Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1889-04-29
gadies' Column.
Talks on Dress.

I'll
Mothers like to begin the spring
term of school with new clothes for
their children, but it is far better to
mend the old gowns for a while than
to substitute thinner clothing, that
may cause colds, sickness and death.
1t will be unwise to make up new
warm clothes for growing children at
this season, but neat mending should
be continued until the last moment.
1t is tiresome to mend, but it pays to
do it we'll.
Teach the child to mend as much
as she may for herself. 1t is a great
saving now and in the years to come,
when it is an established habit to keep
clothing in repair. In these days of
sewing machines, sufficient attention
is not paid to hand sewing. Too
often grown girls are seen on the
street with shabby gowns, that they
would not have thought of wearing
had they been trained to mend neatly
every article that is to be worn again,
as soon as it is removed and before
it is put away.
In this line, it is essential that boys
have training as well as girls. The
boy who is taught to sew on a button
properly, to run up a seam that is
ripped, to mend his hose when they
need repair, will thank his mother
heartily for it when he is AVA at
school Or among strangers. 1t is an
easy matter to carry a bit of mending
cotton, a few needles and a little
thread in the travelling satchel, but it
is not so easy to find some n who is
willing to undertake the mending of
garments that, without the stitch in
time, must be thrown away, or worn
in an unfit condition.
Clothing can be mended so that it
will not be in the least unsightly. On
the contrary, it is quite possible to
accomplish mending so a~rtistically
that you will be more proud of the
repaired place than of the entire gar
ment. If there is no scrap of the
original material left to make good
the torn places then make a study of
the whole garment and see if a piece
cannot be taken out and the draping
arranged so as to make good the loss.
Study how to combine some other
material with the original so as to
make an entire costume that shall be
pretty. Never obtrude a dark patch
on a light garment, or the opposite.
These variable patches may be hidden
in a girls costume, but in the case of
the boy it is hopeless.
There should always be a supply of
pretty aprons for girls, which will
preserve new gowns in q neat and
tidy condition and hide unsightly
patches, but the boy objects to wear
ing aprons. And yet his trousers
wear out so fast and need mending
so much, many a poor mother is in
despair being unable to afford clothes
such as she would wish her boy to
wear. But if nothing else can be
done let him wear over his wooden
clothes neat, clean overalls, and let
him not be forced to feel that his
clothes are as various in colors as
Jacobs coat.
No one ever knows how much the
mother saves by her constant watch
fulness ove shoes, socks, coats. caps
and the articles of clothing that make
up the child's wardrobe, and she is
happy indeed if her tidy, economical
habits are recognized by her husband
or children.
Speaking of children's costumes, a
deplorable new fancy comes to mind.
1t is the new fad of edging the little
bonnets to be worn by children with
a fringe of false hair. This was hor-
rible enough when it was confined to
adults, and the shock is remembered
yet when the first guest removed her
hat and put it into your hand, and
you noticed the artificial fringe of
hair sewed along the front of the
crown, which had the appearance of
a natural curly bang when the hat
was on the head of the wearer. Yes,
that was bad enough, but if the artl-
ficiality is to extend to the babe IN
the cradle, it is horrible. The next
thing to expect is a wig to cover pa
by's little bald head, The darling
appears Oh the street to be admired,
and as nature does not give it early
IN life a head of curly hair, the mil
liner puts a delicate little curly fringe
along the front of the bonnet for the
laughing eyes to shine through, and
then adds to the back of the bonnet
curling ends of hair to make the little
one u%nnaturally beautiful. No genu-
inc woman can fail to revolt from a
style that shall make the little Great
ure, before it is able to utter a sound,
the victim of fashions artificiality.
For PHYS sake let the infant be its
honest self, if it can never again thro
the years depart from the ways of