The Winslow mail., 1912-09-14
What His
Wife Wears

9A@ SSAnE w OASI q PS1GSs Ea1k
the woman who had the floor, "to any
one who will take my husband off and
seqCsster linn by threat, main forca
az guile long enough for me to buy g
spring and summer wardrobe. It ID
absolutely impossible to do it SO Ions
as he remains at large.
When married John / had no idea
he was so fussy. I think spoiled him
by unwisely complimenting his good
taste and judgment in regard to
clothes, and he got conceited about it.
He shouldn't have taken me seriously,
for q woman has right to say any.
thing nice to man that comes into
her head when she is trying to en-
snare him into matrimonyi If he
played the game fair he would charge
all her compliments up to profit and
loss and use common sense after he
was married just as woman does
but men are so foolish!
Johns conceit was a great shock
to me, because everything / had done
or worn or said had Invariably been q
little better than just all right with
John.
MY awakening came when I pur-
chased the linen dress. found Il in
one Of these exclusive little shops
where they have clothes all ready to
wear that are beyond your widest
dreams of style. The linen dress was
the last cry. | can't exactly describe
it except that it was a coarse, heavy,
natural ecru linen with panels Of
heavy lace to match and an odd Grim.
son suede belt and fascinating snatch
es of thin net let in here and there.
Any woman can tell from this de-.
scrtption that It was exactly the stun
ningest, most unusual thing you can
ever hope to see.
Il simply grabbed it and had It At
ted to me. When it came home
donned It and casually walked out in
fropt Of John,
II hadn't exactly formulated what
expected him to say, but it was some
thing to the effect that he was over
come totally by my air of magnifl-
cence. Instead, he was strangely ST.
lent. / had not expected him to be so
overcome,
Don't you like it?" hinted.
John coughed. I looked at him ia
surprise. Then he took hold Of q
sleeve with gingerly thumb and fore
finger. What is tt?' he asked, hesi-
tatingly. 1t looks-er-it looks like
potato sacking. OF couse' he added
hastily and politely, Z know it isn't.
But-er-isn't it Queer?'
"Oh, he tried to be polite, he really
did, But he suffered so while he was
doing 1t that, having tender heart,
[ couldn't stand 1t. He simply couldn't
see that linen dress, To him it was
monstrosity, a blot on the landscape
and at the thought of his wife appear
ing In garment which to him was go
ing to draw the scorn and amazed
amusement Of the populaee was unen-
durable.
"So long as that dress was in the
house John was nervous, anguished
and tormented, so l took 1t back. +
told the store people that I'd pay them
to take it back, because If kept it
knew it meant divorce in the family,
but they were very nice and said 7
could change it. So bought lovely
taffeta gown. 1t was changeable silk
with puf1ngs and quillings and q
quaint lace 1chu,
my dear, you'll never believe me,
but when I put that dress on John
just sat and looked puzzled. Isn't it
terribly old fashioned? he asked, tim
idly. I-remember my great aunt in q
dress like that. Why don't you get
something new and stylish?'
Wasn't that hopeless? I explained
to him carefully that it was the latest
style, but John vowed that it was an
cient and that they had imposed on
me and anyhow he disliked change
able silk. So ] sold 1t to my sister for
SIS less than I paid for It, I was now
! SIS to the bad, as the second dress
had cost $40 more than the original
linen. / told John that when he could
take a day off and accompany me on a
shopping tour I'd buy dress, but un-
til then l would devote my attention
to hats.
II got perfect love of hat with
q bunch Of these white uncurled os-
trich feathers on that everybody
knows cost like sixty-and John threw
up his hands! He said looked as
though I had been caught out in the
rain and hadn't money enough to get
the feathers recurled. He raved SO
about it that sent the hat back.
''Then 1 sat down in front of John,
and by painstaking labor extracted
from him the description of the kind
Of clothes he would like to see me in.
He said he liked tailory things with
shirt waists that had collars and cuffs
they've been out five years you
know-and sailor hats. John said that
nothing on earth looked so trim and
stylish as a perfectly plain sailor hat
What would they do to me at fash
ionable tea If I appeared in such gar
ments?
| ooh M 7 didns+ ae1z Toby, +ha4 Auv.