The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-07-22
MISTRESSES OF DRESS COQUETRY|

master to his sitter--an individual touch that must exist in every wo-
 mans toilet. howsoever closely she even the reproduction of one of the great painters masterpieces for masquerade or a costumed ball.
 So much the more must this indi- viduality be asserted when the dress
 Is copied from fashion plates. in which the design of woman's anatomy is so conventional. and so to say, untrue. There she stands, tan and slender. with a small head. swans neck.
 waist no bigger than her throat di-
 minutive hands and feet. every dress and style becoming this creature of It must not be forgotten that fash ion. rightly understood, is not a Eiv- olous and futile thing. as claimed by it's detractors, but one of the phases
 of art, phase inspiring numerous
 marvels which at allstfrnes make fit
 frame for beauty--that joy forever." as asserted by the English poet.
 The fashions of the present period will likewise be inmortalized and
 transmitted to posterity by the cele-
 brated painters of today, the Flam- engs, the Makovskis and many poet or lover of the beautiful will speculate as to the history of some fair twen-
 tieth century belle in flowing draper ies, with the heightened and attenu- ated waist. the clinging yet vague skirt. molding her figure to perfection
 over the hips and then Aaring boldly around her knees: skirt made deliber-
 ately longer than herself, falling
 around her. making her taller, form
 ing pedestal to her beauty. adding q to her walk as she gently glides.
 scarcely lifting the fiuffy hem without
 getting embarrassed in its folds.
 More than one will stop before a
 pair of dreamy eyes, gazing at him from under dark velvet toque, all drapery with but a bird or disheveled giant chrysanthemum giving touch of color to the somber setting, the chin
 of the exquisite face half buried in a. muff.s all velvet and fur, lace rufffes.i chiffon with bunch of violets or
 Marechal Mel rose peeping from out of the flmy clouds and try to read the mystery of that life gathered iong ago into no less mysterious beyond.
 Man and woman will be arrested by that stately woman in trailing sable, ermine-lined cloak worn negligently
 over a creation of satin and lace, sil- yer web and diamond spangies. with a coronet on the naughty head.
 All this will be bequeathed to pos- terity--the outline. the lights and shadows. the richness. the grace. the
 style characteristic of the epoch.
 Yet this is far from all that is need ed by woman. She must be doubly charming by intellectual culture by at- tainments and accomplishments, by
 higher thought, by loftier idells than the setting-off, to its best advantage, of mere physical beauty. adorned by
 matchless productions of the masters in the art of creating marvels of ele- gance and loyIiness of beautiful fab- rics. The most perfect beauty as to- form and features. enhanced by ths most exquisite conceptions of the at- tire becoming her style, will say noth- ing to the heart and mind; if soul does not shine triumphant from her eyes, thought does not even dwell on her brow, she will be but a beautiful doll, appealing only to the coarser instincts leaving the higher and nobler feelings untouched. Her shaliowness. her friv- olous talk, her pretty smiles, her sil- very laughter, to which so much study is devoted, may be good for a time, a short time only For beauty, as all fair things, is evanescent, and the years. tear pitilessiy the wreath of roses from off her head Then nothing will remain to her except the fear and horror of losing her adultation which for so long has been her daily food and which turns its flight toward oth- CT business. An empty life is what awaits the woman who has made god of her beauty, has sacrificed every thing on the altar of vanity, and more than one has ended by taking her life which became meaningless to her when age had dimmed her eyes, siIvered her hair and wtthered the roses on her cheeks.
 This the womn of France and Italy had well understood and their salons were the field in which the genius of a a MnHARA a nA h. CT great poets and writers found ex- pression. development and encourage ment. To assemble such men around her. a woman must not be merely a dressed-up doll; no matter how ex- quisitely she is dressed she must pos sess intelligence and knowledse, great tact and refinement to be able to lead the conversation, draw out the oft times shy and modest men of letters, bring out his happiest thoughts, his most eloquent Aow of language. argue, discuss to make his genius shine forth more brilliantly--then her fan be- comes a scepter and leaders baton and her seat throne. But all this is gone; great men are lionized. invited, shown off for vanity's sake to friends and acquaintances as rare animals, the poor men being rendered greatly un- comfortable and deeply miserable by all sorts of incongruous questions To draw out a man of genius or talent, to spur him on, woman must not be too far below him herself in intellect, in in the understanding of greatness, in refnement of feeling and depth of thought: Though genius and talent are given but to the few elect every woman of average intelligence may reach the attainments mentioned if she take but the trouble of develop ing 1t.
 Thus not every thought must be kA .tn nf the charm of the physical self, not | every thing must be sacrificed on the | altar of beauty. The mind must be adorned as well as the body. the last | ing must not be neglected for the per- | ishable.