The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1884-03-07
they recall unconsciously murkey i'm

ages, monotonous associations, not sun
light and brightness. Again, sudden
and irregular lines arc commonly dis.
liked just because they are irregular"
They jerk and unsettle the customary
directions of the eve, as court -hand and
tho early angular black-letter pain and
tire the sight used to rounded FORMS
But if We lay down general rule that
sudden and irregular angles are ugly,
whether in faces, costume or caligraphy.
We must leave broad margin for fash
ion-the reaction of taste. After too
many smooth lines, irregularities re-
lieve and please, and, as We said, alb
stract ugliness may he myth. We be-
lieve an absolutely ugly woman is inn
possible.
Let her whom llcr sisters call ugly
examine herself closely. She must have
somo points" Besides her plain and
shapeless face. has she an ill-shapen
hand? figure that no corset will i'm
prove? foot that disheartens every
boot-maker? Can this dress maker do
nothing for her? Cannot this quality
he concealed, that subducd-something
less offensive brought forward q little?
Can the dentist do nothing for those
yellow fangs, the scissors moth ing for
those nails? Cannot some little artful
pad equalize those crooked shoulders
some raised heel that lihniing gait
some occ,llist that painful, spasmotlic
obliquity of vision? Some powder,
wash or paint let us call a spade
spade)--thnt last resource of unbeara-
ble misfortuue-cannOt some paint cover
that purple stain, that frightful scar on
cheek and neck?
"No woman is ugly when she is
dressed" said the gallant Lord Ches-
terfield. Nor is any bird with it's plum
age. But pluck it! Pluck tile bird of
paradise itself, and learn lesson-that
renowned fowl owes everything to its
dress, and We cannot say that of lu-
manity, however ill-favored. Our gifts
are manifold, our chances various and
our hopes endless. It should. not he
beneath us to attend to our plumage,
and oil the other little niceties that add
SO much to the enjoyment of life.
A plain woman with any wisdom will
make the most of any good point in her
physique and as little as she can of her
worst points. For instance, if she has a
bad, coarse complexion, she will not
exhibit more square feet Of the material
than are needful. Square feet ?nay, nor
square inches. She will not wear low
dresses, nor very short sleeves. She
will carefully select hues i'll her dress
that improve, not injure, her own natur-
al coloring, and will wear dresses high
to the throat, just enough trimmed with
lace to give richness without confusion
to the lines of her toilet. Nor will she
wear that lace quite white. Only
against an ivory skin does quite white
lace tell prettily. A woman with
poor complexion will tint her lace with
brown (tea and coffee arc good dyes,
OF with tho predominant colors in her
dress. Thus she will got the softening
effects OF broken color at the edges with
out the risk of calling attention to her
own blemisllcs.
A very brown woman, however; may
make her dark skin point" Then she
will Use white lace. and all colors that
enhance her own deep coloring.
a plain woman with a bad figure can
adopt many little harmless devices-at
least as harmless as borrowed locks and
teeth, which no one now condemns.
She can borrow Il little cmbonpoint
from the friendly cotton tree; she can
swathe III handsome sleeve the too
thin arm or too sharp shoulder which
letracts from any lingering merit she
may have. She can hide her long, un-
gainly figure with short, classical