There are persons,—we all know them,—whose happy attire is always calling forth some such remark as,—“That looks precisely like her,” or “She and the gown were made for each other.” This sort of relation between person and wardrobe is the most charming outcome possible to the consideration of personal adornment. It gives dignity and distinct esthetic value to the subject of clothes. Let us have no more red on blondes, and let over-stout women leave plaids and checks alone. Thin girls should wear frills and leave plain-tailored clothes to plumpness. With the woman of means, this harmony need not be, though it often is, occasional. It may be constant and if she is a person of esthetic temperament she may gain from this happy relation between herself and her clothes a soul-satisfying sense of bliss not to be gained from any other source in the world. Over-dressing is, of course, avoided by women of taste.
IMPORTANCE OF ACCESSORIES
Many women who have little to spend put nearly the lump sum into gowns. This is a mistake of the gravest sort. The effect of the prettiest gown may be spoiled by an ill-fitting corset, by gloves that are no longer fresh and by shoes that are not trim and suitable to the occasion. White gloves should be white, and white shoes likewise, or they should not be worn. The proper accessories of dress, among which are veils, belts, ruchings and collars, often give to an otherwise plain costume, the effect of something chic and telling.
HOW TO PUT ON A HAT
Becoming head-gear is of the utmost importance. “A hat,” said an apt society woman of the writer’s acquaintance, “should bear the same relation to other parts of one’s costume that the title of a story does to the story itself. This article of dress should be at once the key and the consummation of the effect intended.” The fashion in hats varies with great rapidity from year to year, and one should be careful to avoid the extremes of style. Only a face of great beauty can stand the precipitous, fantastic slants and curves that mark the ultra fashionable in millinery. If one is so fortunate as to find sometime a shape that is decidedly becoming, one should follow through life its general outline with modifications sufficient to conform in a general way to passing modes. Form the habit of putting your hats on from the back, thus pushing the loose hair about the face slightly forward. The plainest face is softened and beautified by a fluffy arrangement of the hair about the temple. Nothing is more fatal to good looks than a high bald forehead. Many women make a fatal mistake in their preference for big hats. The picture-hat is only suited to the large and picturesque type. Large hats make little women look like mushrooms, and frequently they take away all distinction and individuality from the face beneath.
Many a charming costume is spoiled by a failure to realize that the feet must be dressed in harmony with the rest of the costume. Too many women, otherwise attractive in appearance, wear shoes with scuffed toes and run-down heels, the latter due to a bad habit of turning the foot over in walking. This can be corrected easily by having the shoe built up at the sole on the opposite side by the insertion of a piece of thick leather, which any shoe-mender will do very cheaply. One is then forced to use the foot properly.