Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-04-20
Art and Dress.

Scarcely Of less import than sox and
age are the height, size and general pro-
portion of the figure. Tall and stumpy
people cannot. with IMMUNITY. be dressed
in one pattern; the stately lady, sweeping
through marble halls. can gracefully car
~ queenly robes that would crush the
pretty little lady dwelling in q cottage.
The present inclination is to treat dress as
drapery. and to consider the one as simply
utiliiarian. and the other as If Of necessity.
supremely artistic. The points OF the
figure are used IS pegs wherein TO hang
ouI decorative fabrics. and possibly Sartor
Rossrius might stigmatize our living Ia
dies as lay figures AMI our intelligent men
rs stalking clothes horses. Some dresses
are for sitting or standing only. some for
walking. while others reduce the fres
action of the figure to physical endurance.
A lady. maEing a morning call, WIS
nske,l t. take "a seat, hu; she hegye'i to he
excused because. having on "a walking
costume" she could not sit down. Yet
nature in building up the human frame.
work. had more extended scheme. which
fashion would do we'll not so relentlesSly
to tn Rart Az TO the length of "a dress.
that will depend on whether the feet ARE Of
heauty deemed 10 he worth displaying
| if inviting 10 catch glimpse IN, they will
probably be permitted like little mice 10
peep in and Ou'," hence some ladies wear
gowns always short when other people :
are long. and 60 about holding them
up a owe the highest waler-mark in tine
weather "
The shoulders, which call for at least ns
much anxious care rs the feet, admit OF
varied decorations. rs with scarf, shawl,
MANILA. veil. robe, toga. "a black scarf
carries AN air of respect, which is in itself
protec ion. A woman thus atlired glides
on her way like small. close reefed YES
sci. light and trim. seeking no encounter.
but prepared for one. Much. however,
depends on the wearer; indeed, No article
of dress is such reveuler OF the charac-
ter. Some women will drag it tight up to
their shoulders, and stick out their elbows
in defiance beneath. Such are of the
independent class. with strong opinions;
others let il hang loose and listless like an
idle sail. losing all the beauty of the
outline-both moral and physical; such
ladies have usually no opinions at all, but
none the less a very obstinate will OF their
own
A real lady hits BY intuition the happy
mean; she does not put on turban to
drink tea with two people, or an innocent
whie frock for n party Of two hundred" ;
she does not appear as q milliner popped
out of band.box. or rs AN artist Just
stepped from picture, or as an antiqnary
kept usually rs u curiosity under a glass
case; she moves ut n respectful distance
from extremes of fashion, and though
society does not know what she has on
she is not in danger of being mistaken fol
either Aspa,ih or Queen Anne. What sht
wears, though perchance homely, is al
ways good; not scrap of tinsel OIL
trumpery appears upon her; "she deals il
no gtudy confusion or colors, nor does sh'
affect studied sobriety. but she ethel
refreshes you with spirited contrast o.
composes y, with judlcious harmony.
And the secret of her success simply con
siss in her knowing he three gram
unlIies of tlress-her own station, her owr
age and her own points. And no woman
can dress well who does not."-Gsot
Words.