Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-01
Marie Corel1i on
Madness of Clothes

1870 dress well is social duty.
Every educated. self-reSpecting
woman is bound to ciothe her
person as neatly. as tastefully
and becomingly as she can. But
just a virtue when carried to excess
develops into vice, so the art of dressing
well, when allowed to overstep it's legiti-
mate uses and expenditures, easily runs
into folly and madness. The reckless ex-
travagauce OF women's dress at the present
day Is little short of criminal insanity. A
feverish desire to outvie one another In
the manner and make of their garments
appears TO possess every feminine creature
whose lot In life places her outside posi-
tive penury. The Unfortunately wealthy,
the normally rich, the well-to-do middle
class and the shabby genteel are all
equally infected by the same hystericaI
frenzy. And IT is frenzy which Is hu-
mored and encouraged all sides by
those who should have the sense. the IN
telligence and the foresight to realize the
danger Of such tendency and the misery
to which in many cases IL is surely bound
to lead.
Latterly there have been certain growl-
ings and mutteringS of discomfort from
husbands who have had to pay certain I'M
expectedlv long bills for th.r wives Gre
atoms in costume" but, q matter or
fact. il Is really the men who are chiefly
to blame for the wicked waste Of money
y
are the principal instigators of the mis-
chief, the aiders and abettors of the de-
structiOn OF their own credit and good
name. For they openly show their ad-
miration of wonen's clothes mora than
the women clothed-that is to say, they
are more easily captured by art than ma
tUre. No group of male hatterers is ever
seen round a woman whose dress is un-
stylish or otherwise out of date. she
may have the sweetest face IN the world.
the purest nature and the truest heart but
ThA artiG
tiC4ily faxed" woman will nearly al
ways score triumph over her so far as
masculine appreciation and attention are
concerned. The faxed woman has
everything on her side. The drama sup
ports her. The press encourages her.
Whole columns in seemingly sane journals
are devoted to the description OF her at
tire. Very little space is given TO the
actual criticism Of a new play as a play,
but any amount of room is awarded to
glorihed "gushers" concerning the actresses
gowns. OF course 1t has to be borne IN
mind that the writing up" of actresses
gowns serves double purpose. Firstly.
the creators" of the gowns are advertised
and may in their turn advertise which In
these DAVIS of muItitudluous rival news
papers is a point not to be lost sight or:
secondly the actresses themselves are ao-
vertised, and certain gentlemen with 1at
poCketbooks and much Jewelry Who move
3hehind the scenes" may be thereby en-
couraged to speculate in tneatrlcal
shares" Whereas criticism or the play
not even to the dramatic author. For II
such criticism be unfayorable, the public
saw 1t IS written by spiteful enemy; II
euIogistic by friend at court, and neil
Their verdict is accepted. They go to see
Tie thing for themselves. and If they like
if they Keep on going. If not, they stay
away and there's an end 49,
Rut TO the gowns there is no END me
GOWNS. even in an unsuccessful play are
continuously talked of. continuously written
about. continuously sketched In every sort
OF pictorial small and great, fashionable OF
merely provincial. And the forid langua ge-
or shan we say the fine writing Fused to
describe the clothes generally an and on
fine stage is so ravingly sentimental, SO De-
viIderlngiy turgd that 1t can only compare
with the fervid verbosty of the early eigh-
tcenth century romancists or the biting sar-
casm Of Thackeray's Book of Snobs, from
which the following passage, descriptive or
Miss Snobsky's presentation gown. may be
apt,y quoted
Habit de cour, composed OF a yellow
nankeen Illusion dress, over slip OF rich
pea green corduroy. trimmed en- tablier with
bouquets of brussels sprouts, the body and
sleeves handsomely trimmed with caiimanco
and festooned with a pink train and white
radishes- Headdress. carrots and lappets.
BY way OF a modern pendant to the above