Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-01-27
ART OF DESIGN IN DRESS.
What CoIors to Wear in Winter and
Summer.


only to the wearer. but also seem to
radiate into the very atmosphere. Re-
serve cold blues, greens and violets
for summer. Don't wear short skirt
| if you are stout woman. Don't wear
more than one brilliant color at a
time. unless you are a raving beauty
or want to be stared at"
These were some of the axioms for
good dressing laid down recently by
Frank Alvah Parsons of the Horace
ture at the art school of the Young
Women's Christian Association, New
York.
| Mr.. Parsons took for his theme
1.-The Art of Design in Dress" and he
not only spoke in distinctly interest
ing and suggestive way of the princi-
pies that underlie artistic dressing for
women. but illustrated his points by
means of charts and pictures and an
swered questions put to him by the
audience.
| I'm teaching any art" said Mr.. Par
sons. 1.-THE aim is the appreciation and
| love of beauty. In teaching music,
for example, it is not alone to play or
sing well that we teach, but also to
make others able, through music, to
express strong emotions of beauty.
That's what we're after in dress
beauty. But dress has a unitarian as
well as an aesthetic side. 1t is like a
vase. A vase exists for unitarian
purposes, but at the same time it may
be beautiful or ugly, according as it's
form and decoration are pleasing or
not. And so with dress.
Considering dress from the stand
point of the decoration of a utilitarian
object, the problem that confronts a
woman is twofold. What is practically
the best thing for me to wear? What
costume produces the most pleasing
effect?
| In dress the practical must he cor
sidered first, because beauty without
utility loses half it's value.
| What are our premises in solving
the problem of artistic dress? Why,
money, the figure, and the station in
life. These are elements that every
woman must consider in dressing her
! self. The matter of cost is not the
point. Good things-good materials,
that is-are cheapest in the end. Good
things in design should be as cheap as
poor ones. Ones station in life natur-
ally exerts an influence on dress.
ut is proportion that makes thing
pleasing or displeasing, beautiful or
|ugly, bearable or unbeara BILE. We
have to consider form, size and color
and it is the relation maintained by the
three that leads to the pleasing effect
we are after. Given a certain figure,
complexion and color of hair, the in
ldividual has to determine what she can
best wear. For example, the principle
lof consistent variety is one Of the first
to be considered. When stripes OF
color, or Dleats and tucks are used
there is a law governing their number
and their direction. The mass formed
by skirt or waist or coat is considered
as one spot. Lines breaking this spot
are most effective when they extend
in the same direction as or in SYM
rathy with the longest lines Of the
ideal figure.
10 be more explicit, d stout woman,
| if she wears striped effects at all,
| should always have them run vertical
| ly. 1t is true, her horizontal lines are
apt to be as long as, or longer than, the
vertical lines, but the vertical lines are
in the direction of the long lines of the
| ideal figure. To have the stripes follow
the direction of the lines in the ideal
figure emphasizes the vertical, and has
the affect of making the stout person
| look slim, while horizontal lines would
| cut the figure into various masses, and
| so shorten the effect of the trunk.
From the unitarian standpoint the
| very short skirt has it's place. How
ever, only slight, tall figures can afford
to wear it, except in rare cases The
length Of the skirt of the ideal figure
bears certain relation to the length of
| the waist. To shorten the skirt de-
stroys the proper proportion and estab-
fishes an unpleasant relation between
the mass represented by the waist and
that represented by the skirt. In short
the stout woman looks bad in short
skirts to all men.
"The effect of employing great con-
| trasts in color is to call attention to the
greatest point of contrast, to catch the
eye at once and produce pleasant or
unpleasant effects. according as the
| combination is good or bad. Emphasis
is a cardinal principle in design. Not
only are there consistency and variety
in tones and colors, but it is possible to
| certain or ugly
things by their right or wrong use.
For example, there is great contrast be-
| tween black and white. The broad
| black and white stripe challenges at
| tention at almost any distance. Two
tones of gray, one nearly as dark as the
| other, attract the eye much less.
What is the application? This: If
the entire figure is to be emphasized
| that is, if we wish to stand out in bold
| relief against a Crowd-use the greatest
| contrast in tone or color, If any part
| of the body should have greater inter-
| est than any other part, the attention
of the multitude can be directed toward
| it by applying the same principle.
Given a green suit, dull and inoffensive
in tone. It's complement in color is red.
If used in proper quantities and values.
| they go well together But where shall
| the red go? If the object be to call at
| tertion to the feet or the bottom of the
skirt, place it there; if the waist, then
| tie a red ribbon around it; if the neck.
| place 4 red ribbon there. The nearer
| the contrast comes to the face, the