The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-05-19
CLOTHES.

"lNor the apparel doth oft proclaim the
man." quoth Polonius in his admirable
advice given to his son, Laertes The
wisdom of this suggestion has been lost
on many, generations of the human fam
lily. Not in any one other direction bear
ing upon the influence of personal appear
ance on the Fortunes of the Individual
can young man be better advised tnan
by taking to heart the deep, wisdom of
this wise saying. 2's
To-day. more than ever before, does the
male youth come nearer to an understand
ing of the value Of Polonius' advice. In
every rank and station Of life the young
man of America has the pride Of his ap-
parel. Until the present generation of
young men came onto the scene it might
be said with much truth that the menu
bers Of the other sex monopolized all the
skill and most of the good taste essential
to good dressing. 1t is so no longer. ~
The modern young man dresses well.
1t may not be. easy to tell why he does;.
but it is quite plain that he who does
not is regarded as being at a decided dis
advantage among his fellows. His stand.
ing with the opposite sex is seriously
compromised; while, in his worldly for
tunes, he is now conceded to carry
handicap which will tell seriously in the
race for business or professional advance
ment
Twenty-Five years ago clothing was not
at all as cheap as it is to-day. The young
man OF limited income who sought to
dress well felt called on to expend in
mis- personal adornment a much larger
proportion of his income than prudence
might appear to dictate But such is not
the case to-day. The earning of the
average youth may not be as great,
counted in dollars, as it was then; but
it is beyond dispute that it will go much
further in the purchase Of those things
which civilized humanity regard as neces-
sary to its reasonable enjoyment
1t may not be said that this explains
the disposition on the part of almost
every young man Of today to dress well
There are other and stronger forces oper-
ating in that behalf. There is, first of
all, the keener sense Of personal pride
and of the fitness of things, and the I'M
willingness to appear at a personal dis
advantage. Whereas, up to within ten
years ago, the young man who followed
q mo
dicate little more than his calling. and
not even to do that creditably, today in
a promiscuous gathering of young men,
ranging from eighteen to twenty-five it
| is never safe to predicate anything as
to the calling of young man from his
personal attire.
In a broader sense than we are apt to
apply to Polonius' words, the apparel of
the modern young man proclaims him.
| the SLOUGH in dress is mostly SLOUGH
in all else. The demonstrated ability to
attend to the details which are neces-
sary to proper dressing is usually found
to involve the ability to attend to the
details of ones daily obligations. There
are of course exceptions to this rule:
but in daily experience it will be found
that the rule operates very generally.
Whether on the part Of the young man
or the old care and taste in dress is a
most valuable acquisition. Those who
gain their living through immediate per-
sonal intercourse with their fellows and
through the impression which they are
able to make. find care bestowed on dress
to be first requirement to success. It
may not be a first requirement i'll other
callings which involve technical skill or
the exercise of the qualities which fit a
man for positions of trust and respon-
stbility; but in the estimate which those
charged with the conduct of largo bust