 Preface of what dress makes of us. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Ruth Golding. What Dress Makes of Us by Dorothy Quigley. Preface Did you ever observe, dear comrade, what an element of caricature lurks in clothes? A short round coat on a stout man seems to exaggerate his proportions to such a ridiculous degree that the profile of his manly form suggests the robust bulge of an old jug. A bonnet decorated with loops of ribbon and sprays of grass, or flowers that fall as slant, may give a laughable tipsy air to the long face of a saintly matron of pious and conservative habits. A peaked hat and tight-fitting long-skirted coat may so magnify the meagre physical endowments of a tall slender girl that she attains the lank and longish look of a bottle of hawk. Oh, the mocking Diablery in strings, wisps of untidy hair, queer trimmings and limp hats! Alas! that they should have such impish power to detract from the dignity of woman and render man absurd! Because of his comical attire, an eminent Oxford divine, whose life and works commanded reverence was once mistaken for an ancient New England spinster in emancipated garments. His smoothly shaven face, framed in crinkly grey locks, was surmounted by a soft little round hat from the upturned brim of which dangled a broken string. His long frock coat reached to just above his loosely fitting gaiters. The fluttering string, whose only reason for being at all was to keep the queer headgear from sailing away on the wind, gave a touch of the ludicrous to the boyish hat, which in its turn lent more drolery than dignity to the sanctified face of the old theologian. Who has not seen just such or a similar sight and laughed? Who has not, with the generosity common to us all, concluded these were the mistakes and self-delusions of neighbours, relatives and friends in which we had no share? I understand how it is with you. I am one of you. Before I studied our common errors, I smiled at my neighbour's lack of taste, obstructed my friends, and cast contemptuous criticism upon my enemies. One day I took a look at myself, and realised that I too am laughable on unsuspected occasions. The humbling knowledge of seeing myself objectively gave me courage to speak to the heart of you certain home truths which concern us all, in homely language which we can all understand. That you may discern the comicality and waggery in ill-chosen clothes I have endeavoured to hint to you in these talks some of the ways gugaws and garments make game of us. May you discover that your dress is not making you a laughable object, but if by any chance you should note that your clothes are caricaturing you, take heart, enjoy the joke with the mirth that heals and heartens, and speedily correct your mistakes. The lines of your form, the modelling of your face, are they not worthy of your discerning thought? Truly! Whatever detracts from them detracts from sculpture, painting and poetry, and the world is the loser. A word to the thinking is sufficient. DQ. End of preface. Recording by Rhys Golding. Chapter 1 of What Dress Makes of Us. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. What Dress Makes of Us by Dorothy Quigley. Chapter 1. How Women of Certain Types Should Dress Their Hair. The pleasing but somewhat audacious statement of the clever writer who asserted, in the merciful scheme of nature there are no plain women, is not as disputable as it may seem. Honest husbands, to be sure, greet the information with dissenting guffaws. Gay deceivers reflect upon its truth by gallantly assenting to it, with a mocking little twinkle in their eyes. And pretty women, upon hearing it, remarks intentionally. Blind men and fools may think so. Discerning students of woman kind, however, know that if every woman would make the best of her possibilities, physically, mentally and spiritually, it would be delightfully probable that, in the merciful scheme of nature, there need be no plain women. Have we not, Lord Chesterfield's word for it, that no woman is ugly when she is dressed? It is no unworthy study to learn to make the best of, and to do justice to, oneself, apropos of this to begin, where all fascinating subjects should begin, at the head it behooves every woman who wishes to appear at her best, to study the modeling of her face that she may understand both its defective and perfect lines. By a proper arrangement of her hair, a woman can do much to obscure or soften her bad features, and heighten the charm of her good ones. Romancers have written and poets have sung of the bewitchment in nut-brown locks, golden tresses, and jetty curls. Every woman, if so inclined, may prove for herself the transfiguring effect in a becoming coiffure. In fact, the beauty of a woman's face and her apparent age are greatly affected by the way she wears her hair. A most important detail that too few consider is the proper direction in which to comb the hair. Women literally toss their tresses together without any attention to the natural inclination of the individual strands or fibres. They comb their hair against the grain. Those who do so never have beautifully and smoothly arranged coiffures. Each little hearsuit filament has a rebellious tendency to go in the direction nature intended it should, and refuses to stay where it is put, giving the head in consequence an unkempt and what is termed an unladylike appearance. The crisscross effect resulting from combing and arranging the hair contrary to the grain is conspicuously apparent in the coiffure of no less a personage than Eleanor Aduze, who, as may be seen from the picture, pays little attention to the natural tendency of the dark tresses that cover her shapely head. The bang has the dishevelled appearance of a pile of jack straws. The side locks, instead of being combed or brushed to follow the contour of the head, fall loosely and fly in opposite directions. The difference in appearance between the women of the smart sets in America and those of less fashionable circles is due, in a great measure, to the beautifully dressed coiffures of the former. A hairdresser arranges, at least once a week, the hair of the modish woman if her maid does not understand the art of hairdressing. Many women of the wealthy world have their maids taught by a French coiffure. A wise woman will adopt a prevailing mode with discretion for what may be essentially appropriate for one may be fatally inappropriate for another. In adjusting her crown of glory a woman must consider the proportions of her face. She should be able to discern whether her eyes are too near the top of her head or too far below, whether she has a square or wedge-shaped chin, a lean long face or a round and bountifully curved one. She should be alert to her defects and study never to emphasize nor exaggerate them. Why, through stupidity or carelessness, make a cartoon of yourself when, with a proper appreciation of your possibilities, you can be a pleasing picture? It is just as glorious to be a fine picture or a poem as it is to paint the one or write the other. Indeed, a woman who harmoniously develops the best within her has the charm of an exquisite poem and inspires poets to sing. And if by the grace and beauty of her dress she enhances her natural endowments and makes herself a pleasing picture, the world becomes her debtor. In the important matter of becomingly arranging the hair, the following sketches and suggestions may hint to bright thinking women what styles to choose or avoid. For wedge-shaped faces. The least discerning eye can see that the wedge-shaped face, number three, is caricatured, and its triangular proportions made more evident by allowing the hair to extend in curls or a fluffy bang on either side of the head. Women with delicately modeled faces with peaked chins should avoid these broad effects above their brows. It is obvious, in the sketch number four, that the wedge-shaped face is perceptibly improved by wearing the hair in soft waves or curls closely confined to the head, and by arranging a coil or high puff just above and in front of the crown. This arrangement gives a desirable effect to the face, the sharp prominence of the chin being counteracted by the surmounting puffs. For heavy jaws. It may readily be seen that a woman with a square, heavy-jawed face pictured by number five should not adopt a straight or nearly straight bang, nor wear her hair low on her forehead, nor adjust the greater portion of her hair so that the coil cannot be seen above the crown of her head. The low bang brings into striking relief all the hard lines of her face and gives the impression that she has pugilistic tendencies. To ensure artistic balance to her countenance and bring out the womanly strength and vital power of her face, her hair should be arranged in coils, puffs, or braids that will give breath to the top of her head as shown by number six. A fluffy, softly curled bang adds grace to the forehead and gives it the necessary broadness it needs to lessen and lighten the heaviness of the lower part of the face. A bow of ribbon or an agrette of feathers will add effectively the crown of braids or puffs, which a wise woman with a square jaw will surmount her brow if she