DO WOMEN DRESS TO PLEASE MEN?

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 23, 22 October 1907, Page 3

DO WOMEN DRESS TO PLEASE MEN?

Hit is an old question, answered by different individuals - : very diiferciitly. ' But- what woman is- thcr'oiin the. •'■ world who- really knows whether she dresses to please men; tor. a man, whether she dresses to-please women, or'whether,she dresses to please -Herself? , ' One section of the ; community," cynically disposed,- will, have it-l-that vanity dictates to wbmen,n liking for pretty clothes, and that a wish to* gratify !thpj eyes- of. tho other' sex dominates 'their •aspirations. Tho-' section that : thuscruolly diagnoses' the. situation is the!one that prides itself upon dressing only to 'clothp.Jts'.bbdy, and,-that presents to the World'a spectacle by no mean,; alluring. '■''It Sv.ears serviceable garments; so-called, and most assuredly 1 ugly. Ones, that never stir : tho, speech of." those who look at it to praise, nor.br.ing a glimmer of. joy'to the eyes of the observer. .- .''-'■' ...Such, persons condemn most unjustifiably the wholly !laudable .'desire other' women cherishUo, make the best of-themselves and ;t6,'enlianqo..the' vahto ,of their appearance in the eyes of, all .mankind. , The woman who counts'.time! -.veil spoilt which is-occupied with tor dressmaker, her "miilmer, ' her coiffeur, and. her. beauty doctor"' is. called, featherbrained, when in reality she is simply following'tlio, natural .bent of. femininity—that of making, herself look attractive. . . .. It is-only when she is obsessed by tho worship of. clothes and cosmetics to' the exclusion of" all'other'and more elevating occupations that her state is to be'pitied. ' As'a'.nation-the'women of, France aro not . beautiful.' Biit they absolutely rqvorenco the good points they possess, and dress with a chic 'tliiit is-in itself a species of beauty. The magnolia-like complexion that is so frequently'seen among the refined, and that,is so' fervently admired, is kept from the sun's too .burning.rays by a carefully arranged veil and a w:ell-poised parasol when madamo takes tho ,airy and'even for the shortest walkgloves 'aro put on. ' When they tr'ayol en. automobile quite plain women..wear tho most hideous masks as a preservative of what little comeliness they possess—masks that keep the eyes preserved from glare and the skin-from dust and'sunburn'. They evidently deem themselves responsible guardians'of ,their own prettiness, arid aro always ready riot only to take the precautions! already nanied, but to foregd tho delights'' of eating and drinking viands and beverages that .do not.'enhance their beauty. Tho 'Women- 'of Franco aro an example in the culture of -comeliness to all the rest of the European nations.' Surely it is laudable for women to dress to please rnoii, and very delightful to those who do so to hear the approval of tho man whose approval tliey seek. It is ohly.to be deplored that' as a .rule' the' Englishman is. too tardy with'his prq'ise. '~..' ' ; It has. been'said that ho only notices the dress of-his womenfolk when ho'dislikes it; oiily mAcs! it.a 'subject of comment'when he wishes to cast aspersions oh it. "What induced you to ; buy such a dreadful hat?" he will ask' his'wife, when she lias put on, simply to please him and look her'best in his ■sight,' a new confection. "That colour does not suit vou,"'lie will observe . "I like you be's't in will to," what -Jme she abandons white for' once and garbs herself in something'nioro decided. Discouraging indeed is ifc to" a .woman, to make! an effort that meets with no further' response than blame, or the silence..that probably .'mean's'- that it has passed'unnoticed. ; -' , She is then loft to dress to please herself or to provoke tlio envy of other'women, not an unnatural, but a quito undesirable, state, of affairs. It'ishuman to wish to flaunt prosperity; arid to show by attire and jewels that the world has behaved chivalrously towards oiic; but.the '.type of dressing that this toni'per results in is not one-to praise. It is ostentatious and. blatant; it is riot, refined nor in good taste.. -,- - - ! The woman iwho dresses to please her sweetheart or hei- husband, and who to this wish allies' »' natural propensity for habiting lierself becomingly, is. the .well-dressed woman par excellence. - She need not be luxuriously garbed; she will be able to excel oil'a small allowance with, a. desire to look well iii the eyes !of him to'whom her heart is n-iv'en 'quite easily. ' Such is. the power of love; it gilds'everything ' it. touches—even, drcss.-M.H., in the "Daily Mall,"