Page:Advice to young ladies on their duties and conduct in life - Arthur - 1849.djvu/101

Rh To dress with neatness, taste, and propriety, is the duty of every young lady; and she should give just as much thought and attention to the subject as will enable her to do it, and no more. Unless she do give to it both thought and attention, however, she will not be able to dress with taste and propriety. Occasionally we meet with instances where young ladies affect, or really feel, indifference in regard to dress. Every thing like ornament is eschewed as beneath the dignity of an intelligent being. The higher colors never appear in any of their garments, and ribbons are used with a degree of caution that is quite amusing. All this might be tolerated if good taste accompanied their simplicity of attire; but, unfortunately, a want of good taste is, in most cases, the primary cause of the indifference they manifest. But, as there exists in woman a natural fondness for dress, the opposite extreme to this is the one into which young girls most frequently run, unless they are guided and controlled, as is usually the case, by the sounder and purer taste of a mother, an elder sister, or some judicious friend. In order to keep herself from running into this extreme, a young lady should guard against the common fault of dressing for the purpose of attracting attention. If she have a fondness for gay colors,