Studio: international art (28.1903)

Studio- Talk

WALKING DRESS

DESIGNED BY FRAU EMY FRILING

the idea of creating a "national German costume."
The models shown at the exhibition were designed
by artists who interest themselves in furthering the
movement; and if all the dresses exhibited were
not an unqualified success, there was much to
admire. The difficulty is to invent a design which,
without suggesting a dressing-gown, is loose and
flowing and on artistic lines. Many artists favour
the loose robe held lightly together by a girdle
or clasp. Others keep to the "Princess" style,
which follows the lines of the figure. The
latter is perhaps the most popular of all for
evening dresses; whereas for house wear an over
dress, with straps over the shoulders and under the
arms, with which the old favourite, the blouse, can
be worn, gains the most favour. The principle
that the offending " coat of mail," as a certain item
m a lady's wardrobe is termed, must be abandoned

DRESS DESIGNED BY FRAU EMY FRILING

and replaced by a slightly stiffened under-bodice,
and that the weight of the skirts should hang from
the shoulders, is always observed.

In most large German towns there is a branch
of the German Society for the Improvement of
Women's Dress, and it is this society which is
so active in organizing, by multifarious methods,
ways and means of making propaganda for its
cause. Thus it was that on December 8th a fete
took place, which was arranged by the indefati-
gable committee of the Berlin branch of the society,
the object being to bring together numbers of
the followers of the movement and to encourage
others to adopt its principles. The result was an
unqualified success. Hundreds of ladies vied
with each other to appear in the most graceful and
artistic robes, and even some of the sterner sex

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