Page:The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. 1.djvu/115

 coat are absolutely necessary as soon as the steamer leaves the harbour. The safest thing to do is to begin to wear more and warmer clothes according to necessity. The white shirts have almost been left out. This may be considered a hardship not because they are a climatic necessity but because they are a fashion. Well, this is a book meant for those who want to live cheaply and yet respectably. One can safely break through fashion especially when it is expensive and injurious, but the process should not be gone through violently. The white shirts have been left out because they swell up the weekly washing bill to a very great extent. A white shirt would cost 4d to wash while a flannel shirt would cost only 2d. Again, while one flannel shirt per week is sufficient, at least two white shirts would hardly answer the purpose. They spoil sooner than the flannel shirts. Indeed, some unconventional gentlemen in England who have ceased adoring the fashion as a goddess have discarded stiff clothing altogether. They have bidden goodbye to the stiff collars, cuffs and the shirts. Even medical opinion has begun to revolt against too much use of starch which is absolutely necessary for washing white shirts. The starch has been pronounced to be injurious to the body. Whatever it is, there is no denying the fact that flannel shirts are more comfortable and, in the end, less expensive than linen shirts. However, if the fashion is to be adored as it ought to be more or less, if you are not to break through it violently, wear the flannel shirts without collars; use the white collars and cuffs and you would lead others to believe that you have white shirts on. This trick is resorted to by thousands in London and sometimes it is very convenient. And, if at times, you like to look a London swell, that too has been provided for. A white shirt would be found mentioned in the list and may be used occasionally. As a token of respect to the fashion goddess, the neckties too have not been forgotten. They will find a place in the further list. They might be used or not according to one's fancies. They do not cost much if bought cheaply. The morning coat is worn on visits. On board, too, if you are a first-saloon passenger, it is a necessity. As far as possible, you should wear the jacket suit so that the morning coat may not be spoiled. The writer of these pages had only one morning coat. It is now five years old and yet looks as new as if it were made yesterday. As soon as it is done with, brush it well, fold it and put it in your chest of drawers and it would never spoil.