The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-11-16
Effect of Dress In Business
 Life
By BETH McILVAINE


 LIVERY woman in business, if she
 I stays long enough, is bound to- lose
 something of her feminine allure, her irresistible sortness and depend sncy, that divine subtlety which dis tinguishes her from the male," laments c regretful manufacturer in an article on women.
 He pictures business as a voracious animal feeding on feminity. In his eyes the business woman acquires hard, brilliant finish from her ma terialistic contact and becomes in man. ner and in attitude de-sexed, if I may supply the term.
 I won't argue with him; he may be right But his contention opens for dis eussion a point wish to raise. Grant ing that he is right, to what extent is business woman's dress responsible?
 Ever since the advent of women into business, the newcomer has been advised to discard feminine fine feathers and disguise her charms in the office equlva- lent of sackcloth and ashes. Conspicu- ousness has been damned as an active evil, in fact, the most dangerous of any kartorial temptation. Blue, brown and black became the business sisterhood's colors, with red, green and yellow ta- boo until after hours The most modest little frill was drowned on as "unsuit- able"
 The result of this sobering campaign has been the adoption of a sort of busi- ness uniform designed to neutralize wo- mans inborn feminine charm. People have felt that women on entering busi- ness must try to meet men on their own ground, and so have sponsored this uniform, if I may call it such, as a sort of equalizer. At least, wearing it, wom- en would have to stand on their ability and not merely on their status as a woman.
 I think this idea, as much as any other factor, has caused men, especially, to look on the business woman as a type apart, with their essential feminity dim med. The manufacturer whom l quoted is only voicing a common conclu sion.
 As a revolt against this tradition the young girls who have been flooding the business world have brought with them dress styles copied from the fash ionable world and carried to an ex- treme. Silks, velvets, satins are favor ite materials, cut low in the neck, sleeve less and ultra long. Conservatives nave TdSeu III CeHSure, SOHie llTIliS eNcu going so far as to formulate rules for dress and to enforce them. In general, though, this hasn't done much good, and you find the younger business genera tion sporting their "dressy" collars to their hearts content.
 So these are the two general types of women in business, one trying to neutralize their femininity, the other accentuating it.
 They're both right-partly. Neat ness, trimness, cleanliness are sacred commandments to the tailored busi- ness woman. They are conspiciously lacking in the costumes of the other type. On the other hand, the latter dread being lost among the nondescript in business and seek through their bright and feminine clothes to attract attention to themselves. These are the points wherein I believe they're both right.
 Business is surely the survival of the fittest. Lose your individuality, become machine, and find yourself at the bot tom looking up. Personality is more essential in my eyes than mere ability.