Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1891-12-24
GRAMMAR In DRESS.
It's Rules Are Violated Every Day By All
Kinds of People.

It's Rules Are violated Every bny ny az
Kinds of People.
~ do hate n man who Is ungrammat'
ical in his Dress" said a gentleman at
one of the clubs not long since, and the
remark was received with approval by
his hearers as 1t worse for man to
be ungrammatlcal than for a woman
one of the company asked, after there
had been little comment on the first
proposition. perhaps not" was the
answer; though OF course the gram
mar OF feminine attire is thousand
times more complicated than that OF
male habiliments, and there Is moro
freedom allowed" "But on the other
hard" another put In, women are
better adapted TO master the subject,
and the fact that there is more freedom
given them makes It the more ineXcus-
able when they do make q real blum
der"
What real blunder is was then dis
cussed, and one of the speakers said
that he had that day met woman in
deep mourning wearing russell shoes.
This was universally allowed as gross
and perfectly inexcusable grammatical
blunder. Another related how Chi
cago lady had appeared at picnic in
the mountains in a gown of blue satin
trimmed with real lace--''at the start
that is" he added Before we got
home it was also trimmed with pine
spills and dry leaves and bugs and all
sorts of trash, caught in the lace "
1t was the opinion Of the company
that this also was n grammatical
blunder Black trousers with a light
coat or a dark waistcoat with an
otherwise light suit were pronounced
ungrammatical; and the same was said
of a stiff hat on the tennis court, al
though it was alleged that this thing
had been seen.
The drift of the talk might have
been formulated in way not unlike
that in which one would have form
ulated similar talk upon the use OF
language. 1t was implied or stated
that in dress one must consult pro-
priety, use and elegance. The former
would forbid the wearing of satin
froclS, lace trimmed, to picnic because
the circumstances of picnic made
such garment entirely Inappropriate
just as in another way the wearing OF
a robe de chambre in n parlor or a
tennis to a reception would be wholly
inappropriate. The fact that these
different garments have their individual
appropriateness must be recognized
and respected. The lady who appe AIRED
in the drawing room in a bathing suit
would probably be guilty of so gross q
breach of the grammar of dress that II
would probably be regarded as run
ming into positive improperly. The
same principle applies to the wearing
Of dress suits in the day time, and yet
here the principle of use comes in SC
that for waiter or Harvard student
on class day it is not ungrammatical IL
appear in evening garb in the blaze o.
day.
Use is hardly more than another
name for fashion. 1t is the mode O.
the day that determines this. Tt
wear the small clothes and full-bot
toned wigs of our grandfathers to-day
would be most ungrammatical, and ye
in the old time it would have beer
equally an error to appear withou
them. This is constantly fuctuatint
rule of which it is true the principle re
mains the same, but OF which the ap
plication varies constantly. Everybod,
recognizes it, and everybody is more o
less influenced by it 1t is needless Il
point out that to be too far behind o
too much in advance of the changin,
fashion is to be deplored, but it is jus
here, it may be remarked, that thi
principle passes into the next that O
elegance.
Elegance is indefinable, as it is tn
highest branch of the art of dress. 7
be lacking in elegance may be classe
as blunder, but 1t is only those gros
violations of elegance which it is fai
to put in the category of grammatica
blunders Vulgar and over-extravs
CANT displays of jewelry, for instance
may be taken as an example of this sol
of blunder. On the whole the talker
at the club gave themselves credit fc
disposing pretty effectually of tn
whole subject, but they had not there
fore the right to suppose that the nun
Der Of grammatical errors in the dres
of their generation would be any les
Boston Courier.