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46 THE TOILET. THE TOILET. Discourse we now of silks and cloth of gold; Of roses for birth-days and high festivals; The of the maiden's simple, unadorn'd attire, And modest toilet of the bride. OUR intention in the treatment of this delicate and important subject is by no means to attempt establishing a beau ideal of dress ; because, even in the event of our being successful, it would be only applicable to the beau ideal of form and feature: indeed, it appears to us, that there is not only a perfect style of costume, adapted to the various classes of figure and face, but for almost every individual of which they are composed. To enter into a description of these styles, would be to embark into an hopeless and endless task; for, to be complete, they must be as infinite and varied as nature herself. Our limits may be much more advantageously occupied by an inquiry into general principles, leaving their application, in most cases, to the young reader's taste, which, however,we shall endeavour in our progress, to correct, advance, or confirm. Although the Toilet should never be suffered to engross so much of the attention as to interfere with the higher duties of life, yet, as a young lady's dress, however simple, is considered a criterion of her taste, it is, certainly, worthy of her attention. Her chief object, in this respect, should be, to acquire sufficient skill and good taste to do all that it is needful, with regard to the attire, in the least possible period of time,-to abbreviate the labours of the Toilet, so as not to entrench upon hours which should be devoted to the useful avocations of life, or the embellishments of the mind. It will be a laudable ambition in her, to curb those excesses of "each revolving mode" with which she is in some measure obliged to comply; to aim at grace and delicacy rather than richness of dress; to sacrifice exuberance of ornament (which is never becoming to the young) whenever it is possible, to an admirable neatness, equally distant from the prim and the negligent; to learn the valuable art of imparting a charm to the most simple article of dress, by its proper adjustment to the person, and by its harmonious blending, or agreeably contrasting with the other portions ofthe attire. It is a truth, which should ever be borne in mind, that a higher order of taste is often displayed, and a better effect produced by a paucity or total absence of ornament, than by the most profuse and splendid decorations. The youthful Isabella of Portugal looks better in that simple head-dress in which she is occasionally depicted, than in the nuptial robes which she wore on the day