Evening star., 1908-01-24
OLD WOMEN MAY Be LOVELY
ABSURDITY OF RoUGEDCHEEKS
DYED HAIR AND WIGS.
Grace and Beauty in Honorable Age
How to Dress Becomingly.
A Few Dont's.

From the London Chronicle.
Every woman of the present day wishes
to be young. She will spend large sums
in absurd attempts at improving her face
and rejuvenating her figure. and she has
completely lost sight of the fact that old
age has a beauty of it's own. Compare
the raddled. rouged cheeks. the real wig
$50 palpably wig. though it is suppos I'd
to be the wearers own hair. or at best
a mere ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS this ana
the rose toque wig set jauntily on one side
and emphasizing the wrinkles and the yell
low skin beneath with the portraits of
our grandmothers by Romney. Lawrence,
or Raeburn. those charming pictures on
which the eye dwells with pleasure and
to which one returns delightedly time
after time. The sitter and the artist
knew what they were about: they knew
how to set off the delicacy of faded
cheeks. or soft. pale hands, and to hide
the ravages of time with cunning subtlety
by folds of transparent and seductive lace
and muslin.
Grace in Old Age.
l have in my minds eye at the moment
Raeburn that hangs in the Portrait
Gallery in Edinburgh which is the beau
ideal of feminine old age. The lady, a
good looking dame of seventyodd years,
is attired with the supremest coduetry in
a green silk dress with a green cloak
thrown over her shoulder. Her soft gray
curls shadow the face. in which sparkle
two dark ewes full of fire of youth
Around her curls are arranged folds and
folds of pure white muslin. and lace and
muslin are fastened lightly round her
bosom and envelop her. as it were. in
clouds of soft diaphanous texture. The
result is most agreeable and artistic.
remember another old lady of my ac-
uuaintance who always wore pale peach
color or gray silks. with rare old jabots
and muslin apron trimmed with old lace.
just such an apron as Beau Nash tore
unkindly from the waist of the Duchess
of Queensberry in the ass ambly room at
Bath. saying: None but Ablgails appear
in white aprons" Great ladies wore
aprons then lace and black silk. embroid-
cred in colored floss silks. and very pref
ty and becoming they were. Old ladies'
of the past generation hugged their van
ity just like the young ones They
thought it duty to appear gracefui ana
picturesque and attractive in the sight OF
all men, and they were wise enough to
realize that their charm lay not in COM
petition with the young. but in striking
out an original path for themselves.
Those were the days of clear starching
ana SOHeTiDS, "iicli tiit oihS~ VI ioo
was to wash and get up the airy produc-
tions of sunny whteness which even old
village women took pride in. things
which were called "mutches' in Scotland.
and which even now may be seen occa-
sionally in some highland village.
Age and Youth Confounded.
The religion of the old lady was soft
ness and daintiness and beauty. But with
the advent of the tailor made costume.
the railway train and the motor these ira
ditions disappeared. A dull monotony
has settled down upon woman's dress, and
age and youth are miserably confounded.
cannot help thinking that this is a mis-
take The vain old woman endeavors to
rival her young friend by the smartness
and exaggeration of her dress, and only
succeeds in being ridiculous. She cuts
her gowns low, showing her shriveled
neck she wears her hats high, with out
rageous feathers. and apes the latest
fashion as far as she can. The woman
who is not vain, on the contrary, becomes
a semi male in appearance. clips her hair
short tramps about in wide-soled boots
dons a billycock hat and a tweed gown
approxima ting In fashion To d mans coat
and Waistcoat, ard becomes as plain and
unattractive a figure as possible.
A correct middle course should be pur-
sued a self-respect cultiva ted. right
Judgment which stamps the clever woman
The stately old ladies of the past made 4
cult of the beautiful They re-igned with
difficulty their empire over the hearts of
their admirers: they reigned in their own
circles as queens: they jealously guarded
their privileges of Womanhood, and stud