The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1869-05-06
For the Valley virginian,]
HINTS TO THE LADIES.
LECTURE DELIVERED BEFORE srAusroN 1Ycs
(CoNcLUpED.)

There are some persons vandals enough to
assert that plainness of dress is mark Of
gentility and indicates taste. This notion
has long since been exploded. The more
brilliant the colors of lady's dress, the more
attention she attracts. Young misses, if they
cannot put on the wrinkles and gray hairs Of
maturer age, should have recourse to the
fashions of matrons. It is in taste for little
girls, not yet in their teens to consult their
mirrors, decorate their toilet with the rarest
cosmetics and perfumes, ornament their per
sons with their grandmother's jewelry, and
cover their tiny forms with the newest pat
terns-ftted according to the edict Of the
beau monde. They must wear bonnets, wa
ter-ialls Gan article now becoming obsolete)
hoop skirts, muffs, tippets and balmorals
This display advances them in years, gives
them a correct conception of the modes, aud
prepares them for the responsibility that is
to fall upon them in maturer age. Prccoci-
ty is a quality to be admired in this age OF
Observation-Disclosures, and should be eneourag-
ed.
Great taste is displayed in the selection
Of colors-the more brilliant the better; a
flaming crimson, for instance, suits pale
and languishing female, for it imparts Its
bright hue to her countcnancc. The more
motley the colors the better-for those who
have a Partially for one particular color, can
take their choice and so-every one is suited
No particular attention should be paid to
the fitting of the particularly if you
have bodily defect which you would hide.
The dress, with all propriety, should sit loose
and slouching; it argues carlcssness and
7aeglege on your part which are sure to COM
mend you to those who interest themselves in
such affairs. I once knew an immensely
rich old lady, who was in the habit of dress
ing very slovenly. A friend took the liberty
of asking her why she did not dress more in
accordance with her rank in society-"Oh,' D
replied she, sit is useless Eeerybooy knows
me at home" Some time after she was seen
in New York with the same unbecomine
dress on, and was asked the same question
sAh" replied she-'what's the use /? No
one knows me here"
The attachment Of this good old creature
for her Objectionable dress goes to prove that
by continually practicing slovenness, you may
become .fondof 1t, e..
Some times the 4uldnuncS OF the commu
nifty decide on the quality of the garments a
lady should wear. 1t is customary for an
unmarried lady, no matter what her fortune
or expectations may be, to be moderate in her
external decorations. Single ladies, they
say, should never exhibit more recherche in
garments, or ornaments than married ladies'
Now consider this an extremely arbitrary
rule, for very good reasons. Society requires
that all ladies Gas we'll as gentlemcn) should
"show their colors.' If a young lady be
rich and marriagablc, she would be doing
herself and the legion of fortune-hunters
great injustice Her attractions are multi
tudinous stands in the world like a shin
ming light, whose brilliancy attracts the at
tention of the butterflies of society and leads
them to their doom. IF she be even in mod
crate circumstances STILL if she would draw
attention, let her dress be in the extreme Of
fashion, for, unless she makes show, the
beau monde will be sure to rank her with
common white trash" and show her the
cold shoulder
There is a class of men, however, who
have been educated in the school Of Common
sense-men who have peculiar notions con-
corning the fitness Of females for the respon-
sible duties Of wife and mother. They are
the hand working men of town and country
vulgarly called ':thc bone and sincw Of the
land" They arc not dazzlcd by the tinscl 81