The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-05-17

much of feminine vanity and frivolity;
nevertheless, it has been discovered by
close observers that he is a rare man who is
averse to a discriminating allusion to his own
lovelin ess. OF course, the average man is
aware that his natural attractions of face and
form do not require the very latest style of
spring suit to make him an object of admira-
ton to appreciative beholders, but he is Sc
cretly convinced that becoming garniture is
very desirable, and he wishes to have it Op-
served. 1t may be objected that the SAME
ness of the masculine costume is calculated to
produce a monotony in the interesting and
sparkling columns before referred to if much
attention is given them, but this is a mistake.
Once this statement would have had weight,
but not now. There is infinite variety in the
toggery with which man may and does now
array himself. He may wear black or gray
which to the careless eye look as if made by
wholesale, but which the initiated know are
the result of feverish thought and much labor
and profanity on the part of both customer
and makers. The clothes must fit perfectly,
or they are rejected, and they are
chosen with a view to becom-
ingness of shade to the complexion of
the wearer. What so natural, then, as
that he should wish to have this artistic work
roaOOpi1a1 xuLio1 e ooIoaaao H. hoor,tr9
He does not desire the precise sort of atten-
ton given to Oscar Wilde, as that grew. to
some extent, from that gentleman's oddity of
attire, and the average man abhors oddity,
but yet he finds notice of his clothes agree
able if deftly done. He has not the same
license as to colors and materials for his outer
garments as his more fortunate sister, but in
the matter of neckties there is unlimited room
for choice. Lives there a man in this day Of
the world, who does not revel in the gorgeous
display of scarfs and ties in the shop-windows,
and who does not e7end far more of his in
come in collecting a supply Of them than is
within the limits of economy And is there
a wearer of a new necktie who does not feel a
sense of injury if his friends do not at once
see the same, and remark upon its becoming
ness9 1t is a harmless vanity, and why not
crafty it by giving the man as well as the
woman due need of praise for his choice of
garments and toilet accessories? At all events,
whether wise or not to minister to this vanity,
it is being done. Men who appear c~onspicu-
ously before the public well know that
their dress is likely to be commented upon
and criticised, and prepare themselves accord
ingly. The congressman who promenades in
the halls of the Capitol knows, as he buttons
his Prince Albert coat tightly about his per-
son, that the eyes of the country, through
some correspondent, will see the wrinkles in
that garment, if any there be-. And he much
prefers 70 be known as having no wrinkles in
his coats. Actors have long been accustomed
to this sort of attention, and are suspected of
dressing for the public as well as the stage.
Henry Irving, it may be mentioned in this
connection, is reported to have worn his hat
tilted slightly to one side on the morning of
his departure for England. Whether this tilt
is one of the fashions to be Immediately
adopted is not stated, but to young men who
affect the English it will seem momentous,
and is alluded to merely to show the import
ance such subjects may attain. The day is
fast approaching when Solomon in all his
glory cannot equal the young man of the
period, and the society reporter may well be
getting his pen in practice to do justice to the
subject.