8. See chapters on costume design and dressmaking in “Shelter and Clothing,” for suggestions in relation to colors one should wear.
The above brief suggestions must be considered in the light of the knowledge gained from the study of the chapters on textiles in the companion volume, “Shelter and Clothing.”
In purchasing any materials for clothing or household furnishings, remember that demand causes production and those who are intelligent will make the right demands in the right places. Insist on the honest labeling of goods and demand that for which you pay. Why should cotton manufacturers label handkerchiefs which are cotton “pure linen,” and sell them at ten cents? We too should know linen cannot be bought at that price. The United States government employs experts to examine the standards of textiles used in making army, navy, and other uniforms, and will accept only
those materials from the contracting manufacturers which stand their tests. If a fuller discussion of the buying of textile materials is desired, see Woolman and McGowan’s “Textiles,” particularly the chapters on consumer’s judgment of textiles, on social and economic conditions, and on clothing budgets.
EXERCISES
1. What rules should be borne in mind in planning to buy the furnishings for a home?
2. What should guide one in relation to where to buy?
3. What methods of ordering facilitate shopping?
4. What is meant by the ethics of shopping?