Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-16
HOW ABOUT DRESS
ECONOMY FOR MEN?
BY EDNA K. .WOOLEY.

From time immemorial man has been
preaching about womans dress
He has criticised it, condemned it and
made unkind remarks about it's cost. And
SO inconsistent is man that while he
condemns and complains, he invariably
selects the most stylishly and expensive
ly gowned woman he knows to escort.
l wouldn't be bit surprised if it would
some time develop that the real reason
Eve made herself fig leaf garment was
because Adam had been calling her i'm
modest for not wearing anything at all
But when Eve started to dress she also
started the trouble, and we may be sure
that Adam had something to say about
extravaganza when she spent too much
time fashioning new garments, and that,
no matter what kind of style she in
vented, he ridiculed 1t or found fault
with it.
At any rate, ever since Adam man has
been telling woman how she ought to
dress, and how much, or rather how little.
she ought to spend on dress.
If women dressed according to the price
schedule set down by masculine notions
she'd be CARRIED in three-cent calico, bar
gain store shoes and ten-cent-store mil
linery AS for her lingerie-well, she
could save flour sacking for that.
Flour sacking is very useful. 1t holds
-four in the first place, which a woman
can use to feed the brute" In a years
time one might accumulate enough flour
sacking for a complete set of undergar-
ments. And flour sacking wears We'll
OF course. if one buys flour by the bar
rel Oh, well!
But what we're really getting at is
this:
While women have now and then made
remarks concerning masculinity's sarb,
and have been Immediately scoffed at and
sat down upon for SO doing, they have
not taken upon themselves the duty of
regulating mans clothing. That is they
haven't until recently an organization OF
Baltimore women opined that men ought
to exercise economy in dress as well as
women. They figured that a man ought
to be able to dress respectfully on $50 a
year.
Joy, Think of. father sitting down and
turning" his last years trousers. making
over his shirts into the latest styles, con-
sulting his bosom friend concerning the
newest cuts of coats and haunting bar
gain counters to get the material Tor
new suit. Oh, bliss
So far it has been mother who has done
the patching, and turning. and dyelng,
and making over. and bargain hunting.
If the truths told. mother mas oeeh eA
pected to dress herself on much less than
$50 a year, while father has the excuse
of being required to put on front to
keep a good job
Father, in fact. has to have new
overcoat at least every other year, and
he couldn't think of spending less than
$50 for it q see the Baltimore women
think $3.50 is enough for an overcoat.
A business suit seldom. costs less than
So and he must have two of them each
year.
Any self-respecting man pays at least
8 annually for a derby (set down at sl.oO
by the Baltimoreans). and his summer
straw is anywhere from $50 up. instead
of the crop at 391s cents advocated by
our Maryland sisters.
And his sox! The Baltimoreans didn't
saw anything about soX.
Sox cost money the way the average
man buys 'em. He. gets silk if he dares
And he needs lots of them.
Also, what man can do with one pair
of shoes at $3 in year? Mother, OF
course, can shuttle around the house In
any old thing but father must have suit
able covering for his No. lis, according
to the seasons. and the amount OF walk
ing his job entails.
Man hasn't been thought the eXtrava-
CANT sex when it came to clothes, but
take a day off some time, consult few
few tailors and haberdashers. and get
hold Of a rich mans valet. Then maybe
you'll open your eyes
AS for the styles of mems clothing
saw. when one thinks about 1t they're plum
ridiculous, aren't they? And not SO mod
est either.