In February 1913 the Ladies' Home Journal reported, "It looks for the first time as if a distinct movement toward American-designed fashions for . American women were under way." When American fashion had made the news in the past, the editors reflected, those instances were just "spasmodic waves." Now that Parisian couturiers were changing styles with the seasons instead of creating timeless clothing, they predicted that things would be different. The American woman needed practical fashions: "In other words when a woman buys a hat or a dress she is entitled to get reasonable wear out of it in.return for her money. For her suddenly to discover that the hat or dress.is 'out of style,' with the materials still perfectly good, is an injustice." American designers should look to their own heritage and circumstances to find the materials for a...