Book of Etiquette Volume Ii Part 17

The att.i.tude of a number of people is expressed in the old limerick:

As for looks I know I'm no star, There are men better looking by far; But my face I don't mind it For I am behind it.

It's the folks out in front that I jar.

It is worth while now and then to think of the "folks out in front," and pity for them, if no other feeling, should inspire one to be at all times as well dressed as is within the compa.s.s of one's means and ability.

MEN'S DRESS

In the morning when he goes out to business a man should wear a plain serviceable suit of the prevailing cut. If he is invited to an elaborate morning entertainment he may wear the regular cutaway coat and the usual accessories that go along with it. It is always best to follow the local customs with regard to dress and it is absurd for one man to appear at a formal morning affair in the cutaway coat when he knows that all of the other gentlemen present will be in their simple business suits.

For formal afternoon affairs the cutaway is worn while for dinner in the evening full dress is prescribed as it is for any formal entertainment which takes place after six o'clock. To informal garden parties and other similar affairs in the afternoon during the summer, flannels may be worn.

There are special sporting outfits designed for the man who golfs, plays tennis, rides or motors and the best guide to all of these is a reliable haberdasher. It is his business to keep up with the details of dress and since these are constantly in process of change it is obviously impossible for a book of etiquette to lay down precise rules as to what should be worn.

If a man is to escort a woman he should adapt his costume to hers. If she is to wear evening dress he should also, and if he is in doubt as to whether she is to wear evening dress or a simpler costume, he should ask her. In many cases it rests with the individual which shall be the order of the day.

WOMEN'S DRESS

The woman who goes to business must dress inconspicuously. Clean, freshly laundered white s.h.i.+rt waists with simple dark skirts form the best of outfits. But with laundry bills at prohibitive prices, a subst.i.tute must be found for them for the girl in moderate circ.u.mstances. For this reason it is more sensible to wear dark serge, silk, or satin fas.h.i.+oned into severely simple frocks relieved perhaps by white linen or organdie collars and cuffs.

The woman who entertains at home in the morning wears a simple frock of the sort in which she may appear on the street. Similarly, in the afternoon unless the occasion is an elaborate one, when she may wear an elegant reception gown or an informal tea, when she may wear one of the exquisite creations especially designed for such occasions.

There is a semi-evening dress which may be worn to afternoon affairs or to dinner and to all evening entertainments except very elaborate ones.

For these a woman's gown should be _decollete_ and should be of beautiful material. The color and design are at the discretion of the individual but it is well to remember that those which are simplest are most effective.

It is trite to remark that a woman's crowning glory is her hair, but it is true. The manner in which it is arranged should depend upon the kind of costume she is wearing. Only in the evening should she wear heavy bandeaux, aigrettes, etc.

Scattered about elsewhere in these volumes under the theater, etc., more details are given as to the proper kind of dress to wear. Remember this: it is always better to be underdressed than to be overdressed.

THE STORY OF DRESS

It is interesting to note how closely the history of dress parallels the history of civilization. With the awakening of shame came the virtue of modesty. With modesty came the desire for clothes, and clothes brought thoughts of higher ideals, wider desires than those merely of the animal. Out of the desire to cover the body grew the love of decoration, of beauty. Slowly, through the ages, as the love of beauty advanced and was cultivated, an artistic sense developed which is the very flower of our civilization.

Perhaps the most effective way to tell the story of dress is to make this very striking comparison. First let us go back to the time of the prehistoric cave-woman. In her breast the first thought of shame has stirred, and she makes for herself a covering--a dress. She makes it of the skin of a newly killed animal. It is raw and ugly and unpleasant.

But the owner feels naught but pride in its owners.h.i.+p, for it is a good skin, impervious alike to the ravages of sun and rain--and its style is exactly like that of the other women in the tribe.

Now let us stand for a moment on a corner of Fifth Avenue, New York's famous avenue of fas.h.i.+on. We see a modern young woman on her way to the theater. From the tips of her French-heeled slippers to the jaunty little hat on her head, she is--perfect. Her gown seems to express in every line the story of her own personality. The color-scheme might well have been invented by Mother Nature herself. The wrap she wears is of sable furs--but how different from the furs of her sister of ancient days! Each skin is exquisitely glossed and dressed, and the whole matched to perfection.

