1492 
THE RURAL 
A Child’s Coat. —The coat and hat il¬ 
lustrated in first picture are extremely 
simple, and may be regarded as this sea¬ 
son’s revival of an old style. The coat 
has a deep yoke with the full lower part 
gathered on with three rows of gauging. 
A circular cape covers the yoke, and there 
are plain bishop sleeves. The cuffs, cape 
and skirt of the coat are all edged with a 
narrow band of fur. The fastenings are 
invisible. The model shown was of golden 
brown broadcloth edged with beaver. It 
was warmly interlined with flannel, the 
visible lining being pale yellow taffeta. 
Such a coat is very pretty, and quite 
within the ability of a home dressmaker. 
In fastening such a coat with hooks, be 
sure they are put along the edge with the 
lining brought over the fastening shank, 
the lining being neatly blind-stitched into 
place; the eyes are put on in the same 
way on the other side, or if there is an 
overlap small silk-covered rings look 
neater than the metal eyes. The little 
hat is made of the same material as the 
coat; it is cut in quarters to make a 
bowl-shaped crown, seamed on the inside, 
and has a lining of colored silk to finish 
the inside. The little turned-up brim is 
stiffened with a canvas interlining, and 
trimmed with fur to match the coat. The 
trimming is a bit of gold ribbon, two 
pieces being fastened under the brim 
about three or four inches apart, and then 
tied in a knot with perky ends right on 
top of the crown. One-inch beaver trim¬ 
ming suitable for this coat was recently 
noted at $1.50 a yard. Natural marabou 
feather trimming, l J /j or 2-inch, costs 50 
cents a yard, and is very pretty, but docs 
not stand hard wear like fur, though it is 
much used for children’s clothes. This 
outfit might be finished by a fat little 
melon muff of the cloth, trimmed with fur 
where drawn in at the ends. We do not 
indorse the leggings (matching the coat 
in material) that leave the little knees 
uncovered, but thick white woolen stoclr- 
ings are worn, and these leggings, or 
spats, are merely meant to take the place 
of high shoes, since little ones, like their 
elders, so generally wear pumps or slip¬ 
pers in our well-warmed houses. 
A Sensible Serge Frock. —The little 
girl at the right is wearing one of those 
simple woolen dresses, adapted from Eu¬ 
ropean models, that are so popular this 
Winter. It is plain enough to wash if 
need be, while saving the frequent laun¬ 
dering of light-colored cotton. It is sim¬ 
ply a plain skirt gathered to a yoke like 
a Mother Hubbard, with plain full 
sleeves. Over the lining yoke is laid a 
yoke of the material which in the front 
comes down over the skirt in two straps 
three inches wide. These straps come 
down within four inches of the hem and 
are finished at the end with a pocket, hav¬ 
ing an envelope flap buttoned down. The 
straps are not stitched down on the skirt, 
except around the pocket, which holds the 
strap in place. The neck is finished with 
a little turnover linen collar which is de¬ 
tachable. The model was blue serge, al¬ 
ways dependable, and such plain little 
dresses have an air of good taste not al¬ 
ways found in children's clothes. 
A Separate Coat. —In the second il¬ 
lustration, the figure at the left shows one 
of the warm sensible coats that now ap¬ 
pear in so many different styles. The 
leading feature in them all is width of 
skirt and general roominess, so that it 
may be slipped right over a jacket suit if 
need be. The coat shown is given a novel 
touch by the yoke, which is cut in one 
with the sleeves. It is pleated into the 
yoke in the back, like a military great¬ 
coat, while the flaring fullness of the front 
is confined by the plain belt. There is a 
high Chin-Chin collar and cuffs of fur. 
The model shown was of heavy wool otto¬ 
man, lined to the waist with satin with a 
flannel interlining. As a rule, when made 
of cloaking cloth, these coats are not 
lined below the waist, as the full skirt is 
too heavy; corduroy or broadcloth should 
be lined full length. Corduroy is ex¬ 
tremely popular for separate coats this 
Winter. The toque worn by this figure 
has a fur brim, with above it an up¬ 
standing frill of maline, a former fashion 
that has returned to favor. Sometimes 
the frill is of gold or silver tissue. 
