Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1865-07-17
QDRlo Statesman.
WHY Women Dress.

The true explanation of the prevailing
extravaganza In costume is that women
dress for one another. a .Ir,-
In other words, they dress foreyes which
can appreciate the material and estimate
the cost Of every separate article they have
on. ."..' '.ii-. 800 .9
1t is quite true that many men care as
much for, and are as competent TO give an
opinion ON the appearance of their wives,
or sisters, or friends, as any number Of fe-
male acquaintanees but the grounds upon
which the two classes Qi critics will base
their several judgements will always be dis
tinct, and the conclusions themselves not
unirequently quite opposite. .a' a -
Ask a-married woman TO tell you who Is
the best dressed girl at a ball, aud you will
hardly ever find them agreeing In their
answer. Go a step further, and compare
the costumes which have been selected, and
you will discover almost to certainty that
the woman has singled out the most eXpen-
sive dress in the room, whereas the man has
simply asked himself which is the most be-
coming The one has suffered herself to be
so impressed by the richness OF the material,
the eidborateness of the embroidery, the
costliness OF the trimmings, that in the end
she has found it simply impossible to leave
these things out OF the calculation. The
other, happy in his Ignorance, has looked
only at the general effect, and has probably
| given the preference 10 young lady whose
gown has no other merits than those OF be-
| ing scrupulously neat, becomingly cut, and
perfectly well made.
| We submit, therefore, that if that defer
ence To masculine taste which Is SO frequent
| ly prOfrssed really existed in any appreci-
able measure, iC would supply an antidote
| to many OftlIe grievances under which So
ciety now labOrs. ..sL n..
A week or two back, the correspondence
of an evening contemporary was largely
taken up with the sorrows of parents, who
have to see that their daughters look like
other people, ana at the. same time W make
| both ends meet; and we have no doubt that
AS soon as the elections are over, the col
unns of The Times will be thrown open to
All endless repetition of similar complaints.
| My daughters gowns must sweep tile pave
ments as they walk cries one heartbrOken
mother, or il they do 80 far consult their
| pockets as TO loop them up under, skirts
must be tlOunceu aud embroidered until
Jhey become as costly as tile gown. There
| is no necessity in the casc, interposes u
| sterner mOrallst; young woman should
have 10 wish To dress beyond their means
merely for the sake Of rlyalllng their richer
friends. 1t is here that our theory comes
la and harmomiZes these opposing views.
No man ever felt anything out irritation at
seeiug womans gown doing the business
OF the crossing sweeper, or attach any val
ue to tine amount OF open space displayed
beneath looped-up skirt. lfyoung ladies
would but believe lt--Or rather if they did
but attach any Importance to II when they
do believe it-a young man will be perfect
ly satisfied with their appearance, So far as
THESE considerations are concerned, II thelI
petticoats are spotlessly clean aud theiI
stockings guiltless OF a wrinkle.
We do not say that even these character
istics when added to the well-tittiug gowns
for which we have already stipulated are to
be attained without some expenditure OF
money, for cleanliness, at least III London
is not cheap virtue, and it is not every
dressmaker who knows how TO make d
drees. But, at any rate, the proposed
standard is good deal easier Of attainment
than the spurious tine-lauyism after which
so many women toll in vain; and we can
not but believe that If girls did but think
more of pleasing the other sex and less OF
vieing with their own, their parent swould
see reason to bless the change, the next time
they came TO look over their milinerS' BILL
Saturday ReuieU. ,-.