El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-04-21

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world a. large. OF course there is the
little world within all the worlds with
out worlds outside, where l want to be
considered Hypatis-saint-ange
Venus, but from the world l pass In
he street, nod to perhaps or call on
ENTHUSIASTICALLY, | am content with
that one word of praise. 1t means
more than just to have sleeves OF
certain size and hat at q certain angle.
1t means to be well groomed, fresh,
clean, immaculate from boot heels to
tho last curl OF hahn. 1t IS not stylish
! to follow the mode like stupid sheep,
that is silly. TIE French have word,
chic and the Eoglish the word smart
to mean what | AN trying to say. 1t lie
to be up to date. i'm macu ate, and ap-
propriately costumed but with al ia
dividuality. For one, l consider IN
| fashion Il bic clothes bait of the DEVILS
own. II | wear an old coat down town,
| | am so conscious OF its lack of fresh
ness. its groteEque difference from the
| usual coat, that [ am out of sorts with
myself. | would not come out OF my
| she'll Of self consciousness to give
penny to a beggar, but if | am dressed
| up to my best, L am inclined TO
sympathy, charity, good humor and
most of the graces OF a Christian char
acter. Wasn't 1t Mrs. Potter Palmer
! who said that to a woman the CON
seriousness of being we'll dressed ls
| stronger prop in an emergency than
the consultations of religionT Well"
You argue all very fine, but you
know that Is not the usual meaning of
stylishness. tits nothing half so hne.
Almost always it means hOrrid un-
necessary expense aud worry at least
twice a year. Itmeans trailing heavy
skirts through dirty streets to the
great uncleaness of the body aud to
ipa x,ft III bo r ri m o.
a POmpadour whether We have Greek
nose or pug. 1t means wearing our
hats heavy with trimming over our
foreheads regardless OF headaches and
wrinkles. 1t may mean pointed shoes
regardless of our ten toes. Fashion Is
the Procrustes of our day" said the
woman VINO tries to dress artlstlcaily
she went on, sis utterly Indifferent to
the individual. Fashions are designed
for tall woman with rather full figure
and doll face. She herself does not
look particularly well in them and the
chances are that other women are
rights in her clothes. Take lot OF
women going to church in their best
clothes, take women you don't know,
so you can Judge them impersouaily.
Wtat 0isrespect for cOlors and lines
is there, no grace and no harmony.
Women cut up pretty stuffs and fuss
them this way and that till they have
a crazy quilt medley and good material
and good color is ruined. Women who
have dressed we'll have been famous
but few. Madame Pompadour in the
frocks Vatican loved to paint, jose
phine in her long skirts, Marie An
toinette in her fchu and dropping hat,
in the garden at Little Trianon, Queen
Louise, whose neck scarf was grace, |
the Greek women, who were only Sim |
pie and graceful, and Mother Eve, the |
list cannot be made much longer |
Women need art. Our clothes are |
now at about the stage our general art
consciousness was generation or so
ago, when we crochetted Gala lilies |
from yellow and white and green fuzzy |
yarn, painted shovels with snow scenes |
and coal scuttles with peoples. Fash |
ION is better than no effort, SO were |
crochetted callas, but l wish we would |
hurry along
Then the ordinary woman said, II
try to dress as stylishly, artistically, |
economically and healthfully as l can.
never look as well as | think am going |
to because try for SO many things. Ii
is easier to be just stylish, or just ar
tistic, or just economical, or just hyRi-
enic, than to strive for them all. No
any one part of my striving, nor could
anyone say 1 failed entirely in any one
part. 1t is horribly noncommittal. but
it is all I can afford. 1t takes unlimit-
ed money to dress beautifully all the
time. l try to have as nice dressing
sacks and m forming gowns as street and
dancing frocks, My standard for morn
ming things is quite high but l have to
lower my standard of show things to
accomplish it. l hate motherhubbards
and curlpapers and unsidy feet az
though they were OF the named
sins. Some women dress beautifully
ON very little money but they don't do
auything else. L believe in books.
N u-ic, merry children, orderliness OF
of body and nerves as well as in good
clothes. | won't wear spotted wells,
tight shoes, heavy skirts. sew six
hours day nor spend all my surplus
in the dry goods shop"
There will be a pleasant opportunity
10 increace ones Knowledge of art
20 be given by the WOmens Club.
There will be several hundred prints,
copies of world famous pictures. Raph-
sel, Murillo, Boticeili, Lucca, della Rob-
ois, Madonnas, saints and Holy fami-
lies; Corot, kuysdael and Breton land
scapes; Troyon and Bonheur amin ais,
Millet peasants, Greuze and Lebrun,
8lSs, CnOLORf dpQS OF GQ0 DeAutleS OF
Greek architecture, in fact the subjects
range from the Venus de Milo to
3 gorge Washington dancing with Sally
Fairfax, from the Partheron to the
Boston Public library, from Guido
Reni's Aurora to John Alden aud
Priscilla. To study so many beautiful
pictures, to sac the variety of Mother
Mary pictures from the earlier days
TO our own, from the Sistine Madonna
hat is ranked as the finest OF eli pic. |