A Skating Suit. —The figure in the 
center shows one of the styles advised fox- 
skating, which is so jaunty and sensible 
that it is very desirable for general out¬ 
door wear. It is a plain Russian coat 
and flaring skirt with no trimming ex¬ 
cept large horn buttons, which on the 
skirt follow the same line as the closing 
of the coat. There are large gauntlet 
cuffs trimmed with buttons and button¬ 
holes, and a high collar, which is hidden 
NEW-YORKER 
of a department store going up behind a 
girlish figure attired in short skirt, high 
fur-trimmed boots, flaring high-collared 
coat and jaunty hat, and remarking pa¬ 
ternally : “Well, little girl ! what can I 
bring you?” “Little girl” turns around 
to show the features of an indignant el¬ 
derly lady with a lorgnette. This joke is 
not at all far-fetched, for all ages of 
womankind wear the same style of clothes 
and there is a girlishness about this Win¬ 
ter’s models that is very deceiving as to 
the wearer’s age. While we disapprove of 
all extreme styles there is much to com¬ 
mend in the comfortable skirts of sensi¬ 
ble length, high boots and warm wraps of 
Coat and Dress for the Little Girl 
by tLe muffler. The skating cap and 
muffler are of checkerboard brushed wool. 
The general lines of the suit are so good 
that while plain enough for outdoor sports 
it is drcssy-looking when worn with furs 
and a smart hat. 
Another Girl’s Suit.—T he figure at 
the right shows another plain model wi 
wide skirt and coat of medium length, 
noticeable feature of the coat is the high 
muffler collar, which- may, if desired, be 
buttoned high across. Fur trimming 
being used to such an extraordinary ex 
tent this Winter that it is rather a relief 
:h 
A 
is 
jaunty cut. Many a girl will find herself 
walking with more erect and graceful car¬ 
riage, and with more enjoyment in the ex¬ 
ercise, because her Winter suit induces a 
feeling of pleasure in her outdoor activity. 
Fur appears on a great many suits, espe¬ 
cially on the bottom of the” coat, and 
many long separate coats are also fur- 
trimmed. We do not so often see this on 
the bottom of heavy cloth coats meant for 
walking and general wear as upon those 
more dressy in character. Long coats of 
plush or velvet often have a'deep band of 
long fur at the bottom, but these are more 
Three Outdoor Styles for the Big Sister 
to see suits without it. The little round 
mult shown is one of this Winter’s 
models; the close little velvet hat is mere¬ 
ly trimmed with ribbon of metal tissue 
about one inch wide, which is brought up 
from the brim and tied in a bow on top. 
As for the short flowing veil, it is a style 
brought out by- the existing modes, for 
with ii collar that is often brought up 
over the chin and tips of the ears, one 
cannot draw a veil down closely over the 
face without discomfort, and whether 
close or flowing, it is usually merely 
brought down over the tip of the nose. 
Styles and Trimmings.—A recent 
humorous picture shows the Santa Claus 
properly meant for carriage or evening 
wear, though, of course, one sees the most 
striking and luxurious wraps worn on the 
street. 
Altering A Coat. —One girl who 
sought to rejuvenate a full-length cordu¬ 
roy- coat of two years back ripped it at 
the waist line, where it was seamed on, 
and cut about 12 inches off the top. This 
gave more flare, which would have been 
lost had she merely cut a piece off the bot¬ 
tom, where it was widest. Skirts are 
much shorter now, and few separate coats 
are worn long enough to reach the hem, a 
favorite length being about eight inches 
shorter than the skirt, so this left the 
December 18 , 1915. 
coat amply long enough. The piece cut 
off gave enough material to make a high 
Chin-Chin collar, two small patch pockets 
and a plain wide belt, worn at the nat¬ 
ural waist line, and buttoned in front. 
