The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1908-03-15
AVOID FASHIONS LATEST DECREE.


"Oh, mesdames!' exclaims M. Worth.
OF Paris. That bette noire Of fashion
Avoid 1t; turn away from It, and in
time you will wonder how 1t could ever
have terrified vou."
Simplicity and moderation are the
burden Of NJ Worth's article on "Indi-
vidualtty in Dress in "Harper's Ba-
Ear" for March. DO not order fash
ions that date a Dress" he advises.
When all the world is wearing balloon
sleeves, restrain your own. II tight
skirts are deemed the thing, insist to
the dressmaker that yours must have
an extra breadth in It. Frocks made
In this moderate way. says L.. Worth,
IL they are beautiful and becoming and
OF good materials, may be worn two,
three, even four years with very little
alteration. or perhaps none at all.
With many women 1t Is carelessnsss
that makes them look badly dressed.
They viii not take the trouble to suit
the gown to the occasion. They will
so. for example, to an afternoon re-
ception or a wedding even In tailor
made attire. because st Is my new
frock and wanted to wear it"--be-
cause u had nothing else ut to go In"
or the day was DUH" "AlI poor ex-
cuses madame says NJ. Worth, mot
) 70 be tolerated In any grade of So
ctety. governess, he points out,
earning the most modest OF incomes.
can be better dressed than that---if she
has a little logic. Each year she will
add something essential to her ward
robe. One year she buys a single even
ing costume, perhaps, and a tailor
made dress--both so we'll chosen that
they viii last her several seasons. The
next year she invests in a big cloak
for travelling and motoring. and an
afternoon. gown. Tho next year Il is
lingerie and peignoir, and so she
keeps her store replenished, and, by
always wearing the right thing at the
right time. always looks well dressed
Balancing over a magazine the other
day" says NJ. Worth. Il found an illus
tratio.. of the difference between true
and false beauty in dress" On one
page was photograph of "the stately
young American Duchess Of M" The
dress OF the Duchess--though the pho
tograph was taken FIVE years ago
might have hesn made yesterday.
since there was no iota of departure
from the laws of real beauty to mar
it The skirt was not too tight to be
decent.' the sleeves were neither very
tight nor very loose. On the next page
was a 'so-called fashion plate depict
ing the modes of the day. just five
years ago. And oh. those did look!
One was lost in wonder that sane wo-
mon could ever have consented to cut
so grotesque figure In public or pri-
vate."
It is a good plan for the woman az
small means to make one type of dress
her own. but she must be sure that the
style with which she Identifies herself
is suited to her, and she must not hes
itate to change 1t when her mirror tells
her that she has grown too old for 1t.
picture galleries are full Of ideas for
the costumer, but. while women who
dress habitually like old pictures Gre
ate an individuality for themselves.
they must be great ladies to adopt the
plan with success, says M. Worth.
"Ordinary women do we'll to avoid an
that is conspicuous, even
though beautifully So" Still. there are
some historical vogues In dress of
which he admits the advantage. The
puritan collar will suit the girl with
a soft round throat. and the Tudor run
is kind to the woman whose neck Is
getting stringy; stately women may
wear the Medici collar. but let the
sauatty woman beware of 1t. Nothing
will so emphasize her squattiness, and
the craze for the Medici collar a few
years ago was the cause, says NJ
worth. of 1.-The most ludicrous errors In |
good taste and effect"
It is refreshing to find that this great
arbiter of dress approves the use of
nins. Not only that. but he backs his |
opinion with the practice of the Queen |
Of England. This royal lady relies
upon pins greatly" he says, land she
Is acknowledged TO be one of the most |
cleyerly gowned women In all Europe. |
such women make the deftest altera-
tIons in their toilettes. correcting q !
sash made to point downward In front.
or an overlong one by the same device
a applied the reverse way"
NJ Worth has a shrewd idea that |
many women of today are not quite
sane. Else why, he argues. have they |
such an extraordinary craze for the
new and strange in costume? They are
obsessed by the constant turmoil of
change which is the Earring note OF the |
twentieth century in every department
Of life"
"My advice to the American Is. alb
ture the denier cri. the latest thing.
n is not worth your notice" says M.
worth; and then he uttefs an even |
greater heresy: Take my word for 1t. |
mesdames, fashion is not friend of
women, but their pitfall and their enc |
NV. 10 be conquered by studied avoid |
ance." Though all the feminine world |
appears decollette at balls and par
ties. the sensible girl who knows that
her neck Is bony will ding convention
ality to the winds" and robe herself
for the dance in toilets with a trans |
narent lace chemlsette and collar. So |