wishes to subdue the too aggressive fighting qualities of her strong chin. For short faces. The sisterhood who have short, chubby faces should, in a measure, observe certain rules that apply in a small degree to those who have heavy chins. As may be observed, even with a casual glance, the little short-faced woman depicted by number seven causes her round facial disc to appear much shorter than it really is by allowing her hair to come so far down on her forehead. She further detracts from her facial charms by wearing water waves. Water waves are scarcely to be commended for any type of face, and they are especially unbecoming to the woman who is conspicuously roly-poly. The round eyes, knobby nose, and round mouth are brought into unattractive distinctness by being reduplicated in the circular effects of the hair. This mode of dressing the hair makes a short face look common and insignificant. Do you not see that this type is immensely improved by the arrangement of the coiffure in number eight? By combing her hair off her forehead, her face acquires a look of alertness and intelligence, besides being apparently lengthened. She can wear her bang in soft crimps brushed back from her brow if this plain arrangement is too severe. For eyes set too high. A low forehead is supposed to be a sign of beauty in woman. The brows of the famous venuses are low and broad. Perhaps for this reason many women wear their hair arranged low upon their foreheads. Whether the hair should be worn low on the brow depends chiefly on two things, the setting of the eyes and the quality of the face. A good rule to observe is the artistic one, to the effect that the eyes of a woman should be in the middle of her head. That is, if an imaginary line were drawn across the top of the head and another below the chin, exactly midway between the two the eyes should be set. The Japanese type of woman should carefully observe the foregoing hint. Observe number eight and a half. Nature has not been artistic. The eyes are too near the top of the head. The defect is exaggerated and emphasized by the wearing of the hair low on the forehead. In some faces of this type the face is brutalized in appearance by this arrangement. The expression and whole quality of the countenance can be greatly improved by arranging the hair as shown by number nine, which is the soft pompadour style. The Duchess of Marlborough, formerly Consuelo Vanderbilt, frames her naive, winsome face, which is of the Japanese type, in a style somewhat like this. Her dark hair forms an aureole above her brow and brings into relief the dainty, oval form of her face. Even simply brushing the hair off the forehead without crimp or roll will improve the appearance of this type of face and give it a better artistic balance. For eyes set too low. Women whose eyes are set too far down in their faces should adopt a mode of arranging their hair exactly the opposite of those whose eyes are set too near the top of their heads. It is apparent that number ten exaggerates the distance of her eyes from the crown of her head and makes them appear to be set lower than they really are by building her hair high and by brushing her bang back so severely from her brow. A bald forehead is rarely becoming to any woman. A few stray curls or soft waves lend grace to even the most perfect of brows. By bringing the hair down over the forehead, as suggested in number eleven, a woman with this type of face can easily improve her appearance. By this graceful arrangement her face loses the childish and sometimes stupid expression that is peculiar to the type as may be discerned in number ten. When the hair is properly arranged, this element of childlikeness lends a certain appealing sweetness, not unattractive even in the faces of matured matrons. By dressing the hair low so the coil does not appear above the crown as in number eleven, the eyes are apparently properly placed. For long faces with long noses. The woman who wears her silken tresses arranged on either side of her head, draped like curtains from a central parting, is to be envied if she can do it and yet look young and pretty. She is the Madonna type and seems to possess all the attributes of gentleness, modesty and meekness, and angelic sweetness that are supposed to characterize the distinctively feminine woman. This is the ideal style of coiffure much be praised by man, because, according to a bright modern Amazon, it makes a woman look so meek. The only type to which it is really becoming is the Italian. The type with matte complexion, soft eyes, finely chiseled nose, and delicately oval chin look ideally sweet and feminine with the hair arranged a la Madonna. Long faces of the forum pictured by number twelve exaggerate the longness and leanness of their faces by wearing their locks like looped curtains. A long nose with two long lines on either side of the cheek seems longer than it is as the observer made a certain three lines instead of only the nasal one, and the impression of longness is emphasized. Not only is the length of the countenance made more noticeable, but years and years are apparently added to the actual age. That number thirteen, which shows a parting and soft waves that do not come below the ears, is to be preferred by a woman whose features are of this character need hardly be explained. The improvement in looks is quite obvious. Number fourteen is an example of a misguided woman of the pudgy type who, for some inexplicable reason, arranges her hair in the Madonna style. It is utterly unsuited to her face. Unless her ears are deformed, this style of hearsuit lambricans should not be worn by a full round-faced woman. The arrangement sketched in number fifteen adds effectively to her appearance, not only making her look younger, but less inane. Four faces with protruding noses. Women with decidedly protruding or irregular tip-tilted noses should be especially careful in arranging their coiffures. Any woman who arranges her hair as in sketch number sixteen caricatures her facial defects by increasing the two protuberant lines of her nose. The distance from the end of her nose and the tip of the topmost knot of hair is too long for either beauty or intelligence. The shape of her head acquires idiotic proportions, and her nose is placed entirely out of drawing, and is obtrusively conspicuous when seen in profile. This type of woman is generally classified among the inquisitive, bright, and energetic. She should aim to modify the unhappy angularity of her profile, as well as to repress her gossipy tendencies. The graduated coil of hair and waved coiffure, shown by number seventeen, are most felicitous in their effect on this type of face. Number eighteen reveals an error in an opposite direction. The snub-nosed girl, by fixing her hair in a bun-like coil, gives the impression that her coiffure is held by invisible strings by her nose, which gets a more elevated look than it otherwise would have because of the bad angle at which the coil is placed. Number nineteen, which is a picturesque variation of the popular coiff, manifestly improves this type of face, and makes the nose appear less obtrusive. A woman should carefully study the contour of her head from every side, the modeling of her face, the length and inclination of her nose, the setting of her eyes, and the breadth and form of her brow, and adopt a becoming coiffure that will give artistic balance to her face, and never absolutely change the style whatever the mode in hairdressing may be. In England, the court hairdresser years ago studied the character of the head and face of the Princess of Wales, and designed a coiffure for her, which she has never varied until recently. Then she merely arranged her fringe lower down on her forehead than she has ever worn it before. The general style, however, she preserves intact, and wears her hair and has for many years, as is shown in the picture Number twenty, her daughters, who have faces the same shape as hers, dress their coiffures similarly. In never changing the style of arranging her hair, the Princess of Wales owes, in no small degree, her apparent air of youthfulness. No matter what the prevailing style, these rules may be practically applied. End of Chapter one. Read by Kara Schellenberg, www.kray.org, on May 30th, 2009, in San Diego, California. Chapter two of What Dress Makes of Us. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. What Dress Makes of Us by Dorothy Quigley, Chapter two. Hints for the selection of becoming and appropriate styles in headgear. Closely allied to the subject of hairdressing is that of headgear. Indeed, many of the hints regarding appropriate coiffures for certain styles of faces are equally applicable to the selection of suitable hats and bonnets. The choosing of millinery is the more momentous of the two, of course, for I need scarcely remind you that nature left us no choice in hair. No matter what its color or texture, we desire to keep it, and if we are wise, we make the best of it. In regards to hats, we are personally responsible, and all our follies are upon our own heads. The power of caricature being greater in hats than in hairdressing, is it not fit that we should give careful and intelligent consideration to the selection of our millinery that the ugly lines in our otherwise beautiful faces may not be at the mercy of mocking bunches of ribbons, comically tilted straws, or floppy bits of lace? The magic of the bonnet. Once upon a time, I think that was the exact date, there was a man distinguished in a certain kingdom as the ugliest person in the realm. According to a blithe romancer he was so distinctively unpleasing in form and feature that he challenged the attention of a king, who, in whimsical mood, made him a royal retainer. The man, so conspicuously lacking in beauty, enjoyed his eminent position and privileges for some time, but even ugliness, if it attained distinction, will excite envy in the low-minded. A former associate of the unbeautiful man in inviduous temper brought the news one day to the king that there was an old woman in his domain that was uglier than the lowly-born man, who by kingly favour held so high a place. Bring her to the court. Judges shall be called to decide. If she is uglier she shall stay and he shall go. Was the royal mandate? When the old woman appeared she was easily decided to be by far the uglier of the two. At the critical moment when the king was upon the eve of dismissing the man from his retinue, a friend of the unfortunate shouted, Put her bonnet on him! This was done and low a fearful change was wrought. By unanimous acclamation he was declared to be the ugliest creature on earth. The old woman, true to the instincts of her sex, refused to wear her bonnet again. Like many of her sisters of modern times she had not before discovered the possibilities in a bonnet to enhance the beauty of the face or decrease its charms. If women could see themselves objectively, as did the old woman, they would keenly realize the necessity of considering the lines of a hat or bonnet in relation to those of their faces, and would learn to obscure defects and bring into prominence their prettiest features. As there are a few rules to govern what each type should select every one of the fair sisterhood has an equal opportunity to improve her appearance by selecting in the millnery line the distinctive adornment suited to her individual style. For women with broad face and heavy chin. By a curious love, contriety, the woman with a broad, heavy chin seems to have an ungovernable penchant for trig little round bonnets or trim turbans with perky agorettes, like that in sketch number twenty-two. By obeying this willful preference she obscures whatever delicacy may be in the modelling of her features and brings into conspicuous relief the ugliest lines of her face. Her chin is apparently increased in heaviness and the broadness of her face is made prominent. She could easily have restored the artistic balance to her facial lines by wearing a large hat rather heavily trimmed, as in number twenty-three. Thus effectively modifying the strong curves of the chin and signally improving her appearance. If a woman's face is fairly proportioned, not too short for its breadth, and she cannot afford plumes, this type of woman can still give a becoming balance to her face by adopting hats that are trimmed with flamboyant bows that flare horizontally across the hat, diverging from a central knot in the form. For the woman with tapering chin. The woman who is the exact opposite of the type with the ample lower jaw, but whose chief disadvantage lies in her broad, manly brow and tiny tapering chin, should avoid all horizontal trimmings, bows, or broad hat brims. It is clear in number twenty-four that such trimmings increase the wedge-like appearance of the face and give it the grotesque suggestion of an ordinary flowerpot in which grows a sickly plant. This type can perceptibly improve upon nature by choosing the style of hat and neck gear shown by number twenty-five. The crinkly ovals that form the brim of the hat and the soft, graceful arrangement of the hair in front that decreases the too broad effect of the brow, and the full, fluffy rough snuggled up closely to the chin produce a pleasing transformation of the meagre-looking original that to the uninitiated seems little short of magical. The broad, cravat-like bows and the flaring ones known as incroyables were beneficially wedge-like faces and throats that have lost the seductive curves of youth. Hat for the chubby woman. That amiable type of woman formed conspicuously upon the circular plan often unconsciously impress the fact of her fatal tendency to rotundity by repeating the roundness of her globular eyes, the disc-like appearance of her snub nose, and the circle of her round mouth, and the fullness of her face by wearing a little round hat in the style portrayed by number twenty-six. The curls of her bang, the feathers in her hat, the high collar of her jacket make more significant the fact that her lines are not artistic, and that her face is un-beautifully round. She can enhance her charms and apparently decrease the too spherical cut of her countenance by adopting the mode illustrated in number twenty- seven. The angular bows on the hat, the geometric lines of the broad hat-brim, the precise cut of the lapels on the corsage, the neat throat-band and V-shaped vesture all insinuate in a most engaging way a dignity and fine high-bred poise totally obliterated by the circular style of dress erroneously adopted by the misguided woman in number twenty-six. For women who have sharp and prominent profiles. In buying a hat many of the unfair sex as the modern wag dubs the progressive sisters who wish to have all man's rights and privileges and keep their own besides, never seem to consider their heads but from a French point of view, in consequence as sketch number twenty-eight hints, a head seen from the side frequently appears, if not idiotically, very inartistically proportioned. Occasionally a hat presents as comical in effect in a front as in a side view as may be seen in number twenty-nine. The wearer was an elderly woman with gray hair which hung down in a half curled bang on either side of her thin face. Her hat, which was simply dripping with feathers, suggested a fanciful letter T and exaggerated the thinness of her face in a remarkably funny way. The feathers overhanging the brim increased the broadness of the hat and looked singularly waggish, fluttering against the springy-looking projections of gray hair. The rules for the wedge-shaped face as may readily be discerned apply here. Women who have sharp and prominently outlined profiles have a curious tendency to choose hats, the brims of which project too far forward in front and turn up too abruptly and ungracefully in the back. As shown in number thirty the protruding brim gives the head and face the unattractive proportions of the capital letter F. The length of the nose is emphasized by the line of the hat brim above it and it appears unduly obtrusive. The flat arrangement of the hair and the curve of the hat brim in the back also exaggerate the obtrusive qualities of the features. By choosing a hat somewhat similar to the one sketched in number thirty-one the unattractive sharpness of the profile is modified and the alert agreeable quality of the face that was obscured by the shelf-like brim becomes apparent. The observer feels, if he does not voice it, that it is a progressive spirit advancing forward instead of an ungainly headpiece that looks like a curious trowel. For the woman with an angular face. The woman with the angular features presented in number thirty-two should not wear a sailor hat or any hat with a perfectly straight rim. The sailor hat or any style bordering on it should be selected with utmost discrimination. This mode is unbecoming to a woman more than forty, or to one who through grief or worry prematurely attains a look of age, or to one whose features are irregular. The straight brim across the face is very trying. It casts a shadow deepening the old marks, and instead of being a frame to set off it seems to cut off the face at an inartistic angle. The woman with angular features, as may be seen by number thirty-three, can wear with impunity and always should wear a hat the brim of which is waved, turned, twisted, or curved in graceful lines. The uneven brim of her hat makes an effective complement to the angularity of her chin, which is further softened by the feathery rough that encircles her throat. The curves of the ostrich plumes and the studied carelessness of the arrangements of her coiffure subdue the angles of her face which are brought out in unbecoming prominence by the sailor hat. Women who should not wear horns. The velvet horns on either side of a hat, the steeple-like central adornments that were once much in favour, and the mercury wings that ornament the coiffure for evening dress, produce some startling, disagreeable, and amusing effects not altogether uninteresting to consider. Faces in which the eyes are set too near the forehead acquire a scared look by being surmounted by a bonnet upon which the trimming gravitates to a point in an arrangement not unsuggestive of a reversed fan, horns, or a steeple. The most unpleasing developments result from the wearing of the horn-like trimmings either in velvet or jet. If the face above which they flare has less of the spiritual than the coarse propensities in it, the grotesque turns and twists in the headgear emphasize the animality in the lines characteristic of low-bred tendencies, and the whole countenance is vulgarized. One face acquires the look of a fox, another of a certain type of dog, and so on. The most amusing exaggerations of distinctive facial lines are produced by mercury wings. The good-natured woman of the familiar type, depicted in No. 34, brings every bovine attribute of her placid countenance into conspicuous relief by surmounting her face with the wings of the fleet-footed god. The cow-like form and serenity of her features are made laughably obvious. Short, delicately faced women can adorn their coiffures with mercury wings with most charming results. Wings or perpendicular bows add to the lines of the short face, giving it a certain suggestion of refinement and distinction that is wholly destroyed by the wearing of any trimmings that show at the sides. No matter what the prevailing style these rules may be practically applied. 