The patch pockets were put on, military 
fashion, on each side of the front, and 
the coat was buttoned straight up the 
front with large flat buttons. Among the 
family possessions was an old-fashioned 
fur cape of Baltic or wool seal. This was 
taken apart and neatly cut into banding, 
and the coat was then trimmed with the 
fur around the bottom, the cuffs and the 
top of the collar. The result was a very 
handsome coat, without any suggestion of 
being “made over.” 
Skating Accessories. — Caps and 
mufflers to match are a necessary part of 
a skating costume. Knitted sets are seen 
us low as $1.50, brushed wool being the 
most desirable. The fashionable head- 
gear is built like the old-fashioned tobog¬ 
gan cap, sometimes with a fat little ball 
of fur at the top. A very smart muffler 
was a strip of wool velour, worked all 
around with worsted buttonhole stitch in 
a bright contrasting color, me cap being 
trimmed to match. This is an idea that 
can be used in many color combinations, 
brown and orange being especially pretty. 
Many of the skating caps are almost like 
hoods formed by the muffler, the loose 
ends being brought around the neck and 
thrown over the shoulders. Any sort of 
becoming cap is worn, but the muffler 
seems invariable ,and anyone who has an 
old-fashioned knitted woolen scarf such as 
rural school children wore years ago, may- 
now proudly- bring it out. Scotch knitted 
woolen gloves will add to comfort, and 
ore among sensible fashions for outdoor 
sports; they are very soft and warm, cost¬ 
ing $1.50 to $2.50 a pair, the latter being 
long enough to come up to the elbows. 
Black woolen tights will be found a de¬ 
sirable substitute for underskirts when 
skating, or for outdoor Winter sports 
generally, or serge bloomers may take 
their place if desired. 
Changes in Outline.— The various 
panier draperies are seen in the shops, for 
afternoon and evening dresses, but still 
newer is an effect something like a seven¬ 
teenth century farthingale, the full gath¬ 
ered skirt being distended by a single wire 
hoop at the lower hip line, and falling 
straight below. This is used for evening 
dresses in sheer fabrics, but is hardly 
likely- to make a general impression. The 
prevailing silhouette remains that of the 
rather snug little bodice and short full 
skirt. Cape collars are seen on both 
dresses and blouses, and some fur sets 
show the short high-collared flaring capes 
that were worn years ago with the little 
round muffs now again in vogue. A 
study of the furs seen both in the shops 
and on the streets emphasizes the un¬ 
wisdom of buying something very- con¬ 
spicuous when it is to do duty for several 
years; the standard furs are always m 
style. Two years ago every one bought 
civet cat; this year this handsome black 
and white fur finds little favor; fox is the 
universal favorite. We see some very 
beautiful sets of leopard, luxurious motor 
and evening coats being of leopard 
trimmed with skunk. 
More About Hats.—As Winter ad¬ 
vances, we see more of the neat little hats 
over which a veil may be worn, and they 
are often quite bright in color. With a 
black or dark suit a bright-colored hat is 
always attractive. Nor should the middle- 
aged mother think she must always wear 
a black hat with nothing more frivolous 
than purple velvet pansies for trimming. 
A real purple is often very unbecoming to 
an elderly face, unlike soft shades of vio¬ 
let, amethyst and pinkish mauve. There 
are many shades of claret, plum, damson, 
and dahlia, and even deep geranium red, 
that are extremely becoming to gray- 
lmired women. If the face is thin or 
lined, a straight sailor brim is almost al¬ 
ways unbecoming, whil* more irregular 
curves take off the lined look. Some of 
the folded toques of irregular shape are 
especially becoming to middle age. As for 
young girls, their youthful freshness will 
carry- off almost any- eccentricity of head¬ 
gear, but most girls look well in the small 
high toque now worn, even when, as 
usual, they are slanted over one eyebrow. 
A pretty style has folded brim with crown 
formed of upstanding shirring. These 
small toques have little or no trimming, 
