Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-11-10
Little Talks By
Beatr ice Faufdr
by BEATRICE FAIRFAX

ne OlHeF niSnl L went W see u
play, in which the heroine, news
paper reporter, earning a presum-
able twenty-five dollars week,
came to work in blue serge dress
the smartest place on the avenue"
And it was priced $1S5.
After that the play never once
produced on me, or any of the other
women in our party, semblance of
reality.
Everywhere in life women have
to dress the part they fill in order
suitably to fill it. You can't get
away from the fact that things
either blend with your background
or stand out from it in pleasantscon-
trast or are thrown out from it with
| the sizzling effect of a Roman candle
| in u garden of sweet Williams and
clipped hedges.
A tailor-made suit at a ball is
likely to be more conspicuous than
the most daring decolletage there
present. A bathing suit on Fifth
avenue would start a riot and the
patrol wagon.
But each in its place is a delight
to the eye and likely to be unmarked
| in a way that condemns even while
! it singles out-unless, of course, it
has a detail as conspicuous as a
gingham pinafore would be as a
| skating costume.
W. H. Il r..s
mine came to me with funny little
tale of woe.
I'm in wrong at the office and
all over nothing" she said. It's a
dandy new place, too, and I want
the girls to like me, for they're such
a nice crowd
Tell me how you got in wrong"
I replied, And We'll see if we can't
figure out some way of getting in
right again."
TT all started by me going to the
country to spend Sunday" replied
Hazel. ut was the last warm Sun
day of the season, or so | imagined
so | thought / might as we'll get one
last wearing out of my best summer
i dress. It's a pale gray @corgette
embroidered in navy blue and it has
u sleeveless coat of blue satin. |
| wear blue satin tam and gray
suede pumps and stockings with it,
l made the tam and mother did all
| the embroidering, so it cost a whole
lot less than it looks. Still didn't
want to have it Spoiled
What happened?" l asked en-
| couragingly.
II got up late Monday morning.
And there was the costume I'd worn
| Sunday So l put it on. And every
| one looked 9t 81 If thpxy
dered how 1 could afford such
| clothes. I felt conspicuous enough,
goodness knows.
Then, when it poured at closing
| time, | thought I'd better take a
taxi and spend Il dollar twenty to
get home rather than ruin my best
dress for next summer as well as
this. And we all came out together!
And I invited two of the girls who
live up my way to come along. And
they looked at me as if [ was
poisonous and said the subway was
good enough for them.
Now they all avoid me. And |
know they think I'm either hor-
rible bluff who's been trying to put
it over them and pretend to be more
than she is-or else that I'm
| horrid"
| THAT is an ugly situation" I
agreed, knowing just how uncom-
Portable it might make Hazel. And
you'll have to do your best to live
| it down"
| How can To- she groaned.
well. first of ALL" I replied,
You must never again come into
the office in a blouse like this one.
You can see right through the
tucked net to the satin under
| bodice"
IT'S meant to show
"Underthings are NOT meant to
show" 1 returned severely. "A lot
of silly girls differ with me, but
men in offices don't. One called on
me not long ago and asked me if I
couldn't hint to his stenographer
that her blue serge dress was office
wear and that her transparent geor-
| gette blouses weren't.
But it isn't the men who bother
me-" protested Hazel. Its the
girls. And yet they wear things like
this all the time.
But, dear, you offended their
standard of suitability once. So
now they judge you with a certain
infieXibility they wouldn't want to
have employed where they're con-
cerned. Just you wear neat blue
serge dresses or tailored blouses to
the oilCe IOT tne next IOuf weeks
and make yourself inconspieuous
and a typical. quiet little wage
Garner and your one offense will be
forgotten.
But keep on offending good taste,
even if it's just along the lines that
all the rest of them offend, and
you'll keep in their minds a critical
conspicuousness that you don't
dress like poor but honest work
ing-girl," / said.
And that goes-for all the rest OF
us as well as for Hazel.