THE FOUR CLASSES OF DRESS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 96, 16 January 1908, Page 3

THE FOUR CLASSES OF DRESS.

This is the way an American woman classi- j fiesthe four grades of women's robes: — v . Firstly, tho Frock,' thon, in rising se- T quence, the Dress, the Gown, and 1 tho Crea- s tion. Lot us define them for the benefit of t ; those- who do not caro to dabblo in tho c . Exact Sciencoiof Serious Frivolity, yet who , i are interested hi its results. . . , j i The Frock is made by the' homo seam- ! stress, or "an awfully inexpensive little i woman around the comer." .It is of.the i simpler materials, tho cotton", goads, gingham, madras, even the. lowly calico. It- is ! only for. morning wear, and. its proper attri- : butes are t'ubbablencss,,neatness, and comfort'. E Tho Dress is-, a thought moro elaborate ; than the Frock. It is the. sort''of thing j. made .by a good unoriginal.'dressmaker, and . we wear it when .wb go'-'to see our loss-dis- > tinguished relatives, and .when we attend i church sewing societies; ■ charity boards and ; the liko. It is invariably'made of serviceable material, and fills a.nicho of .its.own in i tho wardrobe marking the difference -between j Duty and/Pleasure. Tho Dress;-Vliilo, it - never offends by its presence, .never makes a ( f triumphal entry, or causes heart-burnings ( 3 of- envy among its 'wearer's friends. - J The-Gown—now hero is a marked rise in r tho' sartorial scale. The Gown is a blending 1 of tho frivolous and the dignified; effected - bv a Real Modiste. . It has a box to itself,3 and we tuck tissue paper into its sleeves - wlion we put it away. It'broathes of bridge, b whist, of" afternoon teas, of luncheons at V smart restaurants, and we checked payment j- for it -out ,of our own private account Jest . Mr. Man should call us extravagant. • But the Creation! .'To tho most of us it comes but. once or twice in a lifetime. Imf ported—oh, la la, certainement,—with ruev delapaixian art in every pufF and frill. Even 3 tho contented wearer of tho Frock recognises r tho Creation afar off, , and bows before its s majesty of lino, its symphony of colour. In tho Creation we may see tho Sartorial Entity." the Aristocrat, tho Exclusive., tho Con- • feet-ion, the Grando Toilette. It-can only be evolved by an artist, and that artist must be ■ born to his art.