Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-07-19

-T behooves every woman to take
a little time out of the stir Of things
and take an inventory Of her rela-
ton to clothes. The inactivity OF
the summer season offers the best
chance at leisure.
OF morals, of mentality, of character,
I do not speak. That is not the pro-
vince of a stranger. but an inventory Of
clothes and Of ones self in them, of the
money needed to dress well. Of the pit
falls one should avoid and the effort to
overcome the temptation of going along
the line of least resistance-of these
things we can all talk together.
Each woman has her own experiences.
No one ia so blessed with money and
taste and judgment that she has no mis-
takes to her credit in the matter of cloth
ing herself.
Some women are born with the clothes
sense just as they are with the card or
the music sense, but they err.
Some women have an easier path
through the maze of fashions than those
who struggle wildly and fretfully with
each recurring fashion.
There are other women-many Of them
who feel so hopelessly out of the run
ming when it comes to fashionable dress
peting with their neighbors and either
negligently or dogmatically wear what
ever comes their way.
Taking Stock of Ones Clothes.
Possibly the most discomforting knowl-
edge that can come to one who is search
ing for light on how the well dressed
woman manages to look so continuously
well dressed. is that she leaves nothing
to chance, does nothing in hurry. The
other woman always argues that she has
not the time in life to attend to her cos
tumery, and its arrangement on herself.
regarding it as a serious matter; to
which the other woman retorts that she
can never hope for good results under
that theory.
The crux of the situation lies there; no
woman Is well dressed whosdoes not take
clothes seriously, not as the end and aim
of life, which is a dolls business, but as
money spent
One admires such judgment. It shows
q sense of good management that can
never be put down to the woman who,
saying she has not the time to give to a
matter of so little Importance as clothes,
spends her husbands hard-earned dol
lars on frock that is neither becoming
nor worth its price.
When one argues with this type Of
woman and 1t abounds = she usually
takes the attitude that she hasn't suf11-
Gent vanity to pay attention to these
things And It is almost impossible to
not vanity. is at the root OF wise pur-
chases of clothes.
This is a lesson she should learn 1t
may not be her own money that she is
spending, and. to spend anothers money
will fully and wastefully is wrong from .
healthy moral point of view.
A Lesson to Learn.
After she takes this idea to heart and
looks at the valueless wardrobe she may
have assumed during the winter, and
wonders why she never has the right
frocks for the right occasions, possibly
she may find 1t wise to sit down and take
stock of her costImery and its relation
to her character as well as to her ply
steal appearance
There is reason for tangie in every
thing. Few conditions are brought about
solely through happenings. And when
one Is badly dressed at all times, Is also
fretted about clothes and is found want
ing whenever special occasion arises.
there is often remedy to be found II
one will thoroughly analyze her faNlngs
Few women like to acknowledge this,
for il is easier to lay the blame on the
styles or the pocketbook. or to make that
first and last excuse. q lack OF VANITY.
The real truth is that it Is easier to as
sumo the personal responsibility, for
then the remedy Is at hand. We can't
change other influences. but we can
change ourselves; OF rather we can ap-
ply the remedy.
So probably. the time may not be ILL
spent in taking stock of ourselves and
finding out what was the matter last
winter and spring and applying to our
wardrobe and its consequent expense the
same business method that a man ap-
plies to his financial affairs. 1t will help
even when a woman has had a success
full season. She knows just where she
stands and what counted against failure.
The Gown. for the Occasion.
One of the greatest failures of most
wardrobes is the gown purchased for a
social affair without due thought. A
wedding. a luncheon, a dance comes up;
and one rushes from shop to shop to
find a ready-to-wear gown: finally, in
the despair that accompanies fatigue,
physical and mental, one buys gown
which is not only wrong, but which one
despises from that moment.
1t looks very well in the shop. and the
slight alterations seem easy to do until
one begins them, and then they assume
the proportions of problem in Euclid.
Altering a ready-to-wear gown is one OF
the most annoying and tedious pieces Of
dressmaking work, one which even the
experienced dressmakers often refuse to
attempt.
The amateur, however embarks upon 1t
without firm knowledge of its shoals and
is often wrecked The gown never ap-
pears well. one always has the feeling
that it cost twice much as it Ia
worth, and one vows never to do 1t again.
All. those vows. We all have made
them. The truth We should take to heart
is that it is far better policy TO refuse
an invitation that is a hurry call for q
new gown than to accept it unless one
is sure of ones judgment and pocket
book 1t is quite too often a costly pleas
ure.
1t is on this rock that so many ward
robes wreck. And this is difficult
truth to digest evidently. from the num-
Der of disasters that occur. An excellent
motto to put in each closet 10 one which
warns us to think well over the pur-
chase of every frock.
Far better go without the wonderful
bargain that just suits the purse than
to spend a useless dollar. Enough of
these in one year will count up to the
price of one good gown.
Too Many Clothes.
The doctors and race experts say we
eat too much. and it might be wisely
added that nearly every woman buys too
many clothes. Each woman will deny
this assertion with emphasis, because
she remembers the frequent occasions
for which she had nothing to wear. She
has boughtstoo much. however, when she
has two useless suits or frocks hanging
in the closet