Los Angeles herald., 1891-09-06
A WOMAN'S LOOKS.
1t Pays Her Well to Ap-
pear Pretty.
The Gowns Worn By PrOmi-
nent Women Writers.
Picturesque Simplicity Still the
Raging Idea.
A Chat About All Sorts of Matters in
which the Gentle Sex Is, Or
should Be Interested.
Special correspondence to the HERALD.

SAN Francisco, Sept. 4, 1891.
A recent number of certain fashion
magazine has a much illustrated article
describing some of the gowns, get-ups
and fads of Ella Wheeler Wilcox. the
poetess of passion. Some of those
get-ups are decidedly pretty, and Mrs.
Wilcox knows just how to wear them.
There's good deal in that, by the
way. It's no earthly use for a woman
to gown herself like Helen of Troy, il
she carries herself like DIR. Mary
Walker. She'll succeed in looking a
diabolical cross between the two, and
mixtures, as a rule, are not pleasing.
If woman wants to wear a clinging,
graceful gown, she must cast aside the
alert, stiff carriage that went very well
with tailor mode. Ii she doesn't, she
looks absurd, and the gown looks
well, there are some things that words
won't express
To return to Mrs. Wilcox. Now, thirty
years ago Mrs. Wilcox would have been
called blue stocking. People would
expect to see her in slatternly gown,
with her hair standing wildly up in the
mad confusion that was supposed to
mark genius.
Blue stockings are not that sort of
women, not in this year of grace. A
woman with wit enough to write sue
cessfully, knows enough to know that
dress should be spelled in very large
unff Lodi pr1r &c n
charmingly dressed woman. Emelie
they say that Kate Field adorns herself
in ravishing gowns. The true business
woman knows that she can succeed
three times as well in any sort of work
If she looks pretty. That's the way men
are, and men really have good deal to
say as to woman's success just now.
Self-consciousness is hideous thing.
Self-respect is a splendid quality.
That's the difference between pride and
vanity. 1t seems to me it takes a good
deal of calm concert for a woman to
neglect her appearance. She must
think she is so charming that she
doesn't need any adorning. There are
few like that, but there are only a few.
x*x
Now to be practical and talk business.
The autumn modes are coming in very
fast, and there's nothing particularly
new about them. The picturesque sim
plicity is still the thing. Sleeves are
high and skirts are shortening. If you
want your fall gown to be the very
thing, have dash of yellow in it some
where-bright, gorgeous yellow, moi
faint corn color. Black is a splendid
tonic to throw out colors. Put q
trifie of black in your get-up il
you can. Not too much; you don't want
to look somber. Black hats are very
modish and very becoming. They're so
accommodating are the black hats.
They make fair girl look as blonde as
q cherub, and they make a brunette's IS
olive cheeks glow with added refine
ment. II your hair is brown, though,
refrain from the black hat. Get cha
peau Just as near the color of your hair
as you cam trim it in a wealth of rich
autumn leaves, leaves with CLINT OF
yellow, gleam of red, but the prevail
ing tint FURNISHED brown.-You'll be
amazed to see how it brings out the
bronze in your locks.
x*x
saw an artists wife the other day,
and they say the artist married her fol
tie color of her hair, and don't know as
blame him. It's soft, waving, bur-
nished bronze, and she does it in q
big fluffy coil in the nape of her neck
She wore one of those brown hats and
she was vision of delight in it. Her sis
ter was with her. She's an ordinary
looking girl enough, but she has pail
of blue eyes that look like torquoise
Those eyes fool people into saying she's
a beauty. That clever creature never
dresses withou sheen of bright blue
ust the color of her eyes, somewhere
about her. Usually it's at the throat
She wears pin of torquoise there, or
it's in the hat, in the shape of forget
me-not. Anyway, it is somewhere nea
her face, and then she pretends sh,
doesn't know why people think he
pretty when she isn't.
#*x
sand We shall walk in sill
attire" if you want to be il
the fashion. Silk has been taboo
for years for anything except evening
dress, and now it's come back again
FIowered silks, striped silks, plair
silks-they're all in fashion. They'r,
cheap, too. You can get pretty light
weight silk street gown for less than yol
could the heavy cloths so much il
vogue few seasons ago.
Bengaline is pretty for autumn gowns
Gray is as much worn now as it was il
the spring. Gray is trife cold TO
autumn though, to my mind. How
ever, that is simply matter of taste
Tine perverse mortal who would wea
scarlet all summer will straightway gel
her a sky-blue gown, now that sh'
ought to cheer up her dolorous friend
with a bit of gay color.
She's the kind of woman who wear
feathers in the summer and flowers il
the winter. Well, you can wear eithe
feathers or flowers this year, just as yo1
please. No one will quarrel with you
for they are both undeniably the mode
NINE. LIE VANwAY.
Knew Their Traits.