Year: 1872




Drawing-ROOm Exposed.


. A writer of more than usually keer


perceptions discourses as follows of the
follies and absurdities of those who en-


deayor to follow the mandates of fashion


but who have no comprehension Of the


Requirements of true art in the matter


of dress


4 To a man who has a quick eye for the


picturesque, or, let us say, the appropri


ate, the violations of taste he meets in


modern drawing-rooms are more disa-
.Sreeable-they are CHASTITY. am say
ing Hothing about indecency. That is


hardly o portion of my present subject


But why, if woman has a neck like q
skeleton, must she tell the world so9


Wny, if fate has made her grow stouter
than. it is permitted to be, must she
squeeze and fold her fat into a tight,
low dress because it is fashion? Why


must she draw a hard line around her


shoulders, that seems to cut her in two,
and wear sleeves which are mere straps
to keep her gown on, without caring,
without knowing, whether her arms are
models? Why must she wear trimmings
of great Os and KS and yandykes on
her skirt, so that ct little distance
the first thing about her that strikes
the eye is the trimming2 Why, it very
tall, must she take the arm Of a very lit
tie man and make herself and him look
absurd? Why will she draw attention to
her want of color by wearing red or ar
senic green. Why, with red hair, is
her dress pink Why. when in a pale
dress. does she lean against the wall
which thc barbarity Of custom has pa
percd with white9 Why, with black hair
does she carry heavy burden OF jet
flowers, combs, and impossibly thick
plaits that make her head look like an
elephant's on an antelopc's body? Why
will she trust to the very moderate gifts
nature has endowed her with, to light
against the most abnormal disedYanta.
ges? Why, why but enough; these arc
only some of the insane mistakes that
nearly all girls commit, many Of them
Girls with artistic tastes and capacities,
In every direction except dress, whose
eyes you may sec chine with pleasure at
A sunset or bean-hoWsr, which, Revbr-
theless, they steadily refuse 20 take q
hint from. ft.sH n,tH.


VERY few women know what style ci
dress suits them best, or what colors;
even those who study the art study it
wrongly. One may often see woman
who has the makings OF q dignlhed god
dess Sc poser en- coguette, or 3 little crea-
ture attempt to be stately who eau only
be simple. The best grace is perfect
naturalness. Our manners form them
selves, but we must form our setting OF
them. Nature can do much, but not
everything. Art should do something:
You must choose suitable colors and
suitable shapes for your dresses; you
must study the room you are to appear
in. if you ever mean to look right; anR
if YOU know what knd Of room you
are about to 5e seen in, or if you know
that it is one Of the modern white and
glaring drawing-rOoms. Q plain black
dress (but never with low NECK and short
sleeVes) will always be safe. The reeso1
that sn ordinary low neck with short
sleeves looks worse in black than in any
other color, Is because the hard line
round the busts and arms is too great a
contrast to the skin. A low neck always
lessons the height, aud q dark dress
made thus lessons it still more, and it
strikes the artistic eye as cutting the
body in pieces, in this way: If you see
A fair person dressed in low dark dress, /
against light background
some WAY of, the effect will be that ofan
empty dress hung up, the face, neck
and arms being scarcely discernable. |
On the other hand, against a dark |
background the head Gnd bust will