Another young woman pa.s.ses. She is differently attired in trig tailored suit and smart toque. A business girl. Also perfect. And countless others, streaming endlessly along the wide avenue, men and women, defying in the expression of their own taste and individuality, the decrees of fas.h.i.+on; interpreting silks, cottons, fabrics and furs to harmonize with their own particular personalities, and the story of civilization is told in the clothes they wear.

THE DAWN OF FAs.h.i.+ON

It was Cowper who said, "While the world lasts, Fas.h.i.+on will lead it by the nose." And really, hasn't Fas.h.i.+on been a stern monarch throughout the ages? It commanded the Chinese women to have tiny feet--and tiny feet they had to have although it meant months of torture to the young child. It commanded the monstrous ruff of the Elizabethan period, and decreed dignified wigs for the gentlemen of the Colonial days. It decided upon the mantle of the patriarch, the toga of the Roman, the fez of the Turk. Its endless whims and vagaries made the study of dress one of the most curious and fascinating in the world.

How was Fas.h.i.+on created, you ask? To answer thoroughly, we must once more go back to those distant cave-man days when dress itself had its inception. At first one simple costume for both men and women distinguished each tribe. There was nothing different in the way the skins were thrown over the body, no embellishments to render any one costume different from those worn by the others. Even at a relatively late date, uniformity of dress among people of one race was like a national characteristic; it was worn by all.

But slowly, as the tiny beam of civilization struggled onward and upward, there came a desire for something more than merely a protection against cold and rain. There came a very intense desire for ornamentation and personal adornment. Thus we find men and women in Central Africa decorating their bodies with stripes of paint, and those who were still more "fas.h.i.+onable" deforming themselves with most weird series of cicatrices on their bodies and faces. In New Guinea we find women who do not indulge in clothing at all, ashamed to appear in public without bracelets on their arms and legs, and ornaments on their heads.

So intense did this love of ornament grow among women, that they began to cover their bodies with fur, feathers, sh.e.l.l, beads and countless ornaments. As late as the year 400 the primitive desire for self-adornment is evident. In that year, it is recorded that the wife of the Emperor Honorius died, and when her grave was reopened in 1544, the golden tissues of her shroud were melted and amounted in weight to thirty-six pounds.

Men and women alike hesitated to think for themselves in those earlier periods. Thus, instead of creating "styles" for themselves, they chose the easier method of imitating what others wore--changing it just enough to meet with their own requirements, to satisfy their own undeveloped tastes. One tribe copied what another wore, changing it only slightly according to whim. We find that man soon realized that the acc.u.mulation of coverings on his body hindered him in his strenuous activities. It was quite natural, then, that simplicity should dominate his attire, while to woman was left the development of the decorative art.

Fas.h.i.+on was born--and it has remained undisputed ruler ever since.

THE FAs.h.i.+ONS OF TO-DAY

It is not so much in the Fas.h.i.+on of days gone by that we are interested, but in the very delightful fas.h.i.+ons of to-day. We all know that the love of beauty is inherent in all women--just as the pride of personal appearance is inherent in all men. It is a heritage brought down through generations of slowly developing culture. And we find to-day that Fas.h.i.+on is the means of expressing individuality.

It would indeed be a Herculean task to attempt to write a discourse on the ever-changing dictates of Fas.h.i.+on, on the constant whims and vagaries of Style. Each season brings forth striking new dress innovations--new colorings, new draperies, new lines. What is in vogue to-day is cast aside to-morrow as "out-of-date."

In the world of good society, dress plays an important part in the expression of culture. There is a proper dress for afternoon wear, and another for evening functions. There are certain costumes for the wedding, and others for the garden fete. The gentleman wears one suit to business, and another to dinner. Where civilization has reached its highest point, there has dress and fas.h.i.+on reached its finest and most exquisite development.

But instinct can be carried to excess. Inherent love of beauty can be so abused that it becomes a sign of vanity. Fas.h.i.+on can be made a series of fads, and style an excuse for eccentricities. It is because men and women, and especially women, are so eager to adopt any new style creation offered to them by the vast army of "authorities," so impatient always for something new, new--that the dress of to-day has earned the censure of students of sociology. "Supply the demand" has ever been the slogan of the producers, while they strive in every way to increase the demand.

