Page:Book of Etiquette, Volume 2, by Lilian Eichler.djvu/171



The two most important guides to one's personality are one's appearance and one's manner of speech. Centuries of experience have shown that by means of these one may almost without exception get at least a general idea of the sort of person that lies back of them.

Dress is the most important factor in the first impression. An honest heart may beat beneath the ragged coat, a brilliant intellect may rise above the bright checked suit and the yellow tie, the man in the shabby suit may be a famous writer, the girl in the untidy blouse may be an artist of great promise but as a general rule the chances are against it and such people are dull, flat, stale, and unprofitable both to themselves and to other people.

Like advertising, dress should call attention not to itself but to the person or product which it represents so that people will say, not, "What an attractive gown!" but "What a lovely woman!" not, "What a well-dressed man!" but, "I think I should like to know that man."

There is more room for originality, and by the same token for freakishness in woman's dress, and therefore the greater responsibility is hers. Her clothes should belong to her rather than merely to the era in which she happens to be living. This means that they must be individual but