Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-10
ENGLISH BUSINESS GIRL
QUESTION BEING ASKED WHETH-
ER SIZE ovERDREssEs
Generally Conceded That Tailor Made
Suits Should Be Worn and
Duehesses' Not Copied.
From the London Mail.


A sense Of proportion. IN other words an
appreciation of the fitness Of things, Is GER
tainly denied to many women. II girls who
toll in business haunts were to possess this
valuable and discriminating sense they
would perceive that chiffon. lace tags and
tassels. artificial flowers and feathers, per-
ishable fabrics, dainty colors and all the
many other frivonties Hyde Park and Bel
gravia demand are completely unsuitable
for their adornment in the city.
But a very natural feminine love for look
Ing smart overtakes the working woman to
her own disadvantage. She will wear "trip
peries because she very mistakenly regards
these adjuncts to the toilet as absolutely
necessary toward the carrying out of her
laudable desire to make the most of her
beauty. Now whether a girl ought to look
bewitching and fascinating in the stern
money-mak1ng centers Of the work-a-day
world or not Is a question that does not
come within the scope of these remarks
Without attempting to discuss the matter
fully. let 1t be supposed that 1t is her duty
TO do so. And as an argument in favor of
that tenet let 1t be said that woman lovely
woman, has no right to minimize the
charms nature has provided her with. 1t Is
positively one Of her solemn obligations in
life to enhance her fairness, and always to
present to an admiring opposite sex a
vision Of loneliness as dazzling as she can
possibly achieve.
Cannot Discriminate,
1t is In this that the national lack Of a
sense Of proportion and the equally trou-
blous want Of an appreciation Of the fitness
OF things afflict English girls. French wo-
men are SO differently constituted. A work
ing girl In Paris is a dainty sight. Her at
tire Is smart, yet simple, aping no aristo-
Gratis OUTFIT. yet never dOwdy and neglected
IN aspect. An English girl seems unable to
discriminate. She cannot decide upon an
Individual style OF dress. She must pretend
to be what she Is not.
To her what the Duchess OF Mayfair
wears must be right. So it Is. but not for
her. The Duchess of MAYFAIR spends thou
sands OF pounds On her clothes per annum
She employees artists to design and make
her frocks and jewels and to control the
appearance Of her face and figure. She
pays large income annually to an ex-
perienced beauty doctor.
Absolutely foolishly. but with pathetic
desire to look like her, the workgirl copies
the duchess. copies her trailing skirts, with
their priceless lace incrustations. In cheap
fabrics and lace at 2Xd. a yard; copies her
hats. those monstrously large picture hats
in which her grace looks like a Gains
borough beauty come to life as she sits mo-
tonless in her barouche; copies her price
eleven-three;" copies her complexion, even
with a dust of powder here and a dab of
rouge there. Alas the result! Alack for
the curiously ill-proportioned mind that can
chanting moment Of madness. that between
the Duchess of Mayfair and herself there
exists single point of even remote resem-
blancel
The Tailor Made.
The style for the working girl to take is
the essentially English one, known as the
tailor-made. A cloth Dress with a coat to
match. shirt with detachable collars and
a diversity of ties, a simple hat, good shoe
leather and well-made gloves. should be her
choice. On Sundays and at home in the
evening. after the days work is done, she
may wear fiimsy frocks and tea gowns. IL
she. will Why not? But in the CRIME of
the city. in the muddy streets, in the ON
nibuses and underground railways, why
pretend that the exalted and protected ca
reer of duchess is that of the hard-work-
ing business girl?
For it is not. Therefore, the raiment that
suits the one is certainly not the raiment
that suits the other.
No feeling of depression need attack the
business girl who realizes, perhaps for the
first time while reading these lines, that
her work-a-day attire should suit her sur
roundings. Her coat and skirt costume,
she should understand, must not appear dull
and dowdy; far from it. There is no cos
tune more bewitchingly charming than a
tweed or serge gown cut by clever tailor,
and relieved from gloom by the very dam
test of cravats and ties. and belt that
may be of the latest mode.
At this moment there is a most smart
girdle composed Of shining leather. either
white. black. scarlet or green which act
ually washes and looks thoroughly up to-
date. What could be a prettier, more ap-
propriate sight on a May morning than
feminine clerk tripping off to her daily toll
in q navy blue serge skirt and Russian
blouse strapped with serge or silk. and be-
meath 1t simple spotted blue and white de-
laine shirt. with one of the new ''rebat''
collars and a smart tie beneath also a
Breton sailor hat trimmed with scarlet taft
fetas to match the scarlet belt round the
neat waist?
What Men Admire.
A tailor-made gown. 1t should be remem-
bered outlasts three fimsy. cheap, and
pretentious ones. and looks well to the very
end If made of lightweight tweed or serge.
A business woman can present a delightful
appearance and feel completely comfort
able In one new tailor-made dress per an
num- II she alternately orders a summer
weight and winter weight one, and diver
sites the appearance of her suits. just as q