If your ankles are large, have your dresses a wee bit longer than fashion calls for. If your ankles are small and the legs large above the ankle, have your dress slightly long for the same reason. If the legs and ankles are correctly proportioned for the rest of the body, remember that even you need to have the skirt just a little bit longer because when you sit down you take up some of the skirt length. A fat woman sitting down with a dress that is too short is not pleasing to see—and we big women do love to sit down.
And in speaking of sitting down, a sanitary apron is a real protection to the backs of big folks’ dresses as it prevents wrinkling. Buy one, try it, and you will realize that the back of your dress looks much better after you get up from a two-hour sitting. And, besides, you can console yourself with the fact that if perspiration really reduces, your apron is serving you twofold—melting the fat and preventing skirt wrinkles all at the same time.
Don’t ever be tempted to wear frills, ruffles, tassels, or ornaments that go forward or wave about as you walk. They double your size every time and must be avoided.
A good plan for those of us who like ruffles, frills, and bright colors is to put them on our night clothes where no one but our very own selves can see.
The house, too, lends opportunity for our color appetites and there we may use color freely and safely. But because we love red, orange, or King’s blue is no sign we must wear it on our backs for all to see. Buy a little piece of fabric with just the colors you revel in; put it in the dresser drawer, or let it ornament a chair back, look at it every day, and thus satisfy your longing for color. Then wear those very simple things that you know will be becoming.
One woman whom I know and who looks like a fashion plate in the day time and like a dream lady at night, always gets everything together on the bed before she starts to dress. She insists that it takes only a little longer to do this, that it saves time when she does get ready to dress, and that she is always better satisfied with the results. She says, “I know then that I have the right slip, the right stockings, that my gloves are suitable, and that there are no holes that need attention. In putting them on the bed, I always make all the little repairs that are necessary and do all the brushing or freshening that is needed; then when I am ready to dress I feel a sense of satisfaction that I can find in no other way.”
And so, why don’t you, who are striving to express yourself more beautifully, to dress with more satisfaction and peace of mind, try this simple little plan of thinking about what you are going to wear and getting it ready before you start to dress? Then, watching always what you see in your mirror, your fashion books, on the streets, and in the shops, you will find that which is appropriate, becoming, and wholly lovely for you.
And to these material fundamentals, add your own wholesome pride. Don’t cheat yourself or those who must see you. Don’t be dowdy. Life is too short and too real for that. Learn to be proud of yourself and dress so that even you will feel a sense of security and assurance. After all, we can be rather selfish about just looking right. Other folks are glad to see us in pretty clothes—looking our best. A right hat, a right dress, correctly worn, can really do wonders as a tonic. Try it. It really is a good prescription.
CHAPTER II
THE REAL SECRET OF DRESSING TO LOOK SLENDER
“Reducing”—by no matter what method—is too often a snare and a delusion; for even if, after all your efforts, you do lose some weight, a little indiscretion in your clothes will make you look as stout as ever.