Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-19
MODERN ACCESSORIES
OF WOMENS DRESS
BY Nine. Simone,

known as the best dressed French actress.
The night of my greatest histronic tri-
umph was the moment Of my most mis-
cradle sartorial failure. / had succeeded
as an actress only to fail as an artist in
clothes Perhaps you think if you are
the one it is unnecessary to be the other
which shows how little you know about
the stage.
The theater is, after all, but a reflex
of real life, and we who play are not
mere puppets portraying alien emotions.
We have our glad days and our sad
days, much the same as you who come to
see us, and our hour of triumph Is often
turned to defeat by the same foolish lit
tie things which in real life crop up to
spoil a supreme moment. 1t was so when
l was tested by pair of shoes
1t was the opening night of new
tragedy which had been written especial
ly for me, and all artistic Paris was at
the theater to see me succeed or fail.
was pOrtraying the part of woman OF
the social world renowned for her ex-
quisite clothes. To emphasize this point
l had departed from my usual rule of
wearing only subdued tones and had
superb frOck of rose red satin. The gown
was a dream, my acting met with APP
plause and as the final curtain fell L
felt l had earned triumph But this IL
est friend and greatest teacher, Sarah
Bernhardt.
The greatest of all actresses had been
in the audience and had witnessed the
whole play. At the end she came behind
the scenes, as / supposed to congratu-
late me on my success.
Bravo. ma cherie." she cried. kissing
me on both cheeks. you have done we'll
All. but those boots Why did you wear
such hor-ree-ble things to spoil your
nf1t,t Thnr- war
TERRIBLE
''Boots! I explained, holding out my
feet. incased in plain black satin slippers.
What is the matter with these?'
Matter" echoed she whom you have
caIled-and rightly so-"the divine Sa-
rah" Matter? They are the slippers OF
a plebeian. No woman Of the world, no
woman of exquisite taste such as you are
would wear those mean
ingless things. Would she spend a thou
sand francs on gown and ten on the
slippers which accompany II? Non,
thousand times non! Do they spell reck-
less extravaganza. those somber, sad
things? Do they look like the purchase
OF a woman of great wealth? All. my
poor child. YOU have looked so high in
your art that you have overlooked your
feet. Do not do again If you would
be a real artist"
And though these words may seem an
eXaggeration to you. Sarah Bernhardt
was right. A real artist thinks of every
little detail. She would have worn slip
pers as extravagant in finish as her SUI
pero gown. And l had failed because L
had forgotten this detail
This little incident took place many
years ago, but / have never forgotten
the lesson learned that night. l re-
solved then and there to take as much
trouble with the accessories of my cos
tune ! did with the gown itself. And
this should be the motto of every woman,
no matter what her station in life.
Especially will the girl with a limited
income find her salvation in these aces
SORES. 1t is through them that she will
onous and by them that she will present
all times. even though she may possess
but two gowns to her name. If SHE is
clever in the selection of boots and slip
pers. wells and ties. jabots and frills she
can face the world with the assurance
that she is well dressed. She must always
remember first, that they must be always
fresh: second, that they may be as odd
as she plea ses. and third. that the law of
harmony does not exist concerning ac-
cesSories.
AS for myself. / allow whatever love of
eccentricity there may be in my nature to
assert itself in these little things. ] have
told you that | like the simple. subdued
clothes. because | think they accentuate
womens greatest charm personality. But
she may show to advantage that other at
traction originality-in the little odds and
ends of dress which go so far toward
making the costume supreme success
or a complete failure. j love a queer lit