The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-06-25
aY MARGARET E. sANGsTER.

BY MARGARET K. sANGsTER. Copyright, 1905. by Joseph B. BowiesJ ! A brilliant woman in the early annals I of New England made this deeply true | observation, that to be appropriately and becomingly dressed gives one moral support superior to the consola- tions of religion. That is not exactly the way she said it, but 1t Is a sum | cientIy close paraphrase. What she 1 meant was that a woman who knows herself to be well dressed has the greatest possible advantage in what ever situation she is placed. It requires Ia tremendous amount Of mentai strength to triumph over conspicuousiy | ill-ftting and manifestly inappropri- | ate clothing.
 l Beautiful dress is to the lady of fashion what war paint and feathers are l to the savage chieftain. They fit her | for conquest.
 l A teacher in one of the public schools. l assuming charge of class or Doys, 1 who had baffled the disciplinary skill of several young ladies before ner, l took especial care of her toilet. She arranged her hair attractively, wore 1 the daintiest and trimmest shirt waists 1 and the most captivating stocks, belts l and ribbons.
 l You dress as nicely as If you were 1 going to a party" said friend. why | do you nOt wear your oio cioeheS 1 the schoolroomg
 1 "Because." came the instant answer. l q wish to subjugate my boys without antagonizing them, and have proved | a good many times that becoming l gown is a great help to keeping oroer | in the classroom
 | Apart from any other reason for l wearing good clothes. they pay com | pliment to ones company. It Is worth l while ot dress in such way that peo- | pie are happier when they look at you.
 Shakespeara's dictum: "Raiment as | costly as they purse can buy, has a good deal to do with helping man or | woman to get on in a world wnicn IS full of competition.
 l We sometimes think that our dress of today is exceedingly costly So IL l may be, but we may also dress beau tifully if we choose without spending much money. Southern women under stand this, and look bewitchingiy pret- ty in costumes that cost only tritie i to begin with. The many exquisite
 stuffs that are made from cotton set of a woman's beauty. particularly when she is young, quite as well as the richer
 fabrics, satin, silk and velvet.
 A matron of Virginia in 1860 had wardrobe that was fairly representa- | tive of the times. She owned an olive colorsd silk petticoat, another of silk 1 tabby, one of lowered tabby, one or velvet and one of white striped dim ity. In those days cotton stuns were
 very dear, and were more prized than islk, so this lady's calico dress had | silk Iinings Her bodices were of | strined dimity and black silk, and with
 these she wore scarlet sleeves and ruf-
 fled sleeves of linen and lace. In the
 costumes of 200 years ago, we find pet ticoats of silk of various colors, jack
 cts, mantles, aprons, hoods and separ-
 ate pockets. On the whole, the Gress
 was not so beautiful as that worn to-
 day, though a brocade gown over a
 quilted satin petticoat was not without
 its charm.
 The dress of men was formerly very l sumptuous and elaborate, and allowed of much more ornament than Is per- | lnissible at present. A mans dress 10.
 day is exceedingly comfortable and l convenient, and women with their
 short skirts, broad-soled walking shoes
 and neat shirt waists have little to complain of. The essential thing Is
 to be dressed as one ought to be TOT
 the time of day. the outing, the Jaunt or the occasion. One should not go 10
 dinner or a dance dressed as if one
 were going to market, nor should one
 wear to church or in any religious l gathering the style of dress reserved for a wedding, an evening party, or a
 large reception.
 hone very much that the day may
 come when picture hats and all con.
 spicuous head-gear may be abandoned
 for use in church. In any public as sembly where bonnets and hats are much in evidence it Is far more agree able to all If the hats are small, or Ii they are laid in the lap of the wearers . In places of amusement this change fol the better has gradually been adopted |
 feel that they were cfmmitting sir if they took off theirF hats In church A beautiful Quaker lady whom saw not long ago seemed to me tC
 have solved the problem. She wore {
 closely fitting frame around her heaC much like a baby's cap, and was tieC
 under her chin. So severe is this styl'
 of head-gear that few women woulC
 have the courage to adopt 1t, but al
 most Of us look much better withou
 hats than with them,- it may yet b'
 possible to introduce the custom O.
 wearing no hats at all in public assem
 plies.
 One feature of woman's raiment-
 her shoes-deserves comment. No wo
 man can afford to neglect the neat
 ness of her feet A well-fitttng boot o
 shoe, properly laced or buttoned, an'
 in no way slovenly, has a great dea
 to do with the aspect of the woman | WHO wears Wonph
 stand that shoes and gloves are th
 really important parts of elegant dress
 The care of clothes has more to d'
 than we think in keeping people well . dressed. When clothing is taken of
 it should be thoroughly aired an' } brushed; spots and stains should b. immediately removed. and the aid 0 the press-board and hot iron should b. invoked when necessary.
 Any evidence of neglect in tori A braids, missing buttons and loose end \ generally is fatal to neatness in dress { The little accessories of the toilet tn f ties, ruchings, frills. buckles and othe Al small things, which add flnishinl touches, must be taken into account { These may add largely to the expens of ones costume, unless they are pu carefully away when not in use Tn l secret of many woman's dainty ap A pearance is to be found in that revela tion of character, the top drawer O her dressing bureau. It Is pity tha a man seeking wife cannot have ? peep into the maiden's bureau befor he asks the all-important question. Ornament and jewelry should b used very sparingly by those who as pire to be well dressed. A profusiol of rings, however costly, is not il good taste.
 Once we are dressed, we should thinl no more about the subject. If 1t Is i'm possible for any reason for us to dres ! ata