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The Omaha Sunday Bee Magazine Page
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fceicW Artutio . nor
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Barbarism.
NEW YORK clubwomen, did they
need to Justify their existence,
would be doing to by tbeir
present movement for the adoption
of a sensible hat for all occasions
and all women.
The Polymuriel plan, explained' In
detail by this newspaper last wek,
for the universal gown for women,,
bas been followed, by another prac
tical step looking toward the uni
versal bat. As the Polymuriel gown
Is one suitable for any hour in the
day and any event of the day, so the
Polymuriel bat should be one that
any woman can wear at any time.
The same rules obtain for the con
test for the prize Polymuriel bat as
for that of the gown. The designers
will 'send their sketches of hats to
the Polymuriel Prize Fund Commit
tee. No. 628 Illverslde Drive. The
" sketch will i signed by a ftetltlous
name. In a sealed envelope, bearing
on the outslda-the assumed nam
will -be a slip contalnlug the real
name of the designer. Thus the
English Women as War
Time Farm Hands
TUB women and girls of Eng
land seem to be missing no
opportunity to make them
selves useful while the nation's
prtil calls ao many men away from
their usual occupations. The suffra
gists seem to bave forgotten their
"cause" for the time being and are
as busy as any of tbeir sisters in
working for the comfort of the sol
diers and oaring for the wounded.
And now, with the planting sea
son at band, these women are cheer
fully answering the call of farmer
throughout the United Kingdom,
who are bard pressed tor help to get
their crops planted. One of the im
portant London dally newspapers .
keeps ft register to facilitate ''such
employment
New Introductions of willing
womea workers, most of them with
useful experience, sure made every
(Lay to farmers who are short of
labor; earlier Introductions, brought
about during the last fortnight, are
resulting in engagements ot women
ty farmers at an unusually rapid
rate.
A gratifying development of the
register Is that, not only are women
workers being feund to take the
places of men who bave enlisted in
te new armies, but farmers, seeing
Following
Universal
Campaign for the Universal
Bonnet
Woman Can Wear at
Any Time and Still
Be Pretty
V Y.
Utterly Senseless
Judges will be freed from any impli
cation of favoritism, for the real nam
of the winner will only be known
after the decision has been reached.
While the prize for a Polymuriel
gown Is $150. that for the bat will
be $50. On May SI the contest will
cIobo and on June 15 a check will
be sent to the successful designer.
Miss Florence Guernsey, former
president of the New York City Fed
eration of Women's Clubs, with a
membership of 80.000 women, is a
member of the Polymuriel Commit
tee, and selected for this newspaper
specimens of the fit and unfit hat
and analysed a bat that ts suitable
and becoming to the majority of
women, comfortable and durable,' to.
meeting the alms of the committee.
"It will be even more difficult to
. agree upon a model bat for all
women and all occasions than upon
a gown," said Miss Guernsey, "for the
reason that faces differ even more
than figures. A figure is a matter ot
line. A face la not merely to be con-
the enormous amount of .woman
labor at their disposal, and the will
ing helpers introduuvu with such
satisfactory effect by the Dally Ex
press farm register to their neigh
bors, write that they now find they
can release more men than they at
first considered practicable.
The register, therefore, In addition
to carrying out its original purpose
by filling, vacancies caused by men
Joining the colors, bas also become
a direct means of recruiting. The
work on tbe farms continues Just the
same; the only difference Is that
women now till the soil and feed the
stock instead of the men who are
fighting.
Early In April the newspsper an
nounced that more, farmers were
needed to avail themselves of will
ing services on the land offered by
hundreds ot women on the register.
A few days ago the register called
attention to a number of vacancies
for women on the Gloucestershire'
estate of a large Institution which
baa Its headquarters In London. Tot
warden now writes that two of the
candidates bave already been en
gaged, two others are tinder consid
eration, and, wbat Is still more satis
factory, additional posts can be al
lotted to women if similarly suitable
applications are forthcoming.
the Movement
Dress Comes
That Any
stdered from the standpoint of con.
tour, but of coloring andexpreeslon.
