Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-04-19
By Mrs. Wilson woodrow

tions. l have asked many women OF
all ages which item in the list given
above is the supreme necessity.
without exception they gave new
frocks the first place, love the second,
and opinion was about equally divided
between strawberries and daffodils as
the third.
What does a man know about temp
tation anyway? Less than dust to him
are those advance-season frocks be-
hind the simmer of plate glass. And
why are they always more alluring
this year than last? How faultlessly
the skirrc hang on those hipless, wax
goddesses! Bow marvelously the coats
fit their perfect thirty-siX proportions!
In Imagination we see ourselves
walking the stFeets their living repli-
cas-. And then we look at the crowds
of women about us, and we Immediately
shoot the dizzying chute from Olympus
to Avernus, from romance to realism.
When men murmur in our ears the
confidential revelations of a misspent
life they always say, II admit l drink
too much. but it would be impossible
for you to understand the uncontroll-
able craving that comes over me-"
Uncomfortable Craving Comes Four
Times Every Year
That uncomfortable craving" is just
what we do understand. We experience
it about four times a year, when the
spring, summer, autumn ana winter
frocks are put on view.
woman's desire for pretty and sea-
sonabe clothes is a perfectly normal
emotion. But that emotion has been
so pampered and overdeveloped and
overstimulated and overindulged that
we are in the grip of universal hys-
terra.
l will draw picture for you and
you will admit that it illustrates a
common experience in the life of every
woman. You have been doing a hard
days shopping. You emerge from your
last store dissatisfied, dog-t tired, your
nerves frazzled, realizing that there are
probably many days of the same sort
before you ere you will be able to get
your wardrobe properly assembled.
And then as you take your fatigued
feet and discouraged soul homeward
you meet Sister of Charity. How you
envy her. A serviceable, picturesque
uniform for life. and no care for the
morrow's fashions.
business or professional woman is
expected to do the same amount of
work as a man in a similar occupa-
tion, and to do 1t as competently. But
the truth is we do not have the same
0mount of time. Also we waste twice |
the amount of energy.
Why? Because the average man can |
meet all of his engagements of what
in two suits, his day and evening |
clothes; and the slight changes which !
are made in them from season to sea-
son are matters for his tailor to both |
er over, not for him.
I'd like to know any woman who can
do the same.
A woman friend of mine who is in
an occupation where it is necessary for
her to meet many people under vary
ing circumstances tried to solve the
problem. Her wardrobe was to consist
of tailored suits and blouses for day
wear, and one evening gown to be
worn for a whole season.
1t all seemed perfectly simple and
ineffably peaceful. But when she be-
gan appearing at luncheons. teas and
the various afternoon affairs in her
severe street clothes instead of the
chiffons and velvets she had hitherto
worn, and when her unchanging even
friends became solicitously sympa
thetic and she discovered that the ru-
NOR was all about her that her busi
ness was falling and that, threatened
with financial disaster. she was doing
her best to retrench in every way.
The fact of the matter was that she
had doubled her earning that year. But
who would believe it? To practically
all women prosperity is just another
way to spell clothes-a welter of them.
Women's clothes! Every one is aware
what a tremendous part they play So
cially and commercially on the stage
of the world. But the moral effects of
this dominant obsession of the femi-
nine mind have not yet begun to be
calculated.
1t is incontestable that in order to
buy a hat or suit of later fashion than
the one they possess, quantities of
girls go without sufficient and nour
ishing food; and women with husbands
whose incomes do not permit of much
outlay on dress will skimp on the fam
lily table, or fuel supply. or recreations
in order to keep up with the general
standard of dress and the constant and
bewlldering changes of fashion.
The sentimental view usually taken
of the causes which drive women to
the streets for a livelihood is not borne
out by the facts. Statistics shaw that
a large percentage of these women be-
come what they are because of a pas
sion for finery.
The clothes question offers a vast
opportunity for the woman of wealth.
She sets the example and the pace.
With the great designers and tailors
and dressmakers of the world at her
service, she should have achieved beau
ty, simplicity and sanity in her apparel.
She has not done so. She has merely
precipitated Bedlam. OF course, cer-
tain fashions appear now and again
which are beautiful. but they are never
permanent. They are cast aside as rap
idly as those which are ridiculous and
bizarre.
To wear the clothes of the moment,
to be in the picture. to present the
proper silhouette. we women are sac
rifcing our beauty. our comfort, our
individuality and good taste. And we
don't stop there. We are sacrificing
pleasures. games. amusements. travel
lectures, music, books. etc, because we
haven't the money to spend on these
things and on clothes too. And in
many cases we also sacrificing other
people, those we love the best.
There is a little group of English
writer's who are insisting upon a uni
form for women as unvarying in type
as the clothes worn by men. Nor does
that necessarily mean ugly clothes.
Many uniforms are beautiful. A nurses,
for instance, is charming.
Standardized Suits Could Be Made
CheapIy
One of these advocates of Uniform
ity in dress who has apparently studied
the question from all sides. suggests
that wardrobe should consist of an
indoor suit with a hat, and an evening
gown, al of fixed types. Mrs. Midas
and her maid would be dressed exactly