DRESS.
"A lady is never so well dressed as when you cannot remember what she
wears."
No truer remark than the above was ever made. Such an effect can only be
produced where every part of the dress harmonizes entirely with the
other parts, where each color or shade suits the wearer's style
completely, and where there is perfect neatness in each detail. One
glaring color, or conspicuous article, would entirely mar the beauty of
such a dress. It is, unfortunately, too much the custom in America to
wear any article, or shape in make, that is fashionable, without any
regard to the style of the person purchasing goods. If it is the fashion
it must be worn, though it may greatly exaggerate a slight personal
defect, or conceal or mar what would otherwise be a beauty. It requires
the exercise of some judgment to decide how far an individual may follow
the dictates of fashion, in order to avoid the appearance of
eccentricity, and yet wear what is peculiarly becoming to her own face
or figure. Another fault of our fair countrywomen is their extravagance
in dress. No better advice can be given to a young person than to dress
always according to her circumstances. She will be more respected with
a simple wardrobe, if it is known either that she is dependent upon her
own exertions for support, or is saving a husband or father from
unnecessary outlay, than if she wore the most costly fabrics, and by so
doing incurred debt or burdened her relatives with heavy, unwarrantable
expense. If neatness, consistency, and good taste, preside over the
wardrobe of a lady, expensive fabrics will not be needed; for with the
simplest materials, harmony of color, accurate fitting to the figure,
and perfect neatness, she will always appear well dressed.
GENERAL RULES.
NEATNESS--This is the first of all rules to be observed with regard to
dress. Perfect cleanliness and careful adjustment of each article in the
dress are indispensable in a finished toilet. Let the hair be always
smooth and becomingly arranged, each article exquisitely clean, neat
collar and sleeves, and tidy shoes and stockings, and the simplest dress
will appear well, while a torn or soiled collar, rough hair, or untidy
feet will entirely ruin the effect of the most costly and elaborate
dress. The many articles required in a lady's wardrobe make a neat
arrangement of her drawers and closets necessary, and also require care
in selecting and keeping goods in proper order. A fine collar or lace,
if tumbled or soiled, will lose its beauty when contrasted with the same
article in the coarsest material perfectly pure and smooth. Each article
of dress, when taken off, should be placed carefully and smoothly in its
proper place. Nice dresses should be hung up by a loop on the inside of
the waistband, with the skirts turned inside out, and the body turned
inside of the skirt. Cloaks should hang in smooth folds from a loop on
the inside of the neck. Shawls should be always folded in the creases in
which they were purchased. All fine articles, lace, embroidery, and
handkerchiefs, should be placed by themselves in a drawer, always laid
out smoothly, and kept from dust. Furs should be kept in a box, alone,
and in summer carefully packed, with a quantity of lump camphor to
protect from moths. The bonnet should always rest upon a stand in the
band-box, as the shape and trimming will both be injured by letting it
lie either on the face, sides, or crown.
ADAPTIVENESS--Let each dress worn by a lady be suitable to the occasion
upon which she wears it. A toilet may be as offensive to good taste and
propriety by being too elaborate, as by being slovenly. Never wear a
dress which is out of place or out of season under the impression that
"it will do for once," or "nobody will notice it." It is in as bad taste
to receive your morning calls in an elaborate evening dress, as it would
be to attend a ball in your morning wrapper.
HARMONY--To appear well dressed without harmony, both in color and
materials, is impossible. When arranging any dress, whether for home,
street, or evening, be careful that each color harmonizes well with the
rest, and let no one article, by its glaring costliness, make all the
rest appear mean. A costly lace worn over a thin, flimsy silk, will only
make the dress appear poorer, not, as some suppose, hide its defects. A
rich trimming looks as badly upon a cheap dress, as a mean one does
upon an expensive fabric. Observe this rule always in purchasing goods.
One costly article will entirely ruin the harmony in a dress, which,
without it, though plain and inexpensive, would be becoming and
beautiful. Do not save on the dress or cloak to buy a more elaborate
bonnet, but let the cost be well equalized and the effect will be good.
A plain merino or dark silk, with a cloth cloak, will look much better
than the most expensive velvet cloak over a cheap delaine dress.
