Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-03
The Little Touches That Are
Her Trade Marks.
A FEW POINTERS GIVEN
HOW TO ADJUST BECoMINGLY
THE NOSE VEIL.
Hints to Carry an Umbrella, Lift q
Skirt or Shake Hands-Man.
ners Are Simple.
Written for The Evening Star,

Written for The Evening Star.
To the city or country girl who wishes 10
acquire the trade marks of the really smart
girl the best advice to offer is this:
Study yourself and watch every well.
bred woman you meet"
The really smart girl is chic. but never
loud in her dressing. She is well groomed,
but always natural. She keeps in touch
with the prevailing modes. but is never a
slave to fashion. And by little tricks Of
carriage and bearing distinctive manner
isms which are never eccentric, and the
careful selection of accessories for her cos
tune, shall you know her.
She is the girl who studies herself first
and the fashion plates afterward. She Sc
lects frocks that suit her, but never forces
herself into gowns that are unbecoming
solely because some thoughtless modiste
assures her that such and such styles are
good for this season. Rather, when
gown is under discussion she and the mo-
diSte go into executive session as an art
committee of two.
Is her income limited? Then she turns her
back upon lightweight furbelows and buys
a tailored street suit in the wearing Of
which she can snap her fingers at fierce
sunlight and rain. 1t may be made Of the
snowflake weave popular this winter,
but it will hang differently from the bar
Ne
She knows it will keep its shape through
fair weather or foul. Its seams will not
sag, and when she walks forth ii IL with the
happy realization that every one must
recognize that the gown was made for her,
|. and no one else 1t has individuality. 1t is
a part of herself
Having selected her hat with equal care.
she turns her attention to the veil She
knows that so small thing may betray her
ignorance of the latest DEGREES of fashion.
Its drapery is equally important. So in this,
the beginning of the year 1903, she buys two
wells, one of fine, very lightweight net,
generally in a diamond-shape weave, and
the other in chiffon. Three-quarters of
yard is needed for the first or nose Veil, and
a yard and quarter of the chiffon will
allow for ample drapery.
The nose veil may be in black or white,
though the former is less trying to the
complexion. This veil Is adjusted on the
hair before the hat is put on, and ii must
come no lower than the tip of the nose. 1t
is gathered in smooth folds over the POM
padour in order to keep it in perfect con-
dition no matter how impertinent the win
ter winds may be.
The Top Dressing.
The second veil is adjusted after the hat
is put On, and is so arranged as to give the
effect of having been turned up in the front.
The ends are daintily hemmed and smartly
draped. They barely escape the shoulder.
The exaggerated long ems have entirely
length of yelling will be ample. Exaggera-
ton tends not to picturesqueness, but to
abSurdity.
For the street the mannish gloves take
precedence. They show stout clasps and
moderately heavy stitching in self-tones.
The nearer they resemble her big brothers
the smarter the girl feels herself to be.
Speaking of hands, the really smart girl
can always tell you the proper fashion of
greeting friends. The day of the high hand
shake is past and more graceful greeting
is in vogue. The hand is extended from.
the waist line, not toe far, but, au-
thority expresses it, with mere sugges-
ton of restraint" When the hands meet
there is gentle movement to the right side
of the person who extends the greeting,
then back to the original position, the hands
unclasp and the ceremony is over. 1t is
much more refined and infinitely more
graceful than the shoulder movement which
characterized last seasons fashion.
In fact, this seems to be a season of re-
actions in little things. 1t is not difficult to
bark back to the days when the would-be
athletic girl carried her umbrella as If it
were a club grasping it tightly at a point
about the middle of its length. She thought
she looked very much like her English
cousin starting out to face a London fog.
Now she has decided to be just her own
charming American self, so she grasps her
umbrella lightly near the top OF the handle
directly under the knob. she does not
swing it, but carries it with suggestion Of
hrmness and safety to her neighbors Under
no circumstances does she shove it under
her arm as she presses through crowds or
climbs stairs. The smart girl is considerable
OF her neighbours eyesight.
A Hall Mark, Too.
In no other way can a young woman
when on the street show her good taste and
good breeding better than in the handling
Of her skirts.
The present fashion of wearing street
skirts which escape the ground partially
solves the problem for her, but in crossing
muddy streets, entering and leaving cars
and in other emergencies, it still becomes
necessary to lift the skirt a trifie. With
the smooth-fitting backs this is an art to
BE- studied with care.
The average woman makes a clutch at
her skirt midway between the side line and
the back seam She misses the latter en-
tirely and marches on blissfully uncon-
scious that the back of the skirt drags
badly if she had never made the eff
fort.
The girl who knows reaches down the
back seam, draws the skirt around in
graceful, circular folds, raising the back
widths of the skirt at least four or five
inches from the ground, and is certain that
she is protecting her gown without max
ing herself conspicuous. And she never
emulates her sisters of the comic opera
stage by gathering up her skirts with a
clutch violent and pronounced that ey-
cry line of her figure is displayed.
Your Partisan cousin picks up her skirt
on either side with her elbows out at a
sharp angle and her ankles showing CO.
quettishly, but it takes the French cousin
to do it with just the right air. Your
English cousin, If caught in a sudden
storm, calmly pulls four safety pins from
her handbag, makes an impromptu tuck
in her skirt and plods on, sereneiy uncon-
scious of her ludicrous appearance. But
the American girl who knows just the right
angle at which to lift the back of her
frock presents the most pleasing picture.
On a Rope.
From the Philadelphia Press.