Graceful Sleeves.
Few women have beautiful arms above the elbow. Fatness is not correctness of form, so that a short sleeve, no sleeve, or the painful strap which is all so many evening dresses can boast, is by no means always a thing of beauty.
A sleeve that falls in lace and frills just below the elbow hides many defects, besides softening, and rendering delicate, the lower arm and the hand.
A sleeve long enough to turn upward as a cuff, is much more effective than a simulated cuff, just as the thing itself is always better than an imitation. A sleeve that stops short at the wrist joint should be relieved by lace to be artistic.
Full sleeves improve every form. The very stout should never make the mistake of wearing a very tight sleeve, since to do so simply increases the apparent size of the arm. A full sleeve bound to the arm between joints gives an impression of comfort and beauty like the slashed sleeve before mentioned.
Painters have immortalized beautiful sleeves, as well as beautiful costumes. Indeed, to decide on really beautiful gowns one must study the great masters—Gainsborough, Reynolds, Watteau—until the study of costume becomes what it should be—a study of art.
Purchasing.
There should never be trying contrasts in the quality of the various articles that go to make up the sum-total of dress. To expend almost the entire allowance on a gorgeous bonnet that puts every other detail of the costume to blush, or to wear a shabby cloak with an elegant gown are examples of injudicious expenditure.
Instead, let it be remembered how many articles must be purchased and then so expend the sum to be drawn upon that it will not be exhausted on two or three expensive articles to the neglect of the necessary accessories.
An important point to be considered is the surroundings in which the garments are to be worn. Whether one is to drive over country roads or walk city streets; whether they must last one season or more. In this latter case care should be taken to choose quiet colors and inconspicuous patterns.