FASHION--Do not be too submissive to the dictates of fashion; at the
same time avoid oddity or eccentricity in your dress. There are some
persons who will follow, in defiance of taste and judgment, the fashion
to its most extreme point; this is a sure mark of vulgarity. Every new
style of dress will admit of adaptation to individual cases, thus
producing a pleasing, as well as fashionable effect. Not only good
taste, but health is often sacrificed to the silly error of dressing in
the extreme of fashion. Be careful to have your dress comfortable and
becoming, and let the prevailing mode come into secondary consideration;
avoiding, always, the other extreme of oddity or eccentricity in
costume.
STYLE AND FORM OF DRESS--Be always careful when making up the various
parts of your wardrobe, that each article fits you accurately. Not in
the outside garments alone must this rule be followed, an ill-fitting
pair of corsets, or wrinkles in any other article of the under-clothes,
will make a dress set badly, even if it has been itself fitted with the
utmost accuracy. A stocking which is too large, will make the boot
uncomfortably tight, and too small will compress the foot, making the
shoe loose and untidy. In a dress, no outlay upon the material will
compensate for a badly fitting garment. A cheap calico made to fit the
form accurately and easily, will give the wearer a more lady-like air
than the richest silk which either wrinkles or is too tightly strained
over the figure. Collars or sleeves, pinned over or tightly strained to
meet, will entirely mar the effect of the prettiest dress.
ECONOMY--And by economy I do not mean mere cheapness. To buy a poor,
flimsy fabric merely because the price is low, is extravagance, not
economy; still worse if you buy articles because they are offered cheap,
when you have no use for them. In purchasing goods for the wardrobe, let
each material be the best of its kind. The same amount of sewing that is
put into a good material, must be put into a poor one, and, as the
latter will very soon wash or wear out, there must be another one to
supply its place, purchased and made up, when, by buying a good article
at first, this time and labor might have been saved. A good, strong
material will be found cheapest in the end, though the actual
expenditure of money may be larger at first.
COMFORT--Many ladies have to trace months of severe suffering to an
improper disregard of comfort, in preparing their wardrobe, or in
exposure after they are dressed. The most exquisite ball costume will
never compensate for the injury done by tight lacing, the prettiest foot
is dearly paid for by the pain a tight boot entails, and the most
graceful effects will not prevent suffering from exposure to cold. A
light ball dress and exquisite arrangement of the hair, too often make
the wearer dare the inclemency of the coldest night, by wearing a light
shawl or hood, to prevent crushing delicate lace or flowers. Make it a
fixed rule to have the head, feet, and chest well protected when going
to a party, even at the risk of a crushed flower or a stray curl. Many a
fair head has been laid in a coffin, a victim to consumption, from
rashly venturing out of a heated ball room, flushed and excited, with
only a light protection against keen night air. The excitement of the
occasion may prevent immediate discomfort in such cases, but it adds to
the subsequent danger.
DETAILS--Be careful always that the details of your dress are perfectly
finished in every point. The small articles of a wardrobe require
constant care to keep in perfect order, yet they will wofully revenge
themselves if neglected. Let the collar, handkerchief, boots, gloves,
and belts be always whole, neat, and adapted to the dress. A lace collar
will look as badly over a chintz dress, as a linen one would with
velvet, though each may be perfect of its kind. Attention to these minor
points are sure tests of taste in a lady's dress. A shabby or ill
fitting boot or glove will ruin the most elaborate walking dress, while
one of much plainer make and coarser fabric will be becoming and
lady-like, if all the details are accurately fitted, clean, and well put
on. In arranging a dress for every occasion, be careful that there is no
missing string, hook, or button, that the folds hang well, and that
every part is even and properly adjusted. Let the skirts hang smoothly,
the outside ones being always about an inch longer than the under ones;
let the dress set smoothly, carefully hooked or buttoned; let the collar
fit neatly, and be fastened firmly and smoothly at the throat; let
shoes and stockings be whole, clean, and fit nicely; let the hair be
smooth and glossy, the skin pure, and the colors and fabric of your
dress harmonize and be suitable for the occasion, and you will always
appear both lady-like and well-dressed.
HOME DRESSES.