And yet, the study of dress is a beautiful one. Women are never so lovely as when they are dressed well. Men are never so attractive as when their garments are faultless. There is something romantic in the gown and veil of the bride, just as there is something delightfully refres.h.i.+ng in the sight of a young girl daintily attired on a hot Summer's day. There is poetry in dress, just as there is in a towering cathedral or in a well-molded statue.

HARMONY IN DRESS

One of the most important, in fact, _the_ important principle of dress is harmony. Nature itself is a glorious example of all that is harmonious. Picture, for instance, the delicate pansy, with its soft blend of greens and yellows and purples. Think of the exquisite china-aster with its pale colorings of violet and pink. And the many-hued rainbow that glorifies the sky with a sudden brilliance. How utterly irresistible are these harmonies of Nature, and how well we can all profit by her example!

The spirit of the modern dress seems to be more definitely centered around "sensation" than harmony. We see sport skirts worn with high-heeled shoes, pinks indulged in where navy blue or dark brown would be more appropriate, elaborate motifs and decorations where simplicity should have been. And we see women, priding themselves upon being fas.h.i.+onable, wearing gowns that are pretty enough, but that on them are completely out of harmony.

The reason for this is that so many women, and men too, accept the dictates of Fas.h.i.+on without stopping to determine whether or not these new creations are suitable to their own particular type. They do not realize that to be fas.h.i.+onable does not mean to follow conscientiously every new fad, but to adjust the prevailing style to conform with the lines of their individual faces and forms. To ill.u.s.trate: it is ridiculous for the very slim young lady to wear a severe straight-line frock simply because it is the fas.h.i.+on, but she can adapt the straight-line effect to her own figure, and add a bit of fluffiness.

Similarly, the stout woman need not wear tremendous, voluminous ruffles and flounces because Fas.h.i.+on decrees that they shall be worn, but she may gain the desired effect by using them in moderation.

Why is it that a gown may look thoroughly beautiful on a manikin, but have an entirely different effect when you put it on? Because you have distinct personality, you have little peculiarities of line and coloring that require special consideration. To select lines that harmonize with the lines of your body, colors that harmonize with your own coloring, and styles that harmonize with your particular type, is to dress well and attractively. Seek harmony first--and style afterward.

IMPORTANCE OF COLOR

"White was made for brides," but that is no reason why we, all of us, cannot enjoy it in its cool daintiness, youthful simplicity. White may always be worn--by young and old, at party and dance, in morning and afternoon. It is, and always will be, the ideal color.

But Fas.h.i.+on, in a different mood, demands many hues both soft and brilliant. And here again, whether she dictates pale pink or vivid scarlet, one must be guided by one's own sense of taste and harmony.

The colors of the dress must blend with the natural colors if beauty is to be obtained. Remarkable effects, as startlingly beautiful as the somber afterglow of the setting sun, can be obtained by the correct use of color. It may be contrast or harmony--but there must be a perfect blend.

To ill.u.s.trate for a few individual types: the sallow-complexioned brunette must never wear yellow, even though it is the favorite color of the season, for it brings out more clearly the yellow lurking in the sallowness of her cheeks. The person with "coal black" hair must avoid blues, light and dark; the colors that most become her are crimson, orange, dark red. Pink is the ideal color for the blond woman with warm coloring; black for the woman with fair skin. Pink and green are for youth; purple and black are for age. The other colors may be used according to the artistic sense of the wearer.

In selecting material for a gown, the fas.h.i.+onable modiste will first consider the eyes of the lady who is to wear it. Though few but the artist realize it, the eyes are the keynote of the entire costume. They determine whether the dress shall be frivolous or demure, gay or somber, vivid or soft. The color of the hair, also, is important in deciding the color of the gown itself. The soft colors--pink, green, violet, blue--are admirably adapted to blue eyes and light hair while the more brilliant colors are suitable for dark eyes and black hair.

So large a part does color play in the creating of fas.h.i.+ons that one must give it correspondingly careful consideration in adapting it to one's complexion and hair. A wrong color has the alarming propensity of marring the beauty of the most charming gown--even as the use of the right color enhances the beauty of the most simple gown. With harmony, style and color the gown needs only the final touch of _personality_ to make it perfect. And it is that of which we are now going to speak.

THE CHARM OF PERSONALITY