Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-02-15
What to Wear and How to Wear It
Mary Mannerng Gives Some Valuable Advice Women the
Way that They Can Dress Stylishly as Well
as Inexpensivey, l
BY MARY MANNERING.

DO we women ever get beyond the
clothes question? ..
Perhaps some aspiring souls have sue
cceded in not caring about what kind
Of garments deeked their mortal bodies
or how those garments were cut and
fitted. but l have not reached those
heights as yet, and | hope between our
selves that l never shall.
To me even the most exalted souls
lose something OF their power II
they are clad In unsightly clothes,
and I'm sure always sympathized with
the little heather child whose education
had been undertaken by a high-minded
and self-sacrificed woman missionary.
When in later years the child was
asked " she remembered her teacher,
she said: oh, yes, she was the one
who wore such funny hatsl"
Alas for all her good Intentions. Her
instruction was forgotten.
The good precepts she tried to Inn
press upon her charge fell upon idle
ears while the child's entire atteu-
ton was rivlted upon the one ridicu-
lous and hence interesting point Of her
teachers APPAREL. her hat.
Every actress realizes the tremendous
Importance which clothes play In max
Ing or marring her success on the stage
This is especially true in plays where
the frock question seems TO the audience
to be very important one. OF course
In costume plays, plays which occurr at
some historic and picturesque period.
there the frocks and costumes Of the
epoch give the old time atmosphere,
Take the modern play. however. and
the clothes question Is really more diff
cult. for the actress tries to suggest her
character. her mood and her occupation
by her froeks. and. naturally she wants
to look well besides.
The Ideals OF good dressing to me are
appropriateness, beauty and character.
which can all be symbollsed by adapting
the fashions to ones self and not one
self to the whim OF fashion.
- iihnt bc AHSN OF
all. The most beautiful gown in the
world worn at the wrong time would
look ridiculous, and there can be no real
beauty without the sense OF the fitness
OF things.
As a sex We have progressed tremen-
dously since we adopted short skirts for
the street Now. when we see a woman
trailing a long skirt through the dust our
sense Of beauty and fitness is rudey
shocked.
Whether on the stage or in actual life
the girl who is earning her daily bread.
and nowadays she Is becoming the
heroine Of many successful play, must
dress In suitable frOcks.
They must be pretty as well. but they
must be as well adapted to her occupa-
tion as the automobile toys In which later
on she drives off as the wife OF the NIL
lionaire.
needn't dwell on the subject OF
beauty. for | take II as granted that any
woman reading these words wants to
look as well as she can or she would skip
to some other part OF the paper.
Now for the character Of a dress. This
Is absolutely necessary on the stage be-
cause the actress has to impress the
audience at once with the sort Of person
she Is supposed TO be. and clothes help
10 do this. II she Is light, frivolous
little butterfly lady she will wear clothes
that match her part. lovely ruffiy things
OF nlmy. floating materials. all cut up
in short lines.
II she Is playing the part Of a noble.
dignified character her frocks Will show
the long unbroken lines which in all
times have been accepted by artists as
symbolizing nobility.
Such a character will wear simple
clothes. no matter what the period OF
the play or what the fashions are. Sim
pie clothes don't neet ssarly mean cheap
ones.
On the contrary-the greatest dress
makers in the world strive for simplicity
Of effect, but no one ever said their
bills were Low. Il Is this wonderful sim
plicity Of line which Is for the unskiIled
dressmaker to copy. The ordinary dress-
maker seems to go by this rule. When
in doubt. use more trimming.
That is why so many charming women
go about bedecked like Christmas trees
with gewkaxts hanging and dangling
from every inch Of material
Naturally one does not see that they
are really very pretty women. for one
Is so engrossed in the inspection Of the
marvellous CONNECTIONS which enfold