MORNING DRESS--The most suitable dress for breakfast, is a wrapper made
to fit the figure loosely, and the material, excepting when the winter
weather requires woolen goods, should be of chintz, gingham, brilliante,
or muslin. A lady who has children, or one accustomed to perform for
herself light household duties, will soon find the advantage of wearing
materials that will wash. A large apron of domestic gingham, which can
be taken off, if the wearer is called to see unexpected visiters, will
protect the front of the dress, and save washing the wrapper too
frequently. If a lady's domestic duties require her attention for
several hours in the morning, whilst her list of acquaintances is large,
and she has frequent morning calls, it is best to dress for callers
before breakfast, and wear over this dress a loose sack and skirt of
domestic gingham. This, while protecting the dress perfectly, can be
taken off at a moment's notice if callers are announced. Married ladies
often wear a cap in the morning, and lately, young girls have adopted
the fashion. It is much better to let the hair be perfectly smooth,
requiring no cap, which is often worn to conceal the lazy, slovenly
arrangement of the hair. A few moments given to making the hair smooth
and presentable without any covering, will not be wasted. Slippers of
embroidered cloth are prettiest with a wrapper, and in summer black
morocco is the most suitable for the house in the morning.
DRESS FOR MORNING VISITS--A lady should never receive her morning
callers in a wrapper, unless they call at an unusually early hour, or
some unexpected demand upon her time makes it impossible to change her
dress after breakfast. On the other hand, an elaborate costume before
dinner is in excessively bad taste. The dress should be made to fit the
figure neatly, finished at the throat and wrists by an embroidered
collar and cuffs, and, unless there is a necessity for it, in loss of
the hair or age, there should be no cap or head dress worn. A wrapper
made with handsome trimming, open over a pretty white skirt, may be worn
with propriety; but the simple dress worn for breakfast, or in the
exercise of domestic duties, is not suitable for the parlor when
receiving visits of ceremony in the morning.
EVENING DRESS--The home evening dress should be varied according to
circumstances. If no visitor is expected, the dress worn in the morning
is suitable for the evening; but to receive visitors, it should be of
lighter material, and a light head-dress may be worn. For young ladies,
at home, ribbon or velvet are the most suitable materials for a
head-dress. Flowers, unless they be natural ones in summer, are in very
bad taste, excepting in cases where a party of invited guests are
expected. Dark silk in winter, and thin material in summer, make the
most suitable dresses for evening, and the reception of the
chance-guests ladies in society may usually expect.
WALKING DRESSES--Walking dresses, to be in good taste, should be of
quiet colors, and never conspicuous. Browns, modes, and neutral tints,
with black and white, make the prettiest dresses for the street. Above
all, avoid wearing several bright colors. One may be worn with perfect
propriety to take off the sombre effect of a dress of brown or black,
but do not let it be too glaring, and wear but little of it. Let the
boots be sufficiently strong and thick to protect the feet from damp or
dust, and wear always neat, clean, nicely fitting gloves. The entire
effect of the most tasteful costume will be ruined if attention is not
paid to the details of dress. A soiled bonnet cap, untidy strings, or
torn gloves and collar will utterly spoil the prettiest costume. There
is no surer mark of vulgarity than over dressing or gay dressing in the
street. Let the materials be of the costliest kind, if you will, but do
not either wear the exaggerations of the fashion, or conspicuous colors.
Let good taste dictate the limits where fashion may rule, and let the
colors harmonize well, and be of such tints as will not attract
attention.
FOR MORNING CALLS--The dress should be plain, and in winter furs and
dark gloves may be worn.
FOR BRIDAL CALLS--The dress should be of light silk, the bonnet dressy,
and either a rich shawl or light cloak; no furs, and light gloves. In
summer, a lace or silk mantle and white gloves should be worn.
SHOPPING DRESSES--Should be of such material as will bear the crush of a
crowded store without injury, and neither lace or delicate fabrics
should ever be worn. A dress of merino in winter, with a cloth cloak
and plain velvet or silk bonnet is the most suitable. In summer, a
dress and cloak of plain mode-colored Lavella cloth, or any other cool
but strong fabric, with a simply trimmed straw bonnet, is the best dress
for a shopping excursion.
STORM DRESSES--A lady who is obliged to go out frequently in bad
weather, will find it both a convenience and economy to have a storm
dress. Both dress and cloak should be made of a woolen material,
(varying of course with the season,) which will shed water. White skirts
are entirely out of place, as, if the dress is held up, they will be in
a few moments disgracefully dirty. A woolen skirt, made quite short, to
clear the muddy streets, is the proper thing. Stout, thick-soled boots,
and gloves of either silk, beaver-cloth, or lisle thread, are the most
suitable. The bonnet should be either of straw or felt, simply trimmed;
and, above all, carry a _large_ umbrella. The little light umbrellas are
very pretty, no doubt, but to be of any real protection in a storm, the
umbrella should be large enough to protect the whole dress.
