Autumn Fashions... Again

It is time for this summer dress to take its rest in the wardrobe! That is what you are thinking, Madam, as you pack your bags to come home from the summer resort, or when you catch sight of the yellow leaves falling on the ground of your garden; and you can only join nature in its change — in step, of course, with the realism of modern life.

The fashion houses do not stand with folded arms before nature's turning; they too feel the massing of the dark clouds, and strive their utmost to draw that mournful sheet out of your way and set in its place bright, harmonious colors. Even the 'tailleur' this season is of veined cloth, if you wish — but far removed from loud, repellent colors.

It matters much to you to appear in elegant dress among your friends and in your office; so do not forget simplicity — it is the distinction of our age; and how should the practical lady of today give herself over entirely to show and ornament the whole day long, and neglect her duties?

Autumn is not the season of calm; it is an upheaval in nature, and this point the fashion houses bear in mind, choosing the dress and hat that agree and match, to beat back the assaults of the storms and to defy nature and her revolts. And here one must remark that our ladies are, of all the world's women, the least fond of wearing hats, even at official parties; and this leaves not only a marked want in a woman's elegance, but touches the completeness of femininity in her outward look, for the hat that harmonizes with the clothes lends a touch of calm and softness — and these are the dearest attributes of femininity. And so, however fashions change and shift, and however the ages advance and turn, in all their advancing and turning they never try to cheat woman of her due of elegance, nor ever attempt to draw her away from the sphere that nature has set apart for her — where taste, softness, and calm abide; where the throne of beauty rises!..