New Idea October 1909, pg. 16

     The coat shown here (5367) and on the color page opposite is one of the smartest of the new tailored models and may be regarded as representing the most approved lines of the season. Semi-fitting, as are practically all of the fashionable coats, it adapts itself to the figure with the easy grace that is a distinguishing feature of all well-cut garments, hanging in artistic lines, yet plain even to severity. It displays no trimming and requires none, although a decoration of mohair or soutache braid would not be inappropriate. A simple machine stitching, however, will answer every purpose.
     As a reference to the several views shown of it will indicate, the coat offers various possibilities of development – a fact which will not fail to appeal to the resourceful woman who is accustomed to make her own practical garments at home. For instance, the coat may be made in either 40 or 50 inches length at the back, the front edges may be made straight or cut away, and the lower front corners may be square or round. For the neck finishing either of two styles of shawl collar may be used, while the two-seam coat sleeve may be gathered or plain at the shoulder, as preferred. In the latter case the sleeve is eased into the armhole, after the manner of a man’s coat sleeve, a very small amount of fullness being allowed on the model for this purpose.
     A coat of this type is adaptable to many uses and may be developed in any one of many materials. Moiré silk is being much used just now for modeling such coats for dressy wear, the coat in these instances matching the color of the gown worn with it, although the latter may be of a different material. For a dressy suit of one material, the coat might be combined with a smart skirt, and both garments made of chiffon broadcloth, satin cloth or prunella; while for more serviceable wear one may select wide-wale diagonal, herring-bone serge, cheviot, homespun or an English or Scotch suiting. For a woman of thirty-six-inch must measure, the coat in fifty-inch length would require seven and one-half yards of twenty-seven-inch, four and one-half yards of forty-two-inch, or three and three-quarter yards of fifty-four-inch material.
     This garment (5367) is designed for women of any bust measure from 32 to 42 inches.
     A five-gored skirt model that can not fail to please the woman of discriminating taste is illustrated here (5390). It portrays one of the latest ides in skirt designing, and bridges the gulf between the clinging gored skirt and the full plaited one, partaking of the good qualities of both. Thus, the careful goring insures a smooth fit about the hips, while the insertion of a plaited section at each side, together with the inverted plait at the back, provides for comfortable fullness about the lower part of the skirt. The slot seam at the center front is an effective feature, and the stitching of the remaining seams in tuck effect is quite in line with current fashions. The skirt may be finished in either round or shorter length, and measures about 3 5/8 yards at the lower edge.
     For developing this model chiffon broadcloth and rough-finished Oriental silks are among the staple materials that one might use. For a woman whose waist measure is 26 inches, 7 3/4 yards of  27 inch, 4 1/4 yards of 42-inch, or 3 3/4 yards of 54 inch material will be needed.
     This skirt (5390) is designed for women of any waist measure from 22 to 30 inches.  

Delineator November 1909, pg. 378

     If a woman desires something which is not only effective but practical as well, she will surely find it in the “coat dress.” There are many different versions of this garment, some being made very plain, others more elaborate, but all give the tailored effect which the name would imply.
     The model shown here (3343) would be appropriate for the woman who needs serviceable clothes, being a good design not only for the business woman, but for street wear for any one. In the early Autumn, before the cold days, these dresses will be worn without coats, while later on separate long coats will be worn with them.
     This design shows one of the simpler versions of the coat dress, being made with a fitted upper part which is lengthened at the back and sides by a plaited flounce with a straight lower edge which measures about four and one-half yards. The panel front is a feature which still retains its popularity, being becoming to almost every woman and serving as a connecting link, as it were, between the waist and skirt. Some of the latest imported models show the sailor collar as one of the most favored styles, and this is found not only in dresses, but in coats as well. If the woman finds this shape trying or prefers the shawl collar, she might finish the dress with this style of collar. The dress with the shawl collar fastens at the left side, while the model with the sailor collar closes at the center front.
     If the dress is desired for afternoon wear in the automobile or on the street, it might be made of serge with the shawl collar facing and cuffs made of black moiré or moiré in a darker shade than the dress. Smart frogs would make a pretty finish for this dress, and the shield, which is removable, might be made of all-over lace or tucking. The medium-sized woman would require, for the dress developed in this way, 7 1/8 yards of the serge, which comes 44 inches wide, 5/8 yard of the lace or tucking 18 inches wide, and 3/4 yard of the moiré 27 inches wide.
     Design 3343 may be had in 7 sizes, from 32 to 44 inches bust measure, price 15 cents.