3. Lines That Should Be Recognized and Considered in Making Costumes Madame Lamode, much misrepresented, as are all who are embarrassed with worldwide popularity, always considers, when designing fashions, that women very inform as in mood. She suits all needs, although this fact has never been cast to her credit. With a beautiful sense of adjustment, as obvious is that in nature, that projects the huge watermelon to ripen on a slender vine on the ground and swings a green gauge plum on the stout stem of a tree to mature in storm or shine. Madame Lamode, arbiter of styles, balances her fashions. Never came the big hat without the small bonnet. Accompanying the long cloak is the never-failing short cape. Side by side may be found the long coat and the short, netty jacket. This equilibrium in wearing apparel may be traced through all the vagaries of fashion. Everybody's need has been considered, but everybody has not considered her need. The short stout woman passes by the long coat better adapted to her and seizes a short jacket, a homeopathic tendency of like, suiting like, sometimes efficacious in medicine, but fatal in style. Style for tall slender woman. The very tall slender woman frequently ignores a jaunty jacket and takes a long coat like that shown in number 36. To even the sluggish fancy of an unimaginative observer, she suggests a champagne bottle, and to the ready wit, she hints of no end of amusing possibilities for caricature. The very tall woman should know that long lines from shoulder to foot give height, and she must discerningly strive to avoid length of line in her garments until she dons the raiment of the angels. Horizontal lines crossing the figure seem to decrease height. It should be used as much as possible in the arranging and trimming of the tall woman's garments. By selecting a shorter coat, equally modish, as shown by number 37, the two tall woman shortens her figure perceptibly. The belt cuts off from her height in a felicitous way and the collar, also horizontal, materially improves the size of her throat. The high collar, such as finishes the coat in number 36, adds to the length. Those who have too long arms can use horizontal bands on sleeves most advantageously. The coat the short stout woman should wear. The short jacket that so graciously improved the appearance of the slender specimen of femininity is sinister in its effect on the short stout woman in sketch number 38. It should be the study of her life to avoid horizontal lines. Length of limb is to be desired because it adds distinction. Her belt, the horizontal effect of the skirt of the jacket, the horizontal trimming of the bottom of the skirt, all apparently shortening her height, tend to make her ordinary and commonplace in appearance. If her hips are not too pronounced she can wear the long coat shown in picture number 39. The V-shaped vesture gives her a longer waist and the long lines of the revere add to the length of her skirt. If her hips are too prominent she should avoid having any tight-fitting garments that bring the fact into relief. She should not wear the long coat but she can effectively modify it to suit her needs by only having a skirt or tabs or finishing straps in the back. If her jacket or basket is finished off with a skirt effect it is best to have the little skirt swerve away just at the hip line half revealing and half concealing it. The front should be made in a jacket effect finishing just at the waist line and opening over a blouse front that will conceal the waist line. It is best for the too short stout woman to obscure her waist line as much as possible to apparently give her increase of height. To put the waist line high up adds to length of limb and of course is to be desired but the fact that what is added below is taken from above the waist should impel careful discrimination in the arrangement of this equatorial band. The cloak or cape for a tall woman the long circular cloak is another graceful garment that can be worn with charming effect by the woman of classic height but should never be in the wardrobe of a very tall woman except for use at the opera when its service is chiefly required in the carriage or when its wearer is sitting. It is so obvious in sketch number 40 that the vertical lines the folds of the cloak naturally fall into give a steeple-like appearance to the tall woman it enfolds that it is scarcely necessary to comment upon it. That her judicious selection should have been the short cape which comes as all capes should to be artistic well below the elbows is clearly illustrated in picture number 41. The horizontal trimming very becomingly plays its part in the generally improving effect. The one who can wear the long cloak in an unchallengeable manner is the short stout woman shown in sketch number 42. By wearing the short cape with circular fluffy collaret sketched in number 43 she gives herself the look of a smothered affrighted coach in china chicken or as an imaginative schoolgirl remarked of her mother who wore a cape of similar style. She looks as if her neck were encircled by bunches of asparagus. The military dignity she acquires by wearing the long cape is becoming to a degree and gives her distinction in form. By remembering that horizontal trimmings apparently decrease the height and that vertical lines add to it those who desire to appear at their best will use discernment in dividing their basks with yokes or corsage mountings at the bust line or frills at the hip line. The flounce on the corsage at the bust line another at the hip line and yet another at the bottom of the skirt increases the impression of bulkiness most aggressively and gives a barrel-like appearance to the form of a stout woman that is decidedly funny as may be seen in sketch number 44. A study of the lines of the form will not only aid one in adopting a more becoming style of dress but will sharpen the artistic perceptions thus adding to the joy of life. A beautiful form is better than a beautiful face and should be clothed so that its lines may appear at their best and not be exaggerated and caricatured. The figure is seen many more times than the face and the defects of the former are more conspicuous than those of the latter. Do not be unjust to your beautiful body the temple of your soul. Above all do not caricature it by selecting your clothes with indiscriminating taste. No matter what the prevailing mode these rules may be practically applied. She was from the Middle West and despite the fact that she was married and that twenty-one half-blonde blush roses had enrapped her last birthday cake she had the alert quizzical brightness of a child who challenges everybody and everything that passes with the counter-site. Why? She investigated New York with unabashed interest and like many another superior provincial she freely expressed her likes and dislikes for its traditions, showplaces and people with a commending and amusing audacity. Her objections were numerous. The chief one that made a deep impression upon her metropolitan friends was her disapproval of Sarah Bernhardt's acting. The Middle Westerner instead of becoming ecstatic in her admiration and at a loss for adjectives at the appearance of the divine Sarah merely perked at the great French artist for some time and then demanded, quarellously, what's the matter with her? Why does she play so much with her back to the audience? I don't like it. It was a shock to the adorers of Sarah Bernhardt to hear her so irreverently criticized. They loyally united in her defense and sought to squelch the revolter by loftily explaining that the actress turned her back so often to the audience because she had such a noble, generous nature and desire to give the other actors a chance. She lets them take the center of the stage as they say in the profession, remarked one of the party who prided herself upon being versed in the orgo of the theater. But she plays with her back to the audience when she is speaking and acting and everybody else on the stage is still but herself, petulantly insisted the western Philistine showing no