Tbe round-faced woman cannot be
comingly wear the 'shape' that would
be suitable for the woman of angular
countenance. The pale woman
would look her worst In the hat that
Is a foil for the high-colored one.
expression also enters Into the sub
ject The round-eyed woman of
childish expression would sot be
adorned by a bat that Is ft proper
foil for the person of sedate visage
The face Is the Index of individual
ity, and It will be no easy task to In
close all the varying individualities
within one frame. But American
women are clever. We expect them
to furnish solution of tbe long
vexed problem, 'What kind of ft bat
shall I getr -
"Ever since the Duchess of Devon
shire was painted by Gainsborough
in ft large black velvet bat, worn
very much on the side and crowned
by a forest of plumes, tbe picture hat .
has been admired of xwomen and
more or less worn' by them without
regard for suitability.
"The picture hat is not becoming'
to all women. For Instance, It makes
the little woman look overweighted.
It is not becoming to tbe tall, thin
woman, for it causes her to look like
a lamppost which some mischievous
boy has crowned with a farmhand's
harvest hat The ploture hat la open -also
to the charge of lack of durabil
ity, since It is usually butlt of velvet,
and to the still more serious charge
of unhealtbfulness, since, being too '
heavy, it torments the nerves of the
scalp and overheats the head. Doth
effects produce the further one ot
causing the hair to fall out
' "The hat on this page, one of the
many modifications of the picture
hat is attractive; but being made of
fur, Is too heavy and hot to be health
ful. Furthermore, it Isn't practicable,
because on a windy day the wearer
would be tormented by the wind;
that being unintelligent, might mis
take the big flat hat tor a sail. The
woman who wears a large hat Is gen
erally in torment If indoors, some
one Is railing at her more or less
audibly because the bat obscures the
view of others. If out ot doors, the
elements tease her. Nearly always
the large hat means discomfort
"Oulded by less Intelligence and
sense of suitability is the choice of
what may be termed the tower hat
one which might In this case be
styled the Tower of Pisa hat. Its
crown ft mere tight swathing ot the
bead in silk, having no top .or cover
ing, and the incomplete frame sur
mounted by monstrously high plu
mage, it Is neither artistic nor becom.
ing, an utterly senseless barbarism.
The hat that comes low over one
side ot the head, fitting closely as
though It had Intended to be a cap,
and then, changing Its mind, ended
somewhere about the middle of the
crown, and was completed by a tuft .
of feathers of exsggersted height
certainly does not conform to the
Polymuriel Idea of suitability, com
fort and durability. The wlspy-llke
feathers would not survive one brisk
walk In the face of wind. It Is a
very silly shspe, and its high plumes
makes It un practicable.
."As between the close-fitting and
the flaring o- wlde-brtmmed shape
there ts no comparison for utility and
for beauty, it you regard neatness as
the Indlspensaoie form of beauty it
is. The hst among the four that Is
sensible and not unbecoming to any
woman is one of medium high crown.
Tbe crown Is round and large enough
to fit the wearer's head else. The
trimming Is floral. Flowers are be
coming to any age and any type.
There la enough of this trimming to
brighten the hat and tbe face ot the
wearer, and yet not enough to render
the bat heavy. It lies close to the
hat so offering no temptation to the
wind to rend It.
Moreover the brim turn up slight
ly, sffordlng a glimpse ot the hair, as
every hat should.
1 bave In mind a hat that seemed
opyrlfht till,
the ' fA V - X '
.f'
for
the
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.
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X,
-7 ' : ,A ThU l.Attr.ctiv' f -
I , but It U of Fur and '
' A I Too Heavy and V j
Healthful, ; V. i 1 J
' - '. " ,
On the Right Is a ,
y.W.. j Very Sensible and ' S
:.;;i-.'.'-'" . Not( Unbecoming "Ay
Design. ymmmmmaamammKmimimmm mi I
. . , . .. . .. i
V ', t a ' ; The Hat Which Mftke
--"W, , 1 " Lamppost or "a -?T
V j j Butter Tub of You.