MARKETING--Here a dress of the most inexpensive kind is the best. There
is no surer mark of vulgarity, than a costly dress in the market. A
chintz is the best skirt to wear, and in winter a dark chintz skirt put
on over a delaine dress, will protect it from baskets, and the
unavoidable soils contracted in a market, while it looks perfectly well,
and can be washed if required.
TRAVELING--Traveling dresses should be made always of some quiet color,
perfectly plain, with a deep mantle or cloak of the same material. When
traveling with a young babe, a dress of material that will wash is the
best, but it should be dark and plain. A conspicuous traveling dress is
in very bad taste, and jewelry or ornaments of any kind are entirely out
of place. Let the dress be made of dark, plain material, with a simple
straw or felt bonnet, trimmed with the same color as the dress, and a
thick barege veil. An elastic string run through a tuck made in the
middle of the veil, will allow one half to fall over the face, while the
other half falls back, covering the bonnet, and protecting it from dust.
If white collars and sleeves are worn, they should be of linen,
perfectly plain. Strong boots and thick gloves are indispensable in
traveling, and a heavy shawl should be carried, to meet any sudden
change in the weather. Corsets and petticoats of dark linen are more
suitable than white ones, as there is so much unavoidable dust and mud
constantly meeting a traveler.
EVENING DRESSES--Must be governed by the number of guests you may expect
to meet, and the character of the entertainment to which you are
invited. For small social companies, a dark silk in winter, and a pretty
lawn, barege, or white muslin in summer, are the most appropriate. A
light head-dress of ribbon or velvet, or a plain cap, are the most
suitable with this dress. For a larger party, low-necked, short-sleeved
silk, light colored, or any of the thin goods made expressly for evening
wear, with kid gloves, either of a color to match the dress or of white;
black lace mittens are admissible, and flowers in the hair. A ball dress
should be made of either very dressy silk, or light, thin material made
over silk. It should be trimmed with lace, flowers, or ribbon, and made
dressy. The _coiffure_ should be elaborate, and match the dress, being
either of ribbon, feather, or flowers. White kid gloves, trimmed to
match the dress, and white or black satin slippers, with silk stockings,
must be worn.
MOURNING--There is such a variety of opinion upon the subject of
mourning, that it is extremely difficult to lay down any general rules
upon the subject. Some wear very close black for a long period, for a
distant relative; whilst others will wear dressy mourning for a short
time in a case of death in the immediate family. There is no rule either
for the depth of mourning, or the time when it may be laid aside, and I
must confine my remarks to the different degrees of mourning.
For deep mourning, the dress should be of bombazine, Parramatta cloth,
delaine, barege, or merino, made up over black lining. The only
appropriate trimming is a deep fold, either of the same material or of
crape. The shawl or cloak must be of plain black, without border or
trimming, unless a fold of crape be put on the cloak; the bonnet should
be of crape, made perfectly plain, with crape facings, unless the
widow's cap be worn, and a deep crape veil should be thrown over both
face and bonnet. Black crape collar and sleeves, and black boots and
gloves. The next degree is to wear white collar and sleeves, a bow of
crape upon the bonnet, and plain white lace facings, leaving off the
crape veil, and substituting one of plain black net. A little later,
black silk without any gloss, trimmed with crape, may be worn, and
delaine or bombazine, with a trimming of broad, plain ribbon, or a bias
fold of silk. The next stage admits a silk bonnet trimmed with crape,
and lead color, dark purple, or white figures on the dress. From this
the mourning passes into second mourning. Here a straw bonnet, trimmed
with black ribbon or crape flowers, or a silk bonnet with black flowers
on the outside, and white ones in the face, a black silk dress, and gray
shawl or cloak, may be worn. Lead color, purple, lavender, and white,
are all admissible in second mourning, and the dress may be lightened
gradually, a white bonnet, shawl, and light purple or lavender dress,
being the dress usually worn last, before the mourning is thrown aside
entirely, and colors resumed. It is especially to be recommended to buy
always the best materials when making up mourning. Crape and woolen
goods of the finest quality are very expensive, but a cheaper article
will wear miserably; there is no greater error in economy than
purchasing cheap mourning, for no goods are so inferior, or wear out and
grow rusty so soon.