Evening star., 1901-12-14
USE OF THE PIN.
The Very Important Part 1t Plays in a
WOman's Life.

From the New York Commercial Advertiser.
A good deal of scorn is heaped upon the
woman who, as the saying goes, is pinned
together" She is put down as untidy and
lazy and generally shiftless. The scornful
critics do not stop to consider that the
most artistic French dresses and hats are
seldom well made; that graceful and
lovely as they are, the mere stitchery is
very light and unreliable, apt to give at any
moment. French hooks and eyes, frills
and bows are all apt to come off after one
wearing. Mere sewing is not the artistic
thing for which one pays exorbitant prices
Any little convent girl can sew well. The
great cOuturiere charges for deft touches
inspired adjustments graceful drapery,
beauty of outline. Many of these effects
depend on the pin. Clothes should be put
on with art as well as made with skill.
There is more affinity in the cunning fold
placed with the aid of a pin than there is
in rows of mere strong stttchery. Person
ality cannot be expressed in frock that
any other woman could duplicate. 1t must
have special touches of its own, and it can
not have these if the woman who wears it
deSpiSeS the of the pin.
Many women spend large sums on their
clothes and never seem on good terms with
them. Their frocks are very well made
too well made to have any subtlety or illu-
sion. Every fold is in place. Every frill is
secured by a strong thread Everything is
so firmly sewed that no mystery can lurk
in fold, and no expression lie in the
curves or lines of a skirt. When you have
once seen a toilet there it ends; the second
time you are deadly tired of it, and finally
it gets on your nerves. How you long to
see a little difference in the bodice, a curve
in the sleeve that you had not noticed be-
fore! But all this would mean Imagination
or pins! Consequently the notion of q pin
is abhorrent; it is untidy; the dressmaker
mas not done her work properly; she has
been paid for something for which she has
not given full value.
AS to millinery--look at the French hats
The Paris millinerS blow them together
and there is no doubt that the stitching
Will not endure or last long Consequently
foreign dressing can only be appreciated bv
the exclusive few-just those dear fascinat-
ing women who understand not ONLY the
art of dressing, but the art of putting on
their clothes, wherein the great mystery
lies. They will have a supreme cut but the
lolds ana the hundred and one little mys-
ter1eS OF lace, chiffon, etc, will be left to
thelr poetic genius, assisted by pins of va
rlous shape, size and design. With the use
OF the pm we get variety, while in the So
lldlty OF thread and needle it is hardly ever
to be found. Women should recolIect that
| In the sordid actuality of dress there is
neither art nor beauty. Style is infinitely
more difficult to procure than fashion-one
is triumph of the mind the other Is al
ways procurable with gold. No other at
tribute is SO necessary to those who wish
to be well dressed as good style, but it is
generally inherent and only to be found in
the woman who possesses imagination. and
can therefore rise above mediocrity. You
can call 1t chic If you like but neither
style nor chic can be obtained in present.
day dressing without the aid Of the de-
spised pin.
The woman who says she never uses a
pm is hopeless; she might as we'll say she
aoes not wear corsets. When you have
looked long and critically at such a woman
you will realize that nothing matters: her
clothes cover her, and that is all one can
say. Her dressmaker may be more or less
OF a genius, and will stitch the draperies SO
that they suit her fairly well; the stuff NAV
be pretty and the style unobjectionabIeS
what there is of it; 1t only lies with the
dressmaker, and she has had to firmly
stitch her best aspirations. Consequently
baked pudding throughout