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Some women have so systematised their costuming in order to bedecorative, at
the least possible expenditure of vitality and time(these are the women who
dress to live, not live to dress), that theyknow at a glance, if dress
materials, hats, gloves, jewels, colour ofstones and style of setting, are for
them.
The criticism by foreignersthat Americans, both men and women, never
appear really at home inevening clothes, that they look as if they felt
_dressed_, is true ofthe average man and woman of our country and results from
the laxstandards of a new and composite social structure. This picture is
known as THE MORNING PROMENADE: SQUIRE HALLET WITH HIS LADY. For the
dress, it may have been of dove-grey satin, or pink flowered silk with a
black taffeta cape and one of black lace to change off with.
But on the
whole, women have made great strides inthe matter of costuming with a view to
appropriateness and efficiency.CHAPTER VICOLOUR IN WOMAN'S COSTUMEColour is the
hall-mark of our day, and woman decoratively costumed, andas decorator, will be
largely responsible for recording this age as oneof distinct importance--a
transition period in decoration.Colour is the most marked _expression_ of the
spirit of the times; colourin woman's clothes; colour in house furnishing;
colour on the stage andin its setting; colour in prose and verse.Speaking of
colour in verse, Rudyard Kipling says (we quote from aneditorial in the
Philadelphia _Public Ledger_, Jan.
[Illustration: _Metropolitan Museum of
Art_ _Tudor England Portrait of Queen Elizabeth_]Woman to be decorative,
should train the carriage of her body fromchildhood, by wearing appropriate
clothing for various daily rôles.There is more in this than at first appears.
That is, if you have smart, up-to-date models to copy.One woman we know bought
the finest quality jersey cloth by the yard,and had a little dressmaker copy
exactly a very expensive skirt andsweater.
Werecall the beautiful and unique
Madame X.
Every young child needs to havecultivated a certain degree of
self-reliance.
Did not the strong red, green, and blueof Napoleon's time follow
the delicate sky-blues, rose andsunset-yellows of the Louis?Colour pulses on
every side, strong, clean, clear rainbow colour, as ifour magicians of brush
and dye-pot held a prism to the sun-beam; violet,orange and green, magentas and
strong blue against backgrounds of blackand cold grey.We had come to think of
colour as vice and had grown so conservative inits use, that it had all but
disappeared from our persons, our homes,our gardens, our music and our
literature. She told a group of friends the other day, to whomshe was showing a
dainty chiffon gown, posed on a form, that to her, theplanning and making of a
lovely costume had the same thrillingexcitement that the painting of a picture
had for the artist in thefield of paint and canvas.
If you have not done so
already, buy or borrow thewonderful Bakst book, showing reproductions in their
colours of hisextraordinary drawings, the originals of which are owned by
privateindividuals or museums, in Paris, Petrograd, London, and New York.
Your
French dressmakercombines real and imitation laces in a fascinating manner. The
criticism by foreignersthat Americans, both men and women, never appear really
at home inevening clothes, that they look as if they felt _dressed_, is true
ofthe average man and woman of our country and results from the laxstandards of
a new and composite social structure. This picture is known as THE MORNING
PROMENADE: SQUIRE HALLET WITH HIS LADY. Form implies the human bodyunder
control, ready for immediate action.
Every child, if normal, has its
goodpoints--hair, eyes, teeth, complexion or figure; and we all know thatmany a
stage beauty has been built up on even two of these attributes.Star your good
points, clothes will help you.
A putty-coloured touring car lined with red
leather isvery stunning in itself, but the woman who would look well when
sittingin it does not carelessly don any bright motor coat at hand.
A great
cathedral, a beautiful house, a perfect piece offurniture, a portrait by a
master, sculpture which is an object of art,a costume proclaimed as a success;
all are the results of knowing andfollowing laws. The result in appearance
is similar to a kimono sleeve. This variety of woman nevergets dress off her
chest.The catechism of good dressing might be given in some such form as
this:Are you fat? If so, never try to look thin by compressing your figure
orconfining your clothes in such a way as to clearly outline the figure.Take a
chance from your size.
It is in two pieces. Athenian.
Sargent_]"Form" is the
manipulation of the lines of the body to produce perfectbalance, perfect
freedom and, when required, perfect control in arrestedmotion. For a gown to be
worn when away from home, whenlunching, at receptions or dinners, the first
consideration must be_becomingness_,--a careful selection of line and colour
that bring outthe individuality of the wearer.
The woman in the opera box has
the sameproblem to solve as the woman on the stage: her costume must
beeffective at a distance. In the stalls, colour and outline of any single
costumebecome a part of the mass of colour and black and white of the
audience.It is difficult to be a decorative factor under these conditions,
yetwe can all recall women of every age, who so costume themselves as tomake an
artistic, memorable impression, not only when entering opera,theatre or concert
hall, but when seated. Along string of pearls gives great elegance, whether
wearer is standingor seated.
The ideal pose for any hat is a French secret.The
average woman is partially aware that if she would be a decorativebeing, she
must grasp conclusively two points: first, the limitations ofher natural
outline; secondly, a knowledge of how nearly she canapproach the outline
demanded by fashion without appearing acaricature, which is another way of
saying that each woman should learnto recognise her own type. Against
thebackground of her white neck and the simple lines of her blue gown,
thesapphires became decoration with artistic restraint, though they gleamedfrom
a coronet in her soft, black hair, encircled her neck many timesand fell below
her waist line, clasped her arms and were suspended fromher ears in long,
graceful pendants.
The woman in the opera box has the sameproblem to solve as
the woman on the stage: her costume must beeffective at a distance.
Remember
that your ethereal blond is invariably at her best inwhite, black (never white
and black in combination unless black withsoft white collars and frills) and
delicate pastel shades. Against thebackground of her white neck and the simple
lines of her blue gown, thesapphires became decoration with artistic restraint,
though they gleamedfrom a coronet in her soft, black hair, encircled her neck
many timesand fell below her waist line, clasped her arms and were suspended
fromher ears in long, graceful pendants.
Such a costume may be white, black and
anycolour; gold, silver, steel or jet; lace, chiffon--what youwill--provided
the fact be kept in mind that your outline be strikingand the colour an
agreeable contrast against the lining of the box.Here, outline is of chief
importance, the silhouette must be definite;hair, ornaments, fan, cut of gown,
calculated to register against thebackground. Also we have here a woman who
carries herself with form.
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