The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1906-04-05

W bll'H NIlltIS w ll' Sl'' f'Ni'''''N
preachments to their sex in regard to
domestic success and happiness are
agreed on one point, namely, tllat IN"
atmosphere Of the nome can /" con
trolled largely by the feminine c'"-
mCnt. The women Of the house must
be contnntod, unscllish. good-naturcd.
Furthermore. they must be well dress
ed, SO that they may be attractive to
their husbands and brothers. These
preachments always add that the wom-
en- must not use up half the family in
come for clothes.
All this is both sensible and true.
The woman who is worth while as Il
wife, mother or sister, Is willing to
sacrifice Il great deal in the way Of per
sonal vanity and comfort for the SAX"
OF remaining attractive. But here til"
difficulty lies. How should Il woman
look whCr she is attractive and pref
ty? 1t l. largely matter Of clothes :.
Those who. at first blush, are in
Ciined to question my statement, have
only to consult the family photograph
album. Look ut that tight-titting
basque that, twenty years ago, was the
most beautiful and stunning you ever
saw. Now it is simply ridiculous. it is
50 ugly. We get out ideas of beauty
from the fashion magazines. The gar
ment that IS stylish Is, therefore, love
~.
IF the matter ended there 1t would
not be So bad. Alas, it goes a great
deal farther. The fashion magazines
presume to dictate whether we shall
be stout or thin, tall or short. They
give us impossible designs of matchlcss
grace, skirts that sweep in rhythmic
curves, girdles that encircle waspIike
never wrinkle, TO the hopeleSsly cor
rect hips that grow on about one wom-
an in Il thousand. They give us jaun-
ty, fetching hats that stay in place,
in spite Of wind and weather. We
want to look like those women whose
existence begins and ends in the i'm
agination of the fashion artist.
This letter may sound to you like an
extrayagant outburst OF Indignation
but the experience through which l
have recently passed is sufficient provo
cation, | assure you. | inclose several
designs, clipped from our best fashion
journals. All Of these we ATTEMPTED
to copy, with the aid Of & clever seam
stress who came to us with the very
best recommendations
I have two daughters, one a Young
lady and the other girl of II. We
planned to save much money and have
ourselves we'll gowncd. | engaged
the seamstreSs and we went to work.
We selected our designs. and we fol
lowed directions faithfully.
This season a woman is allowed her
choice of two styles. She may have /,
prinCesSe, or an empire gown. We went
right at those designs as If we were
built for them.
We are all inclined to Re rather
plump but we looked into the fashion
magazines instead OF consulting our
mirrors. We found what Ada the ell
der daughter, wanted for street suit
1t was brown mixture. made prin.
CcGSe, with short, pointed bolero and
elbow sleeves. the turned back cuffs
and lcvers faced with red and the
Jacket lined with the same. There was
a shirt waist Of red silk to match. and
we planned to copy the hat in the fash
ion plate,
Ada bcgGn ID picture herself In this
outfit. which certainly was a dream II
the picture. She liked especially tho
sweep Of the skirt. a very full circular
pattern, close fitting 10 little below
the hips | don't profess to be mucl
of an artist but | have tried to show
you how that princessc dress Will
pointed bolero looked after she got Il
on.
The CIRCULAR skirt did what almos
all circular skirts DO, unless they ar,
made by the most cApcr. tailorS In
stead of going out in graceful, sweep
Ing curves. it hung IN sloppy bags. |