Page:Book of Etiquette, Volume 2, by Lilian Eichler.djvu/203

Rh paratively young woman, and inclined to be eloquent in her speech. We read parts of her rebuttals to the court, and we tried to picture her standing in the center of the huge room, surrounded by eager spectators, facing the jury,—in a gown that was fashionable, becoming, yet inappropriate and uncomfortable. We could not do it. We knew that she could never have made the impassioned appeal that freed the defendant if she had been thinking of her clothes, rather than of the case. We pictured her in a conservative suit, with high-necked waist, strictly tailored throughout, and giving the appearance of being well-dressed without anyone even stopping to think about it. Later we were gratified to learn definitely that we were correct—this woman lawyer who had made so tremendous a success was an extremely conservative dresser, with simple good taste.

Self-confidence, poise and dignity are valuable assets to have in business. Correct dress aids materially in their development.

It hardly seems necessary in a book of this kind to speak about the slattern. And yet, some bits of advice we can give may be of value to some—and therefore we will not omit them.

By a slattern we mean a woman who shows lack of care and thought in clothing. The girl whose blouse sags is a slattern. The woman whose dress hangs loosely and does not fit well is a slattern. The woman who looks as though she had jumped into her clothes quickly, dashed off to the office without glancing in the mirror, and then forgotten