A Very Silly Shape and the Feather Plumeg Are
Impracticable.
'to me to meet the requirements ot
a universal hat. In fact, I am' the
jpossessor ot thst bat, and weartng
lit gives me pleasure. It Is a large
turban, fitting well the head, and
'large enough to serve as. a fitting
frsme for the face. It is made en
tirely ot small, mauve-tlnted violets.
I wear It with a mauve gown, with
black, with any color. I era wear It
with any costume and at any hour of
the day."
The Polymuriel Committee frankly
avers that it cannot state exactly
wbat a Polymuriel hat must be. It
will quickly recognize, it says, a sult
abledeelgn, and will as readily re
ject one that Is unsuitable. By .ft
process of elimination it will arrive
' at the right design. In the matter
ot brims the brim should not be so
wide that it flaps in the wind or
torments the scalp by dragging at
the hair.
The trimming should not be easily
injured or destroyed, as, for In
stance, delicate feathers or ribbons
so delicate in shade as to be rutned
by a flurry ot dust or by the beating
rays ot the midsummer sun. Nor
should they be so expensive thst they
by the Sur Company,
Grsat Brltaia
are beyond the reach of the person
ot moderate means. Most Imperative
la It that the hat be not so heavy
that it torments ttie head either by
weight or heat 'if it is possible to
dispense with hatpins, let that be
done, although a hat should not so
tightly fit the head as to disturb tbe
circulation.
It should be. and this Is the most
difficult requirement of all. becoming
to any face of any type or age. In
the matter ot materials, that Is yet
to be determined.
In color It may be a neutral black,
or It may match the costume.
Prefersbly It should not be of shads
contrasting with the costume. Such
effect is too garish. But tbe color la
a secondary question and tbe com
mittee may leave that to the choice
ot the wearer, in this respect permit
ting the exercise ot tbe individuality
of the wearer. In tbe matter ot
colors the Polymuriel Committee
will iJrobably not restrict the wear
er's Individuality.
The liking of aome women for
much color in the bat and little or
none In the costume for instance.
Rlrhts Rasarved
the wearing of a black gown w)th ft
poppy hat may not be discouraged;
for It Is well known that you can ad
vantageously wear a color above the
face that you may not becomingly
wear beneath it. For Instance, a red
bat may be becoming to a woman
mho could not by any law of fitness
or becomingness wear a red gown.
The hair is the peacemaker In this
case. The intervening and softening
line of hair separates the trying
shade from the face, acting as a me
diator and blender; whereas there is
no such medium to latervone be
tween the gown and the face.
Generally ft woman may be de
pended upon to harmonize the colors
ot her costume. It is in the sense ot
line she is deficient It baa been esti
mated that of one hundred women
fifty wear becoming gowns, not more
than twe wear becoming hats.
The hat become a cartoonist cruel
ly caricaturing the wearer. A tiny
hat on a atout woman, or an exces
sively large hat on a slender woman,
will perform that office.
Don't forget that the bat Is not
Sv
a
A
merely for the head, but for tha
figure. As you sit before the plei
glass In & fashionable milliner shop
yeu may be charmed vjth the effect
of a bat. But rise and you will, If
your vision be keen, be shocked by
the figure that hat causes you to cut
Suppose you are generously built
your hips and shoulders broad, the
size of your hat needs , must be
greater than -that ot the meageriy
built woman.
The trend of Ideas of the Poly,
murlel Committee is that while the
size of the b- would necessarily dlf.
fer according to the size of ft worn
an's head and the proportions ot her
body, yet a shape may be found that
will be "niversally becoming. They
Incline, In their personal opinions, to
the modified turban.
, But they restrict the designers In
no respect, save that the shape must
be comfortable, durable and becom
ing, and suitable for wear at ft&7
hour of the day.
Up milliners and at ttt.
J