signs of defeat. The situation was not wholly agreeable. The worshippers of Sarah could say nothing more in justification of her turning her back on them, but with true feminine logic concluded, if Sarah Bernhardt turns her back on the audience it is right and that is all there is to say. Just at this dramatic moment a voice from the adjoining role providentially interposed. The voice belonged to a well-known exponent of physical culture who was never so happy as when instructing the intellectually needy. She said, I will tell you why she plays with her back towards the audience more than any other actress upon the stage today. The middle-westerner, no less impressed than her metropolitan friends, listened eagerly. The exponent of straight backs and high chests explained didetically. The back is wonderfully expressive. Indeed it is full of vital expression. Bernhardt knows this better than any other actress because she has studied statuary with the passion of a sculpture and because she understands that not only the face but the entire physical structure is capable of expressing dramatic emotions. Strong feeling and action may be strikingly revealed by the back. Implications, denunciations, even prayers seem to be charged with more force when an actress delivers them with her back turned or have turned to the audience. Bernhardt's back expresses a storm of fury when she implicates vengeance, said the voice of authority. Not only on the stage is the expression of the back discernible and the knowledge of its character valuable but in everyday life in drawing-room and street. How many women consider their backs when they dress? Look at the backs here deformed by laces and fellows. She went on contemptuously. The majority of women never look below their chins and I believe not one in ten ever looks thoughtfully at her back, she said emphatically. The dramatic value of a well-poised expressive back may only concern the thousands of young women who are aspiring to be a Sarah Bernhardt or a Rachel, but a knowledge of what constitutes a properly and artistically clothed back should be of interest to all women in civilized countries. That there is much truth in the assertion that the majority of women never look below their chins and not one in ten ever looks thoughtfully at her back, every observer of womankind might testify. The open placket hole and sagging waistband, sketched in number 45, is an all-too-familiar site that advertises the fact that too few women take even a cursory look at their backs. Fathers and brothers who wish to protect their womankind from adverse criticism frequently give impromptu lectures upon this very subject as this lovingly arrangement of skirt and basque is not only seen in Grand Street, Satin Avenue and equally unfashionable quarters, but in Fifth Avenue where the modest set are unevidance. If the dainty safety pin displayed in number 46 goes out of vogue, the time-honored custom of sewing hooks to the waistband of the dress is always in fashion. Indeed, many women prefer this way of connecting separate skirt and waist to using a conspicuous pin. This is almost to trivial a detail to discourse upon, but it is as true that details make dress as it is that trifles make life, and neither life nor dress is a trifle. The offense in number 45 is more the result of untidiness than of a lack of artistic discrimination. Numbers 46.5 and 47 on the contrary outrage the laws of art and display ignorance of the value and beauty of lines. Number 46.5 might serve to conceal a deformity of the shoulders that really seems it's only excuse for being the full, ugly, straight pleat that falls to just below the waistline lands neither grace nor style to the figure. It is too short to give the distinction and dignity that handsome raps with long lines almost invariably do, although they seem to add age to the form. There is a hint of youth in this ungraceful jacket to be sure, but it is not especially attractive in its suggestion of youthfulness. Number 47 with a line at the neck-band crossed bands in the center of the shoulders and lines across the back is obviously inartistic. The back of a Venus even would be detracted from by such crisscrossed effects. Happy the woman who has so shapely a back she can afford to allow her waist to fit smoothly and plainly unbroken by any conspicuous lines. If bands must be used to remedy the deficiencies of ungenerous nature let them be at the neck and waist and if the back is unconscionably long a band or fold or ruffle across the shoulders is to be commanded. Number 48 reveals a glaring error frequently made by the thin sisterhood. A tall slender woman with a long waist should not emphasize her length of lines by wearing pointed or V-shaped effects. The V-shaped arrangement either in cut or trimmings apparently increases her longness and leanness. She should aim to shorten her waist instead of lengthening it as the basket finished with a point obviously does. The drooping sleeves elongate her shoulder lines and bring into clearer relief her meager proportions. She can easily improve her appearance by adopting either style of gown portrayed by numbers 49 or 50. The broad belt at the waistline in number 49 and the flamboyant lace or braided piece that adorns the shoulders perceptibly adds to her breath and decreases her length. Number 50 is a felicitous cut for a street desk for a slim sister. The jaunty bloused waist smartly conceals deficiencies in fine points. The tall thin sisterhood should ask you pointed effects and study to attain apparent breadth by using trimmings arranged horizontally. Bends of velvet braided in waved lines ruffles and not too deeply cut scallops may be used effectively by the very slender who sometimes appear as if they are without form and void as the earth was in the beginning. Number 51 is an exposition of the mistake made by the sturdy sisterhood of stout and pendulous proportions. It is plain to be seen that the fluffy rouge at the throw span and the ruffle at the shoulder and the spreading bow at the waist and the trimmed sleeves add bulkiness to a form already too generously endowed with flabby rotundity. Carpulent women must forego the swagger little basks or any sort of short flounced effects below the waistline. Numbers 52 and 53 are eminently adept to the matron of ample dimensions. One observer of beauty given effects has not unadvisively called the waistline the danger line. A stout sister above all others should not accentuate the waistline. She should conceal it as much as possible. The coat back of number 52 apparently lengthens the waist. The same effect is produced by the arrangement of ribbons in number 53 and by the long-pointed basque. V-shaped effects and long-pointed basques are as becoming to those burdened with flesh as they are unbecoming to tall thin women. Long graceful folds and draperies are admirable for the stout sisterhood who should avoid short sacks and tight-fitting garments that give the onlooker an uncomfortable impression. There's too much in a small space. Very light colors and thin textures that below and float should be eschewed by the large, flashy woman who wishes to give the impression that she possesses the lines of a finely modeled statue. She should avoid puffs and any suggestion of the pulpy and clumsy and be careful not to subdivide the body of her dress by plates or braids laid on horizontally across or above the bust or below the hips. Horizontal lines invariably decrease the height. For that reason stout women should not wear dresses cut square in the neck but should adhere to the graceful V or hard-shaped cut which has a tendency to give length. The rotten woman with a short waist sketched in number 54 may improve her figure as shown in number 55 by choosing belts and collars, the exact shade of her shirt wastes in summer and by not cutting off her height by any sort of outside belt on winter gowns. Tall stout women should forego high heels on their shoes, high hats and striped dresses. Although stripes increase the effect of height they also add to that of breadth. A plain cloth, basque and skirt of striped material make a happy compromise and can be worn with becoming effect by a stout woman. A basque cut height behind and on the shoulders apparently gives height. A very stout woman should never wear double skirts or tunics or dresses with large sprawling patterns such as depicted by cut number 56 which suggests furniture stuffs. A large woman who had a fancy for wearing rich brocades figured with immense floral designs was familiarly called by her kind friends the escaped sofa. White or very light collars should never be worn by the stout. They greatly increase the apparent size. Large plaids should also be eschewed. Small checks and plaids may sometimes be becoming. Neither the too thin nor the too stout should adopt a style of gown that caricatures the form as does the voluminous wrapper finished with a box pleat as shown in number 57. There's no grace in straight lines. Number 58 which accentuates the height of the over tall thin woman is better adapted to enhance the charms of a woman of finer proportions. The bony and scrawny of the type of number 58 seem to have a perverse