Arizona republican., 1909-12-24

might want to protect her dress. ! wearing an apron with other girls ! in the same office.
 That's the main reason. but there's ! another. and I think that counts quite a good deal. too. Some girls object to the apron because it looks | too servile in semi public place like big office.
 That's the general opinion down. town among girls that are getting high salaries and those getting low. However, l firmly believe that if some big concern were to make 1t a rule for each and every girl to wear a 1 black apron during business hours 1t would be hailed. if not altogether with delight. with some degree of satis- faction anyway.
 But the movements got to start from the top. in each and every case from the private office of my boss the business girl always says my boss The business girl herself will never start it. She'll adopt 1t when it comes to be custom. not before"
 At the very best" said another girl. the business apron is more or less of d nuisance. Probably the av- craze man who is accustomed to sec ing aprons in his home very fre- quently thinks they would be fine for girls in his office. They have very neat look. he thinks. and they keep the dress clean. Three of my bosses have asked me why l didn't wear them. and l could never make them quite understand why.
 You see. even black apron is bound to get soiled and rusty looking in short time and there is the in- convenience of carting them home every now and then to be laundered. At the best 1t isn't worth while. how ever it. may appear to a man.
 There isn't very much wear or soil ing of business girls dress if she safeguards it in the ways all we who are neat do. Skirts have to be cleaned and pressed frequently anyway. even when an apron is worn. and so when everything $ summed up there is very little saving
 "Aprons?" sad third girl Aprons? Yes. 1t does seem as if an apron ought to be the loveliest and the incest possible thing about cr office. Of course, :he average nan ar the girl who stays uptown ar over in Brooklyn-the housekeeping girl l all ways call her-would say they were charmingly romantic anl really the thing
 But have you ever thought of this? Almost every woman looks prettier and more neatly, more appropriately dressc,i when she ;s working indoors. ard altogether moro wom3nly. if yoI like i' she wears an apron. i,ut what kind of apron is it? A pretty white apron.
 Tt is the white that seems sn femi- nine. dainty ard useful Ru; white apron in an office would be in most cases the most inappropriate thing you could possibly imagine. If we're t' apron ourselves wo must wear the black calico. alpaca or 5lac!; silk apron.
 The black calico apron is horrid. an ahomination. The black taffcta silk one may look trifle better. but it costs ever so much. l know girl that had an apron made for office use. It cracked and wore out in no time and 1t cost s6.
 That was a costly attempt at economy. She was. of course. trying to save her skirt. But she could have had that skirt cleaned and pressed twelve times for the same money"
 We all want to look nice and nice in the office as well as anywhere else" said yet another of the girls questioned. but I'll tell you right off that a dark colored aprons hor- ribly unbecoming. and if you wear it you're accused of being fussy and finicky and fun's poked at you"
 ''I myself can't see very much use for aprons" said a downtown business woman who has come into frequent contact with girls and their work. Tt isn't the skirt that needs protecting so much as the waist Careful girls downtown have long since learned the way to keep their waists clean. The elbow sleeve shirt waist Is an excel lent plan. The big cuffs of paper. pinned on freshly each day. are very good. But here's curious thing-a girl must wear paper cuffs and not have them of muslin. That would make a girl seem like an old maid
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