Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-06-02
PURPOSE OF DRESS.
1t Is An Expression of It's Wearer's In
dividuaIity.


dividuaIity.
To say that ones dress should be. in
a sense. the expression of its wearer's
individuality. is to utter common
place The most abject follower of the
changing modes, she who breads moth
ing under the sun as she breads the i'm
putation of being out of the fashion,
unconsciously and of necessity imparts
something of herself-her innate grace
or her natural awkwardness-to the
garb she assumes. Not every woman
is born to wear clothes in queenly style.
There are those who hitch and sway
and joggie and are loose ointed and
clumsy though they walk in silk attire.
while there are others who look dis
tinguished in cheap print and lend an
air to the simplest raiment.
The most fittingly adorned, the most
royalty splendid woman in carriage and
mien, whom the writer ever saw was an
octoroon nearly six feet in height and
of goodly breadth of shoulder and depth
of bosom. Day by day her turbaned
head lowered above the throng as, in
southern town, she took her way to the
market in the early morning for gossip
and for household errandS, her step free
and swinging, her poise charming, her
gait Juno-like, her bearing erect,
woman of presence, though half her
life she had been a slave, and though
she was servant still To her ging
ham gown and her folded kerchief,
Vashti impaired an expression of dignity
hard to define, but easy to interpret.
A gentlewoman arises in memory.
ell dol nfx,f 70
and beautiful till past her SEVENTEEN
year. Her dress, never varied during
prolonged widowhood, was always
black and of severe simplicity. No Or
naments were ever known to mar it's
artistic unity, but always over her soft,
abundant hair. of which the thick coil
and the natural wave were the envy of
younger women, the matron wore a
sheer white cap of tulfe or lace. The
transparent candor and straightforward
honesty of this dear woman's character
were, so to speak, accentuated by
her dress, which, as the years
went on, seemed to her chill
dren and grandchildren as the
very garment of her soul. She had
been many years in Heaven. when a
grandson, a mere child at her death,
spoke of his memory of her as very
clear and distinct. She always
looked" said the young man, $50 per-
fectly like herself, SO complete, SO ex-
quisite, like nun or lady abbess."
1t is a mark of weakness to be eccen-
trio in dress; and to devote to it so
much time and thought that the pur
suit dwarfs the mind and takes from
the opportunity for culture and for
spiritual growth is worse than weak
it is wicked. One may, however, espe-
cially in these days of artistic excel
lence in dress, select the mode. the jew
els. the shapes, fabrics and colors
best suited to ones personality,
and, in a manner, adopt a style
of her own. The dress for the
appropriate relation to it's uses; the
business dress should be trim, tidy, and
unobtrusive the home dress and that for
occasions of ceremony, ornate, tasteful,
elegant, and costly as the purse can
buy
And using ones raiment with sense
of subordination to ones requirements,
it will come to express the wearer in a
subtle but real fashion of it's own, cs-
pecially if without too marked an in
tention some adjunct of the toilette can
be uniformly the same-the bit of old
point lace, the tortoise-shel comb, the
favorite flower, or the gem which in
time becomes associated with it's owner,
SO that it at once reminds of her,
wherever seen.-Harper's Bazaar.