Delineator April 1909, pg. 535

     The majority of the semi-princess dresses, with all their soft gracefulness, might easily be described in these two words – exquisite simplicity. Their leadership among the most fashionable gowns may not be approved by all, but it certainly is not doubted. The bodice of 2875 is formed of small tucks extending from the high waistline at the back to a yoke depth at the front; from here the fullness is free to the waistline. The closely-fitting tucked cap-sleeve is pictured on this page, and is banded in the same form as the narrow shaped belt. With this sleeve the bodice has the open neck, and is completed by a guimpe (2688). A yoke over the French lining replaces the guimpe when the full or three-quarter length two-seam sleeves are preferred, and may have the collarless effect which is seen on so many of the latest models. A skirt of four pieces is attached to this bodice. The two panels are made more pronounced by lengthwise tucks over the seams joining them to the circular side pieces. The opening of this dress is disguised beneath the tucks and panel at the back. The skirt may fall either to a round length or to a medium sweep, measuring about 3 yards at the lower edge. In the development of this design a good opportunity is given to display one’s individuality as to the choice of dress materials Cloth might be used, finished by embroidered or braided silk or satin bands, and be worn over a guimpe of tucked or plain net or mull, either white or matched to the tone of the gown. The dress could also be cut from satin messaline or heavier weight fabric. Tassel ornaments are fastened to the waistline at the panel tucks, and side bands of the neck opening; novelty soutache buttons could also be used. In the wash goods, either white or colored linen would give a very good effect, finished by hand embroidery, or embroidered or plain bands with colors corresponding to those of the garment, and be worn over a finely tucked guimpe of handkerchief linen or a plain guimpe of embroidery, which could be worked by hand in designs of eyelets, rings, dots or figures, and be kept in the same color as the guimpe linen, or be matched to the shade of the dress material. Voiles, pongees, rough silks and foulards would be equally as suitable for a dress of this design as the linen and cloths. For instance it could be made of foulard with messaline bands in matched color, and be worn with one of the new collarless guimpes of tucked chiffon or figured lace, or of a plain fabric, braided with soutache.
     This design (2875) is made in 6 sizes, from 32 to 42 inches bust measure, and is 15 cents. For medium size with a guimpe, 7 7/8 yards of material 24 inches wide are required, 5 3/8 yards 36 inches wide, or 4 3/4 yards of the 44-inch width. Of goods for the yoke, collar and the two-seam sleeves, 2 1/8 yards 18 inches wide will be required, 1 1/2 yard 27 inches wide or 7/8 of a yard 45 inches wide. One yard of silk or satin 20 inches wide will be needed for the belt and bands, also 1 1/2 yard of lace for the collar and sleeves.

Delineator December 1909, pg. 474

     Another princess dress which may be developed for general wear or for more dressy occasions is shown in No. 3427. This model closes at the left side and may be made in the clearing or shorter length.
     The dressy gown would be made with the side portions in envelope style and with the sash in Empire effect. A rather firm material as bedford cord or broadcloth or velvet would be appropriate for this model and the sash should be made of a soft silk to match exactly, or to contrast prettily. For dressy gowns the more unusual shades, as old-rose, the odd shades of green and purple are used by those who have a number of dresses, while the less conspicuous colors are chosen by those who have fewer gowns. The use of the buttons is optional but would be pretty covered with the silk used for the sash and trimming band. To make his dress of cashmere, which comes 44 inches wide, the medium-sized woman would require 4 7/8 yards, with 1/2 yard of all-over lace or tucking 18 inches wide for the chemisette and collar.
     The plainer model would be made without the side portions and sash, and might be very effectively trimmed with a braiding design or with cloth covered or jet buttons. This dress would be pretty with the chemisette made of tucking or net, or it may be made with the high neck if preferred. For this dress panama or one of the wide-wale diagonals in serviceable color as blue, green or gray would be very pretty. The braiding or button trimming on this dress might be made very effective if a darker shade than the dress is used.
     This model is made with a close-fitting French body lining which may be made with the high or round neck as desired. The lower edge of the dress in the clearing length measures about 3 yards.
     Design 3427 may be had in 7 sizes, from 32 to 44 inches bust measure, price 15 cents.

