The Washington times., 1904-12-02

SOME UNDERSTAND
THE ART III APPAREL

Il wish 4 knew" said the girl with
the chiffon muff why stage gowns.
like stage love-making and stage SEN
timents. are always so much more beau
tiful than those in real lr1e'
They are not" said the other girl
Half the gowns one sees. on the stage
one wouldn't wear in a drawing room
or on the street for Anything in the
world. Do you know that lots of ac-
tresses buy their imported gowns from
the secondhand dealers? Well. they do,
1T is not the gown, but the way in
which an actress wears IL that makes il
so attractive. She knows what sort OF
frOck 10 buy, just how 40 put il on and
nine women out OF ter in private life
don't know The aVerag woman selects
a frock without any = ference to her
self whatever. She INST buys il be-
cause il is pretty and puts It on exact
ly as 1t goes. Usually she looks like an
animated clothes rack. with her gar
ments hanging on her.
An actress gets into the feeling of
her gown. The nome nj she SLIPS into
II she feels her role If the gown is
long and clinging and tllmy and dlaphan-
GUS she simply 'uOatsi every minute that
she has IL on. II IL ha yards and yards
of train she learns how 10 manage il:
how 10 sit down so that IL Will wind
T-selr around her; how TO sail across
the room as though she We're trailing
wings AFTER her, how to turn without
stumbling all over hFr skirts She feels
eVcS inch of the dignity that a train
gives. ana she puts n her naughty look
with her naughty frOck. But the women
In private life always looks aS though
7 her trailing skirts We're just hooked on
/ behind They are mot part of her.
Every bride 1 haVF seen this autumn
looked as though l.lle felt the weight
/ and enormity OF her train. She actually
shrunk into lnsigntdcance beside il and
shriveled up under her enormous tulle
veil She was entirely subordinate 10
her clothes.
Did you ever see Nine. Rejane in one
OF her chiffon cor1ections2 / did. II
was of Sky-pink, with mantle of pink
/ chihon falling from her shoulders and
almost completely ienVeloping her. Well.
| that was a floating dress and 1 don {
remember once RNing seen Nine. Re
| jane walk step while she had the
| dress on. She just seemed to float onto
the stake like 4 loud. 10 float from chair
20 diVan. and to float out again. She
didn't sit, she didn't stand. she didn' [
kneel; she just moved and that was
/ all YOU knew. When she changed that
trock Tor shopT. glrlish one with a
| baby waist. yOu wouldn't have reCog-
niZcd her. She booked ten years young
er. Tier chin had been lowered. her
eyes had grownI big and innocent look
ing. and she seemed suddenly TO have
acquired feet and to have lost ten years
and gained tent pounds. u was all in
the feeling induced by the frock
AN actress makes her frocks Il part
OF herself. If they are frilly. she dutters
and fiirts In them: II they are nobby
she becomes at once jaUaty and de-
! bOnair; if Jhey are magnificent she
takes Oh q new dignity She trails
Them. d.ngles them. sweeps them. holds
them. Just as they seem 10 need IT, She
makes them subordinate to herself.
while at the same time she brings into
relief their most striking feature ana
l Ill Ttr a sfFaf
suggestion.
Every gown has some sort OF motif.
and unless yolu are able 10 discover its
ar1ctc Significance you Will appear as
! badly in II as though you should quote
bit OF poetry without knowing what il
meant