Woman as Decoration | Page 8

fine, highly sensitive
face. The deep red curtains and upholstery in the box threw her into
relief, a lovely miniature, as seen from a distance. There were no doubt
other charming costumes in the boxes and stalls that afternoon, but
none so successful in registering a distinct decorative effect. The one
we refer to was suitable, becoming, individual, and reflected
personality in a way to indicate an extraordinary sensitiveness to values,
that subtle instinct which makes the artist.
With very young women it is easy to be decorative under most
conditions. Almost all of them are decorative, as seen in our present
fashions, but to produce an effect in an opera box is to understand the
carrying power of colour and line. The woman in the opera box has the
same problem to solve as the woman on the stage: her costume must be
effective at a distance. Such a costume may be white, black and any
colour; gold, silver, steel or jet; lace, chiffon--what you will--provided
the fact be kept in mind that your outline be striking and 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 the background. In the stalls, colour
and outline of any single costume become 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, yet we can all recall women of every age,
who so costume themselves as to make an artistic, memorable
impression, not only when entering opera, theatre or concert hall, but
when seated. These are the women who understand the value of
elimination, restraint, colour harmony and that chic which results in
part from faultless grooming. To-day it is not enough to possess hair
which curls ideally: it must, willy nilly, curl conventionally!

If it is necessary, prudent or wise that your purchases for each season
include not more than six new gowns, take the advice of an actress of
international reputation, who is famous for her good dressing in private
life, and make a point of adding one new gown to each of the six
departments of your wardrobe. Then have the cleverness to appear in
these costumes whenever on view, making what you have fill in
between times.
To be clear, we would say, try always to begin a season with one
distinguished evening gown, one smart tailor suit, one charming house
gown, one tea gown, one negligée and one sport suit. If you are needing
many dancing frocks, which have hard wear, get a simple, becoming
model, which your little dressmaker, seamstress or maid can copy in
inexpensive but becoming colours. You can do this in Summer and
Winter alike, and with dancing frocks, tea gowns, negligées and even
sport suits. 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 and
sweater. It seems incredible, but she saved on a ready made suit exactly
like it forty dollars, and on one made to measure by an exclusive house,
one hundred dollars! Remember, however, that there was an artist back
of it all and someone had to pay for that perfect model, to start with. In
the case we cite, the woman had herself bought the original sport suit
from an importer who is always in advance with Paris models.
If you cannot buy the designs and workmanship of artists, take
advantage of all opportunities to see them; hats and gowns shown at
openings, or when your richer friends are ordering. In this way you will
get ideas to make use of and you will avoid looking home-made, than
which, no more damning phrase can be applied to any costume. As a
matter of fact it implies a hat or gown lacking an artist's touch and
describes many a one turned out by long-established and largely
patronised firms.
PLATE III
A Greek vase. Dionysiac scenes about 460 B.C. Interesting costumes.

(Metropolitan Museum.)
[Illustration: Metropolitan Museum of Art Woman on Greek Vase]
The only satisfactory copy of a Fortuny tea gown we have ever seen
accomplished away from the supervision of Fortuny himself, was the
exquisite hand-work of a young American woman who lives in New
York, and makes her own gowns and hats, because her interest and
talent happen to be in that direction. She told a group of friends the
other day, to whom she was showing a dainty chiffon gown, posed on a
form, that to her, the planning and making of a lovely costume had the
same thrilling excitement that the painting of a