New Idea March 1909, pg. 16

     A simple but entirely charming frock for spring or summer wear is portrayed in 5125. For making the dress as illustrated in the color drawing, banana-yellow linen was used, insertions of Irish crochet, dyed to match, being chosen for garniture. Many attractive fabrics, however, suggest themselves as appropriate for developing the model, which may be made of any material that will adapt itself readily to tucking. Cashmere, lansdowne, voile, mohair, challis, pongee, foulard and chiffon taffeta would make up charmingly by this mode, while among the wash goods that are suitable are batiste, chambray, linen, lawn and galatea. For the woman who likes to make a pretty frock for herself now and then, the dress offers many opportunities for the display of clever needlecraft. It would, for instance, be especially charming if made of a fine white or pastel-toned batiste and adorned with an original design in embroidery, worked by hand directly upon the gown after its making. The dress is made in the popular and convenient semi-princess style, and closes at the back, showing here the high waistline which is now so much in vogue and which nearly every woman finds becoming. The waist is tucked to yoke depth in front and back, and, although it has no lining, fits the figure with easy grace, the fullness below the tucks falling free to the waistline where it is evenly adjusted in gathers. The neck is finished with a modishly high collar, but this may be omitted if desired, and the neck completed in the round Dutch style which is so becoming to women who have not lost the rounded contours of youth. Two styles of sleeve are included in the model, either being in accord with current fashions. One of these is the one-seam leg-o’-mutton sleeve which is especially adapted for tucking and lace, and which may be finished either in full or shorter length; while the other is the short puff sleeve which is equally popular for warm-weather wear or for evening wear at any season. The skirt is cut in 7 gores, and, while adjusted to fit smoothly about the hips by means of a group of tucks at each seam, is moderately full at the lower edge, where it measures, in the medium size, 3 3/4 yards. It may be made with a medium sweep if a small train is desired, but this style is better reserved for occasions when a dressy toilette is called for; while for street and ordinary wear the simple round length which just clears the ground is at once more practical and more cleanly. If desired, the skirt may be trimmed as illustrated with inserted bands of lace matching those on the waist, but if a plain effect is preferred it may be adopted without detracting from the general effectiveness.
     This dress (5125) is designed for any bust measure from 32 to 40 inches. Size 36 requires 9 3/4 yards of 27-inch, or 5 1/2 yards of 42-two-inch material, with 14 yards of band trimming.

New Idea July 1909, pg. 12

     A Semi-Princess dress of attractive design, which a woman of tall, slender figure could wear very gracefully, is illustrated on this page and the color page opposite in 5252. The three developments given afford a fairly accurate demonstration of its numerous possibilities, although the resourceful dressmaker, whether professional or amateur, will be able to introduce some original features in the way of decoration. As to material, there are so many dainty fabrics to choose from this year, many of them marvelously inexpensive, that no one need have any difficulty in making the dress up attractively and becomingly. In one of the news shown above, satin foulard was used for modeling it; in the other, India mull, with inserted trimmings of lace, while in the color view dotted French muslin was chosen, in a delicate shade of hyacinth. All the supple materials, however, are suitable, including pongee, the soft silks and crêpes, the sheer wash fabrics, silk or cotton voile, cashmere and lansdowne.
     The dress is made without a lining, a yoke of unusual and distinctly graceful shaping serving as a basis for the waist. From this emerges the center-front panel, which extends in a continuous line to the edge of the skirt portion. The necessary fullness is provided for in the small tucks which spring from the yoke in front and back and those which extend over the shoulders, all of which are stitched as far as the bustline, and below are allowed to go free. If a high neck is desired the yoke is surmounted by a straight collar; but provision is also made for a Dutch square or round neck, and these styles are much liked for warm-weather dresses. The sleeves in full or three-quarter length are of one-seam design, following closely the lines of the arm, and are adorned with groups of triple tucks placed at regular intervals.
     The skirt portion of the dress is cut in seven gores, the front gore being a continuation of the front panel of the waist. At the back and sides the skirt is tucked to hip depth and attached to the waist by means of a belt, the whole closing together at the back in one-piece style. A flounce having a straight lower edge – which measures 4 1/4 yards in the medium size – finishes the skirt, which may be made in round or shorter length or in a medium sweep.
     This dress (5252) is designed for any bust measure from 32 to 40 inches. Size 36 requires 6 1/4 yards of 42-inch material.

New Idea May 1909, pg. 12

     For the woman who likes to look her daintiest, a pretty design for a summer dress (5190) is suggested on this and the opposite page. Made in the popular semi-princess style, with the skirt showing the fashionable high waistline at the back, this graceful model will appeal to every woman who seeks youthful, simple effects in her warm-weather gowns. The waist has no lining, the tucked side-portions being adjusted over a panel in front and back. The neck is finished with a high collar, although this may be omitted if not liked, a round Dutch finish being substituted for it.  The one-seam sleeves, which follow the lines of the arm closely, may be plain or tucked as desired, either style being in accordance with the mode of the moment. There is a decided fancy this season for full-length sleeves, but there are, nevertheless, a great many well-dressed women who cling to the shorter sleeve, which is unquestionably very comfortable for wearing during the warm weather. This model includes both styles from which one may choose to suit one’s own taste.
     The tucked skirt is made in two sections, each having a straight lower edge. The upper section is adjusted from waistline to hips in a series of twin tucks, arranged at regular intervals, the front tucks forming a double box plait. The two sections may be joined in double skirt effect, as in the colored drawing, where batiste embroidered flouncing was used for developing the dress, or in a manner suggestive of one deep flounce, the joining being here concealed by a band of trimming. The skirt may be made in round or shorter length, and measures at the lower edge, in the medium size, about 4 yards.
     This dress (5190) is designed for any bust measure from 32 to 42 inches. Size 36 requires 6 1/4 yards of 42-inch material; or, if made of flouncing or bordered material, 8 1/2 yards 30 inches wide.

