The Tupelo journal., 1905-11-17


Unity and Refnement-Efective
Arrangements of Tints, Shades and
Grays-Jewelry Should Harmon
ize with General Scheme-White
a Crude ~Color-Shirt Waists Should
Be Cotton and Colored.
The very existence of such a special
lied term as m~onochromy should warn
the reader hat some unexpected fact
lies hidden therein.
The word is used to express the fact
that an entire scheme of ornamental
ton car be executed in n color; and
that the term is needed becomes plain
when n considers how generally wo-
men seek for at least wv cOlors when
planning a dress. Two colors are not
wrong, of course, but neither are they
necessary to the most refined effects.
Indeed, it is not too much to claim
that, in view of the riot of color that
now prevails, a devotion of everyone to
monochromy for a decade would prove
invaluable as a training in moderation;
for, once we have ceased to shout, we
shall be able to heal the soft, low
tones again.
But how is it possible to contrive the
scheme, which is necessary for vari-
ety's sake to every dress, with only one
color? Very simply, by playing upon
the tones of the one color. Tones in
clude tints, which are the color mixed
in various ratios with white; shades,
which are the color mixed in various
ratios with black; and grays, which
are the color mixed in various ratios
with gray. Here is variety enough,
while unity is guaranteed by the one
ness of color. In fact, the tonal differ
ences are so marked that frequently
separate m have been assigned
them; as pink for tinted red, brown for
shaded orange, olive for grayed green,
and slate for grayed blue.
Five tones can easily be distin-
guished. and that much variety should
suffice anyone. Among these. strong
effects can be obtained by j~uxtaposition
of the darkest shade and the lightest
tint procurable; while any degree of re-
inement can be secured by placing
near together the darkest tint and the
lightest shade, or either of these with
the pure color, which will thus be so
reduced in intensity that it a be used
more freely than would be permissible
in a scheme of contrasting colors.
Free choice is allowable in the order
of tones from skirt to hat, except that
the lightest ton must 10 stay at the
bottom nor the darkest at the top. One
of the finest arrangements shows the
two lightest tones in the neadgear, an
intermediate ton in the gown. and the
darkest ton in the jacket, with a bit
of pure color full tone) in the trim
ming of the gown. The bit Of pure
color, or a bit of pure black or white in
the shape of embroidery, piping. or the
like, is needful to insure vitality or
crispness to a monochromatic scheme.
Besides securing unity and refine
ment, monochromy possesses two other
merits; it displays differences of tex
ture in the clearest way, and it solves
the shirt-waist problem.
The differences of texture seen in
the dullness of cotton or wooden cloth
and the varying glows, l~usters, or
sparkles or silks, leather, fur, metal,
enamel and gems show at their full
force to an eye undistracted by differ
nnnnS nf on1nr- on6 o0oin tny
lures reinforce those differences
of tone which might otherwise be
so small as to prove inef-
fective. 1t is obvious that participa-
ton in such a monochromatic scheme
requires that metals and gems be Sc
lected for their color alone, TO the ex-
clusion of other areneS This
scheme would therefore displace gold
in favor of silver for all costumes in
tones of gray, which includes tints up
to white and shades down to black. 1t
fayors the use of bronze in the various
colors-red, orange, yellow and green
which are produced in that convenient
alloy; and it assigns their rightful
artistic value to such cheap gems as
the garnet, while restricting the costly
diamond to the same range as silver.
These changes would make great gain
for art, while curing the diamond and
gold craze from which plutocratic
America now suffers. Everywhere
that precious stones and metals are
worn out of decorative scheming, they
serve simply as signs Of a wealth which
has not yet attained to culture in art.
The metals should take shape, not in
filagree, but in broadish forms that can
show as patches of color.
The shirt-waist problem demands a
garment which shall be at once cool,
economical and tasteful. The cool
ness calls for cotton goods; the econo-
my is supposed to call for white color,
because all others fade; and in conse-
uuence art considerations go by the
board, and the white shirt waist faunts
itself everywhere.
The quarrel that white has with col
ors arises from it's overwhelming in
tensity or brilliance, which nearly mo-
nopolizes vision to the corresponding
loss of every neighbor, very much as
the white lightning blinds the eye to
all else. And as nature gives us light
ming only on a background OF gray
clouds or black night, SO art prefers
white associated with ErayS and blacks.