The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-06-29
WELL-DREssED WOMEN.

A group of Birmingham women were talking the other day when the topic turn ed upon young woman who dresses remarkably well. The point about her dressing, remarked one of the group" is not its elegance nor the great variety of her costumes. but the fact that she always dresses to suit the occasion. I you see her down town shopping. she has on dark short skirt and a fresh shirt waist of madras or chambray, not some thin stuff displaying colored ribbons In her underwear All that sort of thing she reserves foe the afternoons or even ing at home. On damp days she wears her rainy day skirt and heavy shoes At the Country club and at the theatre in the evening you see her in fresh pretty fluffy frocks. Her neck wear is always appropriate. Some time ago Sarah Sylves- ter in a Boston paper wrote a good thing on women's dress, which is as follows.
 Women need to cultivate a sense of proportion in dress Man has that sense generally without cultivation He does not, to any pereeptibla extent wear tan shoes with black clothes, nor a four in hand when 1t should be a string tie. He eNeH ut iilS SliiIl WdlSl when the tner- mometer goes up and gets into his vest when temperature performs the opposite feat He seldom trusts to a shiny silk hat of latest stock to hide the fact that he has fringes round his trouser legs
 The woman wlo is not like him is the woman we all know She selects her very oldest, most down at the heel shoes to wear the day of r..e garden party, be- cause her feet will get weary walking and standing and anyway her muslin frock is so excessively sweeping length that the shoes won't show. Then she forgets and holds mp the pretty frock. disclosing to the world the fact that whatever she may be in trail. like the peacock she has good right to be ashamed of what she walks on. The funny papers are for ever telling us that the woman who lays up for a rainy day puts said savings into handsome silk stockings, but don't be- l1eve the funny man knows anything about 1t. The women of my acquaintance select their most be-darned hosiery and be-smirched petticoats for rainy day wear, and even know one who declined to buy short skirt for pad weather. because then l will have to wear nice shoes and do hate to get my nice shoes muddy
 woman would rather give 50 cents Tor red, red rose to put above her bon nets brim. than 25 cents for new skirt binding. She is ready to have a fit if sus- pected of cutting ner shirt waists from any lawn less than 62 cents the yard, but when you suggest a clean collar every day she talks about extortionate laundry bills. and evidently begrudges the poor China man 2 cents each for her stocks. for she makes each one last three days, including two dingy ones. and then gets another wear out of it by pianing an embroidered handkerchief edge over the top.
 ' Yes. I hear what you say-that the FxFnT f. out ,f 1,fA Alax rl..N hart all sorts of things for all sorts of times The trouble Is to make her wear them at the right times and places.
 When womel. had, no dress allowance, but begged. like Fido and Dog Tray, for what she got. wonder she made 1t matter of conscience to keep always one good dress hung up for emrgncis. Now adays however there is little reason for paying dressmakers to manufacture frocSs to be worn by hooks in corner cupboards. Every dress woman now owns ought to mean certain kind of wearing and when not to be immured in trunk. hidden in box couch, or waving from the limbs of a clothes tree. but rather displayed on female form, shown in the light of day and rustling with the movements of a sensible woman who ap- preciates her clothes
 I remember Louisa Olcott said of one of her heroines. She always had blue tie for the gray dress and a rosy one for the brown The rightly construct-1 wo- man is sure to boast leather belt and mannish shoe for her rainy day suit a sash for her muslin, a pique stock for the raglan shirt vast, a fluffy tie for the batiste, and one black dress. so that if any one dies suddenly she isn't obliged to be the one corn colored or turquoise blue blotch on what would other wise be harmonious black whole.
 "A safe rule is-things that won't hurt when shopping. plain things for church 'dressy' clothes for society affairs. com