The Washington times., 1913-12-17
To Defy Fashion Mongers
Demands Courage
By HARYOT HOLT DEY.

one. the nght-haired patron the same as
the dark-haired one. You feel at orce
that Mrs. Carson has secrets. HsI
| words flow. easily. and their cadence is
| to defy your dressmaker. Any woman
! who can do that must have a message
! Mrs. Carson is a kind of walking dele
| gate. She leads you to suspect that
You have all along been doing 1t al
/ wrong. For example:
why do you wear dark. dull. color.
less coats and things on a rainy day."
she demands.
Perhaps you reply that you always
try to save your good clothes when II
rains, and SO you have fallen into the
habit Of not counting the rainy day
costume.
Mrs. Ruth Butts Carson smiles a kind
| of told-you-so smile.
Red for a Rainy Day.
why not wear a bright costume on
a rainy day. she asked. IF you can
| wear red 1 would have you wear a
dark red raincoat, a veil and umbrella
to match. In that way you become a
bright spot in the dull landscape Even
a plain person may add beauty to the
surroundings. There are some places
where contracts are welcome and a
bright coat on a dull, gray day is one
of them.
Black Is impossible" said this apos-
tie of color. BLACK is no color at all.
but the absence of color. The one
quality in a black gown that redeems
1t Is It's expression of unity. When
worn by a woman having a fair, clear
complexion, the contrast is pleasing.
grant you. but in the elderly woman II
only brings out the shadows and ac-
centuates the worst. Even as a symbol
Of sorrow / do not recommend II. Now
white is quite different. White is all
colors, and thus it is becoming to every
body. II brings out the best in eyes
and complexion.
Follow Your Own Eyes.
I'm considering your own color You
should take as a foundation the color
of the eyes and hair and work from
that. You thus can hardly go astray.
Take, for example. the shade of hair
known as auburn. This is a combina-
ton of Vandyke brown, Indian red, and
orange, with the orange predominating.
People of this type may wear a golden
brown safely. and at times a certain
warm shade of pink. Light blue and
should thus be avoided. For blondes,
as a rule, blue should be favored, espe-
cially If the eyes are blue, for that
shade brings out the colOring in the
eyes.
There are certain colors that appeal
10 certain people for some psychological
reason. and it Is nearly always safe to
follow ones taste, unless there is a dis
position to combine the colors of the
til!p. which work out In a startling
fashion in some instances. Unless a
woman informs herself on this subject
OF color and its effect upon the wearer
and the eyewitness. she will do well to
consult n color specialist. The costume
which is from head to foot one color
brings out the best in the wearer. The
Jewels should harmonize with the Cos
tuEe. and nothing should be added to
it which has no reason for being. Lines
color and every other item in a woman's
gown should be an expression of her If
v omen would only make a study of this
there certainly would be for them an
addeG interest in life"
A Guardian of Whims.
Mrs Carson thought that when a
wonan had plenty of money to crafty
every whim in buying every pretty, ap-
pealing thing she saw, that this woman
should have a guardian appointed
II am not dress reformer," con-
cluded Mrs. Ruth Butts Carson. II am
merely the bearer of a message along
fashion lines. The time was when the
years helped 20 classify women in what
1t was appropriate for them to wear.
But we have plunged so daringly into
conb.. that it is time some one took the
matter up and helped women To under
stand the psychology of color"
Mrs. Carson Is to a certain extent a
pioneer in the field. She has studied
many years abroad, making n specially
Of the history of The Renaissance sculp-
tIrr and painting, and it was in the
course of work in that direction that she
became impressed with the everyday
side of the use Of colors and its applica-
ton to dress.