desire to wear what makes their poverty and physical charms only more conspicuous. A woman of distinction in Boston who is exceedingly thin and tall wore wattle pleats so frequently even on reception and evening gowns that she was dubbed by a wag the fire escape. A title which so strikingly characterized her style that the term was adopted by all her friends when they exchanged confidences concerning her. The garment with the wattle pleat is not unlike the princess gown which is a very trying style except to the handsomely proportioned women. A tall well-developed woman such as shown in sketch number 59 adorns the princess gown and attains in it a statuesque beauty. In suggesting statuary it fulfills the true ideal of dress which should hint of poetry, art, sculpture, painting, the messing of colors, the arrangement of lines, the quality of textures, the grace and poise of the wearer. Do not these hint of picture, statue, music. End of Chapter 4 Chapter 5 of What Dress Makes Surface This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org What Dress Makes Surface by Dorothy Quigley Chapter 5 Corsages Appropriate for Women with Unbeautifully Modelled Throats and Shoulders Despite the traditional belief that a decollete corsage is a tyrannous necessity of evening dress, a woman not graciously endowed with a beautifully modelled throat and shoulders may, with perfect propriety, conceal her infelicitous lines from the derisive gaze of a critical public. Women are indebted to that gentle genius, LaDuce, for the suggestion that a veiled throat and bust may charmingly fulfil the requirements of evening dress, and also satisfy that sense of delicacy peculiar to some women who have not inherited from their great-great-grandmothers the certain knowledge that a low-necked gown is absolutely decorous. The woman who does not possess delicate personal charms comments herself to the beauty-loving by forebearing to expose her physical deficiencies. Unless it is because they are enslaved by custom, it is quite incomprehensible why some women will glaringly display gaunt proportions that signally lack the exquisite lines of firm and solid flesh. A throat like a ten-stringed instrument surmounting square shoulders that end in knobs that obtrude above unfilled hollows is an unpleasing vision that looms up conspicuously too often in opera box and drawing room. The unattractive exhibition 61 is a familiar site in the social world. How insufferably ugly such uncovered anatomy appears in the scenery of a rich and dainty music room may be readily imagined by those who have been spared the unpleasing display. It is so obvious that shoulders like these should always be covered that it seems superfluous to remark that this type should never wear any sleeve that falls below the shoulder line. The sleeve falling off the shoulder was invented for the classic contour set forth in number 62. Nor ribbons nor lace nor jewel are needed to enhance the perfect beauty of a fine slender white throat and the felicitous curves of sloping shoulders. One whose individual endowments are as meager as are those presented in number 61 may improve her defects by adopting either style of corsage shown in sketches numbers 63 and 64. A woman's throat may lack a certain desirable roundness and her shoulders may recede in awkward lines and yet between these defective features the curves may have a not-unpleasing daintyness and delicacy in modelling that can be advantageously revealed. A moddish velvet throat band such as is shown by number 63 is one of the most graceful conceits of fashion. The two slim throat encircled by velvet or ornamented with a jeweled buckle or brooch is effectively framed. The unsightly lines of the shoulders are covered and just enough individual robustness is disclosed to suggest with becoming propriety the conventional decollete corsage. The princess of Wales is as constant to her velvet or pearl neckband as to her special style of quaffer. Her throat in evening dress never appears unadorned by one or the other of these beautiful bands that so cleverly conceal defects and seem to bring out more richly the texture and colouring of handsome bare shoulders. Those who do not approve of the decollete style of dress or whose ungrateful proportions might well be entirely concealed can wear with appropriateness and benefit the corsage shown in number 64. This has much in its favour for a slender body. The upper part of the waist may be made of chiffon or crepe which is beautifully one might say benignly translucent. It has an insinuating transparency that neither reveals nor conceals too much. The neckband of velvet or satin full and soft apparently enlarges the throat. The sleeves may be in whatever style in cut prevails. This costume carries perfectly into effect the requirements of evening dress and may be worn with equal fitness to formal functions or to informal affairs. A coat sleeve of lace, crepe or chiffon beflounced at the wrist may be inserted under the short satin sleeves when the occasion does not require gloves. The soft white setting of thin textures around the throat and shoulders clears the complexion and brings into relief the pretty delicate lines of a refined face. It is plain to be seen that the unattractive specimen of femininity number 65 with the long wrinkles neck and sharply lined face is unbecomingly costumed in the V shaped mask and corsage which apparently elongate her natural lengthness. A charming and always fashionable yoke effect that she can wear to advantage is shown by number 66. This style of corsage is equally effective for a too thin or a too muscular neck. The filling is of two. A square cut corsage is most becoming to the woman whose narrow shoulders have a consumptive droop. The angular cut apparently heightens the shoulders and decreases their too steeple like inclination. The round cut if it frames a full throat is also an effective style for sloping shoulders. The V shaped cut is most becoming to the short necked woman whose aim should be to increase the length of her throat. It is not only the too thin neck that needs to be clothed with discrimination. Throats and shoulders that are too robust are improved by being covered. The arms and shoulders however are often the chief beauty of a fleshy woman and it is to her advantage to give them as effective a setting as possible. As is obvious in number 67 the stout woman apparently increases her breadth by wearing a flamboyant corsage and she hides the most exquisite lines of her arm with her sleeves. The princess style of gown in number 68 gives her apparent length of waist. The modest lace flange that falls in vertical folds decreases her formidable corsage. The knotted twist of silk reveals the full beauty of her arm. In dressing the throat there are a few rules to be remembered. A too long stem like neck may be apparently shortened by standing rough or a full soft band of velvet. The tight plain band of velvet should never be worn by a woman with a very slim neck as is plainly discernible in sketch number 69. The plain military collar emphasizes the thinness of the slender woman's throat but the soft crushed fold of velvet apparently enlarges the pipe-like proportions of the thin woman's neck as may be seen in sketch number 70. The tight fitting collar should not be worn by the corpulent woman with a thick neck as is shown by sketch number 71. The thickness of the throat of the woman pictured in number 72 may seem due to the folds of the velvet which give a pleasing hint of a slender throat, a delusion not to be despised by the woman burdened with flesh. All the sisterhood, stout, thin, long-throated or short, should know the hour when the withering touch of age begins to shrink the soft round curves distinctive the full sweet throat of healthful youth. No regretful vanity should be allowed to glamour their eyes to the fact that time has them by the throat to put it melodramatically. The wise woman will not please herself with a fatal delusion. She will realize it is illusion she needs, yards of it, lace or velvet or any beautifying texture that will conceal the deadly lines of age. Hints on dress for elderly women. Dress has much to do with a youthful or aged appearance. Shoals and long mantles that fall from the shoulders give even youthful figures a look of age because the lines are long and dignified and without a special grace. Beautiful wraps or coats that do not come very far below the hip line can be worn becomingly by elderly ladies, neither emphasizing their years or making them appear too frivolously attired. There is a smack of truth in the maxim. As a woman grows old, the dress material should increase in richness and decrease in brightness. Handsome brocades, soft elegant silks, woolen textures and velvets are eminently suitable and becoming to women who are growing old. Black and black and white, soft white chiffon veiled in lace, cashmere and such refined tissues should be selected by those in the first wrinkles of youth. Gray is combined with filmy white material, dull bronzes lightened with cream-tinted lace are also charmingly appropriate. Pale blue veiled in chiffon is another graceful combination. White should be worn more than it is by old ladies. It is so suggestive of all that is clean, bright and dainty and if there is anything an old lady should strive to be in her personal appearance it is dainty. Exquisite cleanliness is one of the most necessary attributes of attractive old age and any texture that in its quality and colour emphasizes the idea of cleanliness should commend itself to those in their advanced youth. Little old thin woman, large one was too for that matter, who are wrinkled and colourless, should not wear diamonds. The dazzling white gems with pitiless brilliancy bring out the pasty look of the skin. The soft glow of pearls, the cloud-like effects of the opal, the unobtrusive lights of the moonstone harmonized with the tints of hair and skin of the aged. Eldy women should not wear bright flowers on their bonnets or hats. Fresh-looking roses above a face that has lost its first youthfulness only make that fact more obvious. Forget me nuts, in your nets, certain pretty white flowers, the pale list of pink roses or the most delicate tint of yellow veiled with lace are not inappropriate for those who do not enjoy wearing sombre bonnets and hats which are composed only of rich black textures. Lace cleverly intermingled with velvet and drooled ornaments of dull rich shades are exceedingly effective on the headgear of the old. Those who are grey-haired, and indeed all women as they grow old, should wear red above their brows instead of under their chins. A glint of rich cardinal velvet or a rosette of the same against grey hair is beautiful. Lace, lace, lace and still more lace for the old. Lace is an essential to the dress of a woman more than 40 years of age. Jabos, ruches, yoke, cascades, vests and gowns of lace, black or white are all for the old. Rich lace has an exquisitely softening effect on the complexion. Thin women with necks that look like the strings of a violin, should swathes, mother decorate and adorn their throats with lace or gossamer fabrics that have the same quality as lace. These airy textures, in which light and shadow can so beautifully shift subdued roughness of the skin and harshness in lines. Old Dame Nature is the prime teacher of these bewitching artifices. Note her fine effects with mists and cobwebs, with lace-like moss on sturdy old oaks, the bloom on the peach and the grape. Nature produces her most enchanting colourings with dust and age. Laces, gauzes, mulls, chiffons, net and gossamer throw the same beautiful glamour over the face, and they are fit and charming accompaniments of grey hair, which is a wonderful softener of defective complexions and hard facial lines. Too much cannot be written upon the proper arrangement in the neck gear of the age. The disfiguring wrinkles that make many necks unsightly, may be kept in abeyance by massaging. No matter what the fashion in neck gear, the ageing must modify it to suit their needs. An old lady with a thin pipe stem neck should adopt a full-rush and fluffy soft collar bands. I cannot forbear repeating that too all as light as thistle bubbles, either white or grey or black, is exquisitely effective for thin scrawny necks. The fleshy red neck should be softened with powder and discreetly veiled in chemisettes of chiffon and delicate net. Old ladies may keep in the style, thus being in the picture of the hour, but it is one of the divine privileges of age that it can make its own modes. Absolute cleanliness as exacting as that proper nurses prescribed for babies is the first and most important factor in making old age attractive. Rich dress in artistic colours, soft, misty, aesthetic comes next. Then the idealising scarfs, collars, jabbos and fissures of lace and tools. Old people, becomingly and artistically attired, have the charm of rare old pictures. If they have sole-alumed faces they are precious masterpieces. End of Chapter 6 Chapter 7 of What Dress Makes of Us This is a LibreVox recording. All LibreVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibreVox.org, recording by Ellie. What Dress Makes of Us by Dorosy Quickly Chapter 7. How Men Caricature Themselves with Their Closes Although in the dress of men there are fewer possibilities of caricature than in that of women, yet the masterpieces of creation frequently exaggerate in a laughable and sometimes a pitiable way. Certain physical characteristics bend injudicous choice of clothes. As the fashion in hair dressing does not grant men the privilege of enhancing his facial attractions more of obscuring his defects by becomingly arranged coiffure and as the modes in neck gear are such that he cannot modify the blemishes of a defective complexion by encircling his athletic or scrawny throat with airy tulle or dainty lace that arch idolise of pasty-looking faces. And as he has force-one soft trailing garments that conceal unclassic curves and uninspiring lines of netherlimbs it behooves him be more exactingly particular even than women in the selection of his wearing apparel. Far be it from me, however, to remind men of his many limitations interests that he can never know the rapture of donning a becoming spring bonnet or the pleasure of possessing real lace things nor the sensuous charm of being unwrapped in caressing furs. As leasy silken garments as exquisite in colour and texture as beautiful fresh flowers, only delicate consideration for his feelings constrains me from expatiating upon at length. I would rather be able to remind him that he can make his limitations his advantages, then reveal to him what he misses in not being a woman. To treat of this important subject adequately and convincingly one would require the masterly disconcerment of a skillful and accomplished tailor. The experienced knowledge of a well-dressed man and the alertly critical perception of a loving woman who, even in the matter of closest, wishes the dearest of men to her to do full justice to himself and her ideal of him on all occasions. All those certain of the foregoing qualifications must needs be lacking. Nevertheless this timorous pen with more trepidation and courage it must be confessed begs to call attention to a few obvious details in masculine attire that caricatures, more or less peculiarities in the forms and features of men. To be sure, in the matter of headgear, man is not conspicuously at the mercy of bolasking ribbons, flowers and feathers, and he has fewer opportunities than women to make himself ridiculous. Yet a few suggestions regarding certain shapes of headgear for certain types of faces applicable to women are equally applicable to him. The same rule that applies to the woman of the wet-shaped type of face applies to the man of the wet-shaped type, as may be seen in sketches number 75 and 76. It is obvious that the use depicted in number 75 distracts from the manliness of his face and emphasizes the pointed appearance of his countenance by wearing a head with the broad rim projecting over his ears. This style of head appears more frequently in straw than in any other texture, but with the effect of a wide projecting rim is the same in any material. Number 76, a display improves the appearance of a long slim-faced man. An alpine head would not be unbecoming to him, the high oval of the crown forming a balance for the lower part of the face. The man with the parklistic chin should endeavor to select a head that will not make his heavy jaw as prominent as does the stiff derby in number 77. A soft alpine head or one somewhat of the style of number 78 improves his appearance. The high crown and wide gracefully rolling rim counterbalance the weight and prominence of the jaw. The purpose of the minor details of man's garments, the button as a feature of closest, has never been fully done justice to. It is a sustaining thing we know, something we can hang to, fasten to, and even tie to. That properly placed buttons contribute to our mental poise and therefore to our physical repose is hinted in that absurdly engaging story and then the smart boy who was the envy of his spelling class, because he always stood first. You remember, no doubt, that an envious but keen-eyed classmate observed that the smart speller worked off his nervous apprehensiveness by twirling the button of his coat as he correctly spelled word after word, day in and day out, and how the keen-eyed one played the part of a sterile civilian and surreptitiously cut the button off the coat. And do you remember the dramatic ending? How the smart one, on the fatal day, sought to press the button and, finding it gone, lost his wits completely and failed conominously. Many of us, when we have lost a sustaining button, have we not felt as ridiculously helpless and wit-benarmed as the smart speller? We all subconsciously acknowledge our dependence upon buttons, but not many of us evidently have observed that even buttons have a certain possibility of caricature in them, and that they may add to or detract from the appearance of the manly forms. The consideration of properly placed buttons may seem trivial to you, but if you will observe sketches number 79 and 80, you may discern that a thin man may apparently increase the press and add a certain manly touch to his figure by changing the buttons at the waistline of his coat. The buttons placed near together in number 79 rarely make his toothpick proportions too obvious. His back is made to look broader by placing the buttons wider apart, as shown in number 80 and changing the cut of his coat tail. That the fat man may also present a more attractive back to his enemies by considering the placing of his button may be seen in drawings number 81 and 82. The buttons decorating 81 are placed so far apart that they increase in an ungainly way the press of the back at the waistline. If they are placed nearer together and the seams graduated to meet them, they give the illusion of better and more desirable proportions as may seen in 82. That the thin man may also present a more imposing and broader front to the world is suggested in sketches numbers 83 and 84. The contracted look of the coat in number 83 is somewhat due to the buttons of his double-pressed coat being placed so closely together. The slender man, whom wishes to give the impression of being broad-chested, may have the buttons on his coat placed a little farther apart than fashion may allow, as shown in sketch 84. The proportions may be easily preserved by a careful adjustment of the shoulder seams and the seams under the arms. The waistline is not so much a danger line to men as to women, yet man should not wholly ignore his equator. If he is long-waisted, he can apparently balance his proportions by having his skirt shortened as in number 85 and his waistline raised the nearest bit. If he is too short-waisted, he can lengthen his skirt and lower his waistline as shown in 86. In the one, he escapes appearing too long and lengthy in body. In the other, he obscures a leg of becoming inches that tends to give him a dumpy appearance. If you study your fellow men, you will observe that few are really perfectly proportioned. One man will have the body of a viking on the legs of a dwarf, or one will have the legs of an Apollo supporting the short body of a pygmy. The man, who has the kingly body too broad in proportion to his legs, as shown in sketch number 87 will endeavour to modify his physical defect by a careful selection of his coats. He should have his coats cut to give him as much length of leg as possible. A skillful tailor will know just what subtle changes and adjustments to make. The improvement in appearance and gain in height is pictured in sketch 88. The coat being shorter and the waist of the trousers being raised a trifle, the man's limbs seem longer, which is an improvement. Long lines tend to give elegance and grace in beering. Another thing for the two robers type of men to consider is the style of his trousers. Number 87 hints what he must not choose. Such brazen plates may make him appear offensively aggressive in size. Long fine lines such as shown in number 88 give an impression of length and apparently lessen the width. Two long lines, however, are almost as undesirable as too short ones. Overall, seen men sometimes make themselves look like telegraph poles or flagstaffs by wearing short coats that expose in a graceless way the whole length of their limbs. They suggest grains or other folds that give the impression of being all legs. When their legs are proportioned more like a stick of macaroni or a lead pencil than the shapely limbs of an adonis, they appear exceedingly funny and surmounted by a short coat. Such is pictured number 89. A famous general in the Civil War did not despise cotton as a fortification to protect him from the onslaught of the enemy. The overall seen man who is not unsuggestive of a picket should not be ashamed to fortify himself with cotton or any other sort of padding that intelligent tailors keep in stock. He should build his shoulders up a bit and bit generally but most carefully and artistically enlarged. His coat should be lengthened as in sketch 90. To cut off just as much of the long list of limbs as can possibly be allowed without destroying artistic proportions. The very tall, seen man who unsinkingly wears a short coat should be brave and never turn his back to his enemy. If he wears black and white check trousers and a short blue coat he should travel with his screen. A man in just such a rig attracted no end of comment in a fashionable hotel. The caricatureing effect of his trousers and coat were unspeakably comical. The Vera had a face as grave as an undertaker and the air of a serious-minded college professor. But they had the nondescript look of his cargo of whatever available garments could be obtained from the cast of wardrobe of summer borders in a farmhouse. Coats assuredly have the power of making cartoons living. Jocular cartoons of the Averas. It would hardly seem necessary to call attention to the fact that the man of huge dimensions should not wear a short coat such as shown in sketch number 91. Yet his type is too frequently seen attired in this style. A man so dressed certainly seems the living exemplification of the definition of a jug. Namely, a vessel usually with a swelling belly, narrow mouth and a handle for holding liquors. It cannot be reiterated too often that the large stout man should aim to acquire the distinction and dignity given by long lines. If his body is proportioned so he really has neither length of torso nor of limp he must pay more attention to the cut of his clothes and attain length in whatever artistic way he can. The long coat as may be seen in sketch number 92 not only apparently adds length but it conceals too the protuberant curves. Of course, character counts far more than clothes. We will all agree to that but at first glance it is immense clothes that impress people. Clothes affect our behavior somewhat. For instance, when the young European immigrant after summer's labor puts on for the first time a new coat he puts on much more. His good and becoming clothes put him on thinking that he must behave like people who are so dressed and silently and steadily his behaviorments. Of course, there is an uplifting truth in George Herbert's Maxim. The coat, with my discretion, will be brave. Yet I am inclined to think that the majority of men who will stop to consider will agree that Emerson who says, if a man has not firm nerves and has keen sensibility it is perhaps a wise economy to go to a good job and dress himself irreproachably. He cannot dismiss all care from his mind and may easily find that performance an addition of confidence, a fortification that turns the scale in social encounters and allows him to go gaily into conversations, where else he had been dry and embarrassed. I am not ignorant. I have heard with admiring submission the experience of the lady who declared that the sense of being perfectly well dressed gives a feeling of inward tranquility, which religion is powerless to bestow. A popular closeyee in New York understanding his trait of his fellow man voices the same sentiment in his advertisement in this succinct way. Seriously now, have you ever stopped to think that if you wear good clothing it adds much to that independent easy feeling you should have when you come in contact with other men? I think it was Lord Chesterfield who said, a man is received according to his appearance and dismissed according to his merits. There is a bit of truth in this. We would all admit, I have no doubt if you studied the question. Closest affect our own poise, ease, and attitude toward others and the expression of others toward us, but after all we rely upon the man or woman instead of upon the impression we receive from the closest. The garments, after we have noticed them in the superficial way, are chiefly interesting to us because they are the arch-betrayers of the physical and mental poise of the man, no matter what the cut of the clothes, no matter what the cachet of a fashionable tailor is used may have, or what its richness of material, the attitude of Laticadon's of number 93 would make the best clothesies in Christendom look shabby and unattractive. This too familiar carriage of the American man makes one wish to have the power to reverse the faces, astante to those of the false prophets, so those who stand at Laticadon's might see what ridiculous figures they cut in drawing room and street. The curved backs and rounded out shoulders would make fair-looking chests and the flat chests would represent respectable-looking backs. A man owns it to the spirit within him, not to stand a walk in such an attitude. He should praise up and keep praising up persistently, unremittingly until he attains a more manly bearing. The wholly alive fellow pictured in sketch number 94 would make homespun look elegant. His chest is forward, he does not take in front at the waist, protruding his abdomen in not only an inartistic but an unhealthy manner, but his strides master fully forward, with an air of inspiring aliveness. The perfect poise for this attitude is not unsuggestive to the Apollo Belvedere, the model of all men, a picture of which every college boy should have a place beside the prettiest girl in his collections of pretty girls, to constantly remind him to carry himself like a young god. End of chapter 7, recording by Ellie, May 2009. End of what tres makes of us bedurysi quickly.