What Dress Makes of Us

by Dorothy Quigley

Women who have sharp and prominently outlined profiles have a curious tendency to choose hats, the brims of which project too far forward in front, and turn up too abruptly and ungracefully in the back.

As shown in No. 30 the protruding brim gives the head and face the unattractive proportions of the capital letter "F." The length of the nose is emphasized by the line of the hat-rim above it and it appears unduly obtrusive. The flat arrangement of the hair and the curve of the hat-brim in the back also exaggerate the obtrusive qualities of the features. By choosing a hat somewhat similar to the one sketched in No. 31, the unattractive sharpness of the profile is modified, and the alert, agreeable quality of the face, that was obscured by the shelf-like brim, becomes apparent. The observer feels, if he does not voice it, that it is a progressive spirit advancing forward instead of an ungainly head-piece that looks like a curious trowel.

For the Woman with an Angular Face.

The woman with the angular features presented in No. 32 should not wear a sailor-hat or any hat with a perfectly straight rim.

The sailor-hat or any style bordering on it should be selected with utmost discrimination. This mode is unbecoming to a woman more than forty; or, to one who through grief or worry prematurely attains a look of age, or to one whose features are irregular. The straight brim across the face is very trying. It casts a shadow deepening the "old marks" and instead of being a frame to set off, it seems to cut off, the face at an inartistic angle.

The woman with angular features, as may be seen by No. 33, can wear with impunity, and always should wear, a hat the brim of which is waved, turned, twisted, or curved in graceful lines. The uneven brim of her hat makes an effective complement to the angularity of her chin, which is further softened by the feathery ruff that encircles her throat. The curves of the ostrich plumes, and the studied carelessness of the arrangement of her coiffure, subdue the angles of her face which are brought out in unbecoming prominence by the sailor-hat.

Women Who should Not Wear Horns.

The velvet horns on either side of a hat, the steeple-like central adornments that were once much in favor, and the Mercury wings that ornament the coiffure for evening dress, produce some startling, disagreeable, and amusing effects not altogether uninteresting to consider.