New Idea August 1909, pg. 12

     A smart and distinctly becoming development of the popular semi-princess style is illustrated on this page and the color page opposite in 5310, the different views demonstrating very effectively the pleasing possibilities of the mode. In the color drawing figured green foulard was chosen for developing the dress; while, of the two figure views shown on this page, one was modeled in figured lawn and the other in Denmark blue pongee. However, practically all of the materials in vogue are appropriate for the model, while one is at liberty to use one’s own judgment in the selection of the trimming.
     The waist is made on a lining, which serves as a foundation for the circular yoke. This may be made of all-over lace or tucking, the lining being cut away underneath after the yoke is adjusted. At the upper edge, where it meets the yoke, the waist is arranged in a series of small tucks, which terminate just above the bust line. At the waistline, which may be in high or regulation style, as preferred, the waist is gathered slightly, the scant fullness between the tucks and gathers being allowed to go free. The adjustment of the trimming on the waist is a matter of taste, the various suggestions offered in the illustrations representing some of the latest ideas. If a plain effect is preferred, however, it may easily be obtained, and the dress still be pretty and becoming. The neck may be made high and finished with a collar, or cut in a low round and edged with a narrow frill of lace or a band of trimming. Two styles of sleeve are given – the full-length, one-seam leg-o’-mutton model and the short puff. Either of these may be used.
     The skirt is a five-gored one, in round or shorter length and having an inverted plait at the back. It measures about 3 1/4 yards at the hem, while fitting smoothly about the hips. Perforations are provided for arranging the trimming.
     This dress (5310) is designed for any bust measure from 32 to 38 inches. Size 36 requires 8 1/2 yards of 27-inch, or 5 3/4 yards of 42-inch material.

Delineator November 1909, pg. 376

     Within the last few months there has been a growing tendency to select styles more appropriate to special occasions than heretofore.
     An essentially dressy gown – dressy in every detail – is shown in No. 3382. As shown here the gown was intended for receptions and other dressy affairs, where the high neck and long sleeves are preferred, and was made of yellow crêpe de Chine.
     This model is an excellent one for evening wear, and made in either the crêpe de Chine or of a crépon or other soft material would be very effective. For formal occasions most women would prefer the round or square neck and the shorter mousquetaire sleeves, while in the other dress either the long mousquetaire or plain sleeves would be favored.
     This semi-princess dress is made with a slightly high waistline at the back, and consists of a waist with a fichu drapery, and made with a French lining, and an attached three or four piece skirt which would be equally pretty with the inverted plait or gathers at the back. The lower edge of the skirt measures about 3 5/8 yards in the round length.
     To make this dress the medium-sized woman would require 9 3/4 yards of the crêpe de Chine, which comes a littler wider than 24 inches, with 1 1/4 yard of the all-over, which is 18 inches wide.
      Design 3382 may be had in 6 sizes, from 32 to 42 inches bust measure, price 15 cents.

Designer December 1909, pg. 90

     Among the many graceful designs of the season, the model No. 4300 stands preeminent as an exemplification of an exceptionally artistic costume that is not too extreme to meet the needs of the average woman, as has often been the complaint of a design that showed fashion’s latest vagaries.
      If intended for nice wear, the sweep length is the most appropriate, but the sorter length that is provided for, is equally fashionable. Despite the fact that many long-waisted effects are shown, the high waistline is too becoming a style to the average figure to be ousted from its high position, and, as will readily be seen in the illustration, is an unusually pleasing example of this fashion. Either the high or low neck may be used, it being merely a matter of personal preference, as is also the case with the sleeve lengths, both of which are given. The draped overskirt, which may be either gathered or finished in an inverted plait at the back, is mounted on a three-piece foundation skirt.
       Materials most suited for this construction may be had in widths of 36 inches, 44 inches, and 50 inches. A woman of medium size will require for the dress and facings, 7 7/8 yards of 36 inch, 6 3/8 yards of 44-inch or 5 1/2 yards of 50-inch material, with 7 5/8 yards of band trimming and 1 3/8 yards of edging. The foundation skirt requires 7 1/8 yards of 20-inch, or 4 1/8 yards of material 36 inches wide.
     Broadcloth, henrietta, silk cashmere, mull, satin, messaline and eolienne are among the many appropriate fabrics.
     Design 4300, in six sizes, from 32 to 42 inches bust measure, price 15 cents.