A lady looks infinitely taller and slimmer in a long dress than she
does in a short costume, and there is always a way of showing the
feet, if desired, by making the front quite short, which gives,
indeed, a more youthful appearance to a train dress. The greatest
attention must, of course, be paid to the feet with these short
dresses, and I may here at once state that high heels are absolutely
forbidden by fashion. Doctors, are you content? Only on cheap shoes
and boots are they now made, and are only worn by common people. A
good bootmaker will not make high heels now, even if paid double price
to do so. Ladies--that is, real ladies--now wear flat-soled shoes and
boots, _a la_ Cinderella. For morning walking, boots or high Moliere
shoes are worn.
If you wear boots you may wear any stockings you like, for no one
sees them. But if you wear shoes you must adapt your stockings to your
dress. Floss silk, Scotch thread, and even cotton stockings are worn
for walking, silk stockings have returned into exclusively evening
wear. Day stockings should be of the same color as the dress, but
they may be shaded, or stripped, or dotted, just as you please. White
stockings are absolutely forbidden for day wear--no one wears them--no
one dares wear them under fashion's interdiction.