NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
AND REMINDER 
Vol. XIII 
Manchester, Mass., Friday, April 9 
No. 15 
& 
The Season’s Fashions 
By HELENE SHERMAN 
N somewhat the same way that Tartarin of Tarascon 
wondered what ‘‘ils’’ had in store for him, the 
woman-mind of today is absorbed in the fascinating 
question of what “‘they’’ are going to wear this season. 
That clothes will be more than usually charming is 
already established beyond a doubt, and the best of it 's 
that whether they are military or after-six or tailored 
or sport clothes, they are wholly and delightfully femin- 
ine. This season there is a style for every woman if 
she will but find it and make it her own. 
Just now, before Easter, interest seems to center in 
hats. The tiny, tilted turban has been foremost in 
favor all the spring, but as summer approaches it will 
be eclipsed by the picturesque, wide-brimmed hats, 
which Paris bonnet-makers are already showing in he- 
coming, irregular shapes. The brims are of transparent 
materials—malines, tulle or neapolitan straw—and the 
small crowns of dark straw and trimmings of paradise, 
ostrich or flowers. Some of the American millinery 
houses are becoming formidable rivals of the French 
houses in their adaptations of these charming afternoon 
hats for American summer girls. For wear on the 
Shore, the indispensable panama has returned witi 
many fetching variations to make its usefulness more 
tempting. One particularly becoming one has the pop- 
ular narrow brim of the season, a graduated crown and 
a trim, black velvet band, fastened with a plain rosette 
and streamers. Sport hats are more becoming than ever 
and will doubtless be seen this summer at the North 
Shore resorts even more than last year, if such a thing 
is possible. They come in corduroy, preferably white, 
split straws, and even leather. 
Sport clothes are, in fact, of paramount importance 
here, where so much of the life in the season is out of 
doors, and never has the young girl or the matron had a 
chance to be more captivating in her out-of-door clothes 
than she has in this 1915 season. The tub skirt and 
blouse will be first favorites. The first requirement of a 
sport skirt is that it be sensible, although those of us 
who have watched our girl tennis players in their nar- 
row skirts for the last two years were becoming skepti- 
eal. This year most of the sport skirts have becoming 
yokes, and all of them are wide enough for comfort. 
Pleats and pockets are used plentifully and with good 
results. The comfortable, cool-looking blouses, whici 
are to be worn with such skirts, are equally becoming. 
Paris has decreed ruffled revers and frills again, and ail 
womankind will rejoice over this revival. Baby Irish, 
it is whispered, will come back this season after a whole 
year’s eclipse. These blouses are made with low or con- 
vertible collars, plaited revers and jabots, to fasten in 
the front, of course, and with long sleeves for the most 
part. Parisiennes are favoring the judicious use of 
black velvet with them. Fine Irish linen, Georgette 
crepe, bastiste and voile are the materials used. 
Sport suits, which are a feminine parody on mascu- 
linity, are sure to be in high favor for Shore wear. 
They come with delightful, plaited, pocketed and belted 
coats and skirts in black and white checks, coverts and 
serges and heavy lnens. While the skirts are in some 
cases quite flaring, the most exclusive models, althougn 
equally full, hang in a straight line, after the smarter of 
the French suits. One especially becoming sport suit 
has a low-belted, patch-pocketed, girlish coat and a full 
two-piece skirt, and buttons used freely on both. The 
very fashionable, very practical box coat will probably 
not be used for suits on this side of the water very 
much, as our American girls refuse to copy their French 
sisters in the matter of being, and, what is even more 
radical, looking, loosely corseted. These little box coats 
with their accompanying plaited skirts are quite fasci- 
nating, however, in the endless opportunities they offer 
for individuality. Along with sport suits must be con- 
sidered the military influence, for it is not to be sup- 
posed that the great conflict overseas will not have its 
influence here, even in the dressing of the women on 
Massachusetts Bay. The military touch is used dis- 
creetly, and is so feminized as to be invariably becom- 
ing. In colors it is felt most, and one hears more and 
more about Russian green, Belgian blue, soldier red, 
battleship gray and blue soldat. One of the most grace- 
ful of these adaptations had a_ semi-fitted, belted 
coat, buttoning with severe, black bone buttons quite 
up to the chin and a straight, full skirt bound, like the 
coat, with black braid. In dark blue gabardine it was 
a practical and graceful garment. 
The separate coat is of such vital importance to 
North Shore sojourners that one hardly knows which 
to dwell upon—the conservatively cut top-coat, the 
smart,’ simple sport coat, or the oddly shaped, little silk 
coat for wear over the sheer lingerie frock. Each one 
in its way seems equally a necessity. The simpler the 
top-coat, the smarter it is, and, more than that, the 
more uses may be found for it. Most of the new ones 
are of a becoming length, just below the knees, and 
have the inevitable belt, convertible collar and wide 
cuffs, and a few have cleverly placed pockets. Sport 
coats come shorter, fuller, and, it must be acknowl- 
edged, on more youthful lines. Strange to say, they 
are not belted this year, but hang in full, flaring lines 
from shoulder to hem. Pateh pockets and buttons 
combine to make them irresistible, and it is safe to say 
that the jeune fille of this summer will bestow upon 
them the same favor, which she has given to their pre- 
decessors of the last few seasons. These coats come in 
chinchilla, colored corduroys, coverts and homespuns. 
Evening wraps are not so plentiful this year as they 
have been for a season or two back, and it is rather 
difficult to find them with very becoming lines. Those 
that are shown have, however, one advantage, in that 
they are voluminous and simply trimmed, so that they 
can easily be made at home by the seamstress or, 
indeed, by the amateur. Last, but by no means least 
in the point of quaintness and charm, comes the little, 
extra silk coat, which has not been seen for some years. 
It is short, quite closely fitting as to bodice, but making 
up for it in the flare of the short skirts below the waist- 
