The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1901-12-28
THE SLAVE AND THE MISTRESS
OF DRESS.

An authority on dress has the follow
ing profound things to say which are
certainly seasonable and more or less
true:
"A meagre allowance never yet who'll
ly hid the longings of pretty taste, nor
the most liberal conferred all its bless
ings. We express ourselves by our
clothes, each in her own way. They are
the outward and visible sign of our in
ner selves. The girl with meagre al
lowance may say: I love beautiful
laces and fine furs, but can't have them
they are too costly but her tastes
will out, nevertheless. If she happen
to possess some dainty thing-a collar
of rare old lace, for example-how sh.
will treasure it, how she will respect and
love it, and how often the same dainty
thing will redeem her blouse or coat
from the commonplace.
"Some of us respect our clothes, some
of us love them; others worship them
let their passion lead them into modislI
intemperance, even crime Some OF US,
on the other hand, control our clothes,
make them do. our bidding and minister
10 our success. / have known women
coquet with their clothes-play with
them all the morning in and out the
dressmakers and shops, and parade them
all the afternoon. | have known others
who sacrifice themselves to their clothes
feel so keenly subslety of line or shade
that all sense of fitness is submerged,
and sometimes even those qualities that
should never be absent from woman's
clothes-the sense of daintiness and
freshness. One has known others, again,
whose love of the fresh and cleanly as
pect killed all sense Of subtlety and grace
and who, though fully mastering the
seventies of sporting costume or
tailor-made, utterly failed to exploit
muslin or a crepe de chine. The few
it is that master both, and | am inclined
to think, artists though the Parisians
may be, that it is in our own land these
few are to be found. 1t remains to be
seen whether the Parisienne will not
yet wrest the palm from US in this quar-
ter. / hope not.
81 am persuaded that the better way
is to respect ones clothes, to fully con-
cede them their Importance in the
scheme of things To be an impassioned
slave to them shows little heart and no
mind. The woman who holds the value
of dress lightly declares herself wanting
in common sense. To underrate the
value of appearance is to take a warped
view of life. The outside OF the cup
and platter is of importance as well as
the inside.
"On the other hand, she who regards
clothes as the aim and end OF life IS
warped in her views, and rarely as big
a success as her devotions would deserve
because by overmuch fussing she loses.
focus and breadth. The too-incessant
student. the too-devoted worrying wife,
and the too-inveterate shopper rarely
if ever, get the proportion OF reward
they merit. Dress should be respected
and valued as an important element in
life, but not be regarded as an end and
aim of existence.
II do not admire the assertively
modish woman-the one who is ever
athirst for the latest idea She makes
herself more or less clothespeg for the
exploiting of the dressmakers' novelties,
and loses her own individuality. One
may even be too assertively simple-be
obviously training after desired effect
toward it."-New York Commercial i'd
geyftser.