St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-04-17

women as Well-lntO winch EIeHcH
woman seldom falls; to accumulate
clothes and buy dress after dress
seems to the former a necessity, and
could consider model of fashion, mas
three or four gowns to every one pos
sessed by many French woman who is
renowned for her clothes. Her plan,
on the contrary, is to have as few as
possible, but to have every item well
thought out, to keep abreast OF the
fashions of the day and to wear out
what she has before buying more. once
an American woman has bought an
eXtravagant gown she thinks there
is nothing more to be done;
but French woman knows that 1t is
but the preliminary and unless the de
tails of the toilet are perfect the whole
thing is failure; in other words, hat,
jacket, shoes, parasOl, everything must
be in keeping; even the jewelry must
be de Circumstance, and many Partisan
builds her costume to go with some par
ticular ornaments or to match some col
ored stones. In this manner she attalns
her end, and every one, men as well as
women, notice her as well turned out,
whereas, by following the other plan, a
woman's clothes seem only collection
of ill-digested finery.
Another rock to be avoided is to in
vest in unnecessary finery at cheap
sales; one must be very rich to be able
to afford bargain. AS rule, it is
never exactly right for anything; it
matches nothing, and is generally put
away and never looked at again. Moth
ing less than good thing is worth
buying. The best materials and
makers are much the cheapest in the
nd NaiI Or.r do Incff or ynQ re
and always look we'll; and, as they are
the most fashionable as well as the
most becoming kind of dressing, every
girl on moderate allowance should be
provided with one or two. Tailor-made
jackets have the same advantages and
are hard to wear out. Any woman who
wishes to be considered we'll turned out
can hardly be too particular about the
minor matters of the toilette. A smart,
or even beautifully made gown does
not of itself constitute good dress
ing. An extravagant dress worn
with shabby collars, cuffs, shoes.
stockings. ETC., is but a shOddy
combination; and if an all-rOund excel
lence cannot be attained we would much
prefer to wear an old gown, well put on,
and to be bien chaussee ct gantee.
Whether girl has pretty foot or the
mize in her shoes or stockings. A we'll
dressed foot always looks well, even if
not particularly small. We hope, how
ever, it is not considered necessary, in
order to attain to this end, to have a
very pointed toe and a prepOSter-
Ously high heel in the middle of
the foot. No doubt one looks smart,
and the other gives height, but Meme
sis. in the shape of deformed feet and
crumpled toes. lies in wait for the
wearer. AS for stockings, plain, black
silk ones cannot be improved on, but as
girls with moderate allowances could
hardly attain that luxury for everyday
wear, we should suggest spun silk.
stockings as the best substitute. But
be sure and see they are all the hand
woven kind which Outlast two of any
sort. 1t is also an economy to get your
silk stockings refooted, which is done
there for small sum-:
An economy this writer does not
much believe in is home dressmaking,
by which she means to indicate the
gowns, cotton or otherwise, some girls
are so fond of making for themselves.
'sNoW and then domestic genius is to
be found, though for our part we have
only known three people who made their
own clothes even tolerably, or half as
well as workman for two shillings a
day would have done. This is not
wonderful; the amateur dress
maker, like most other amateurs,
think no training or teaching is
necessary for her, and often without
proper patterns, dress stand, an iron at
hand to smooth the seams, OF even a
machine, she makes her effort, the re-
suit being generally cobbled garment.
rIrIn RI 10
help good maid, but it is she who does
the hard work, and they are merely
'hewers of wood and drawers of water.'
However, if a girl thinks she has
talent for dressmaking, no harm is done
by trying, and if she has a turn for
millinery, and can make pretty hats
and bOnnetS. a distinct saving is effected.