The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1883-01-11
The Aesthetics of Dress.

NAou uiay pc ouNiutu III several CiaSS-
es: Those who dress well by instinct,
those who are dressed well by their tail
ors. and those who ignore taste and
tailor. 1t is a fine art worthy of the
consideration it has received at the
hands of Mr.. Elihu Vedder, the artist,
who discourses wisely and pleasantly
after this manner:
'For centuries we have cut and
shipped and spoiled good cloth, and
VIII for centuries to come. / don't see
but what we do it as well now as ever.
will admit though that a mans dress
is hopeless. l never feel well dressed
except in fancy dress--then / suit my
self-and when l am in swimming.
Then l feel like man. Look at this
Turkish garment; it makes a fine bath
ing dress, and in Turkish toweling it
would be stunning" (The garment in
question was plain white tunic, not
unlike some of Mr.. Millet's costumes. J
sit is cut in only two places-those for
the hands to pass through. See what a
fine thing it is when l put it on. What
folds. A man is dressed in it. Now
nothing could be better, but it doesn' t
suit our climate.
80 dress suitably one must take in
to the account all the conditions. Each
person should consider first his needs.
then his individuality. One must study
ones self, and then dress as one thinks
best. That is the way to be pictur-
esque. The Contadini don't know why
they are 'paintable.' And, by the way.
we should always want picturesqueness
in another country than our own. Look
at railway train in this country empty
ing itself of people. They are not pie
turesque. but the Contadini would say,
w Whese are all the poorp''
In dress you want specially to con-
trast breadth with small lines, and there
should always be some spot on which
to rest the eye; just as in the face we
have the cheek. In the draperies of my
flgures, which are, heaven knowsl in
little relation to fashionable dress, that
is the theory of their construction. This
same balancing of lines, which makes
Greek dress or any loose drapery beau
tful, is just as necessary in tighter
draperies. There was tight dress
worn by women not long ago, which
was excellent" (Mr. Vedder's knowl-
edge of dress does not seem to include
technealities, but this pantomime evil
dentlv referred to the princesse dress.
WhlcE it seems, commends itself to all
artlsts.) Anything which suggests
the beauty of the form is commendable
Who knew there were so many finely
rounded arms until women took to
tight sleevesP Even if the arm is thin
1t still shows character. and that gives
it value. The same is true of knee
breeches. l admire them. If man
has good leg, how fine they are! Ii
he hasn't, all the same they are attract
i've. because they discover the form.
and that shows the man. You have
probably noticed, since young fellows
have taken to knickerboekers and
Scotch caps, how much more interest
ing illustration has become, in Black
novels for example. All this individu-
BHitt we w'ss da.sss dress is great help to artists
dressed is to be in harmony with ones
surroundings and with ones Self
Take natural grace, for example,
which is the most exquisite thing in the
world. A woman who has this su-
preme gift can put a handkerchief
around her neck and. knot it on her
breast, with rose in the knot, and
nothing can be more lovely. But every
woman can't do this, for natural grace
is something which cannot be acquired.
Every woman must study her own
style. The trouble is that this requires
thought. People conform to and fol-
low the fashions because they are too
lazy to think.
1.-The general artistic progress of this
country-that which has given new in
terest to our homes-is seen in the col
ors which are now used in dress. As
an artist approve of the tints and the
harmonies which we now see in the
shop windows. Nobody can object to
them l don't see but that the whole
matter is going on all right, provided
only that women forswear hoops. If
they go back to crinoline then the case
is indeed hOpelessn