor has less recourso to wadding and padding to fill out uneven figures and other tricks of tho trado which made men appear like so many blancmanges turned out of iho same" mould, iho tailor sticks closer to Nature, and icenkind are less ashamed or sensitive ahont their physical inequalities or.disproportions. K>u do not see squar; shoulders on a bottle-necked man, or sloping shoulders' on the torso of a square-built man. Nature is given, full sway, but her eccentricities aro cunningly subdued, so that they aro adapted to tho prevailing style. Coats arc neither cut too loose nor skimped. They still have two outside pockets with flaps, and tho length of tho coat is, as a general principle, dependent upon the length ot tho -wearer's arms. By this I mean that ho should be ablo 'to put his hands in his pockots without having to stoop over so little. When you get that distance tho remaining proportions of tho coat aro easy. The very distinct Grecian bend in the back which gavo men a marked waist lino has been, very, , considerably miklified. The coat still fits to tho waist, but more by suggestion than by actual curve. ~ It may hav.o threo buttons, but, . ; it is to bo the 'very"jniiK."of perfection it should havo only two, and the good tailor will mako it so that it can be worn buttoned or unbuttoned. Tho roll of the collar is less pronounced than formerly, but it is still bad form for the. collar to lie llat on. tho coat. If I add that most, coats aro cut fairly square you should have a good idea of the style most affected by the Paragons whom ono sees in Conduit or Bond Street.

Tho waistcoat is seldom. altered. It ■seems to survive every transformation of fashion, except that the opening at the neck is sometimes short and sometimes- long, sometimes wide and sometimes narrow. At present it i 3 a compromise ■ between all four of these points, and while being ample to provide contrast with the shirt and tie, it ought not to expose too much of tho shirt or reveal too much of the tie.

Trousers and Braces. Trousers are worn with turn-up at the foot or without, according to the fancy of the wearer. The tailor will toll you that the trouser leg sits better on the boot with the turn-up finish, but unless my observation is astray, tho vogue of this mode is passing. Perhaps the only alteration of note is that trousers aro not mado so high in tho waistband. They hang better when it does not como much above the hip. Another factor influencing this matter of length of leg and body is that more men than formerly are using belts instead of braces, polf makes tho captivity of braces irksome to many men, and dispensing with them-on tho links they also do without them with their daily dress.

It is not so long ago that the white shirt was as a law of tho Modes and Persians. Anybody not wearing one was no class. Pioneers of tho soft-fronted coloured shirt were scorned when they first presumed to run counter to tho dictates of fashion, but they havo their revenge in tlio.fact that to-d.iy 30 of these shirts for every single white shirt go out of tho shop. At first they wero manufactured with the starched cuff. It was a concession made to placate the dictators. Evolution lias, however, brought with it the practical abolition of the bard cuff and tho substitution of the soft, rolled back cuff, which it is such a pleasure to wear in the summer. The four-fold collar retains its predominance, just as the winged collar is de ligueur for evening wear. To-day collars, are made in quarter sizes, so that you can always get an exact fit. Tho balance of opinion favours a collar which fairly closely encircles the neck, experience . haying ~ slioivn that it sits better and is more comfortable than one which is separated from tho throat by n gaping aperture.

Of ties there is nr> end. The Ameri-can-made tie is getting a hold ill tho English liinrkoi because quality for quality it is slightly letter than that made in Great Britain, if we except Soitalfields silk. Yon wear a liow made by yourself, or tho scarf which has been popular for several years, tl-.G only recent difference being that tho scarf is not quite so broad as it used to lie, and a. good scarf is never by atiy chance padded witli cotton-wool or other material. When the knot is tied it .should he at the top of tho front of the collar, end not rest, on tho shirt ol with the neckband. There is an art in tho tying of a tie, aiul if anv actor -happens to dross 011 the stnr?o all tho front seats arc filled wit l '. "Nuts," who eagerly follow every :iinvemeiit, so that they mav reproduce his feat.

Coloured Evening Drsss. An attempt is being made to revolutionise evening dress by tho introduction of coloured cloth. It has only been a qualified sueccss. born use blue is tho only colour which has found a footing. It is not seen except amongst those who liko to think that thev are the vanguard ol' fashion, but it must he admitled that, it is rather a pleasant chanire. In general style there has been 110 difference worth talking about in tho fill of the evening dress coal. Tho waistcoat has been slightly altered by opening conforming more to tho \

shape. Iho dinner coal, v. hu. , i! vas suuii n craze a ieiv years Imcl;, is ymdually disappearing. It is only wr.ru . when men forpjiatlier. li Indies are t<r lie (d. the company, lull dress 'suit nuisi-iie worn. 'Iliree or four years it Has,' considered bad taste to appear in crpii> iiijj; dress iniloss you were patent leatiivr Ivoots. That idea lias lieen dissipated, l and the only concession made to :,tl:e; i'criner code is that the Inccan'.of.-jt.hg boot should lie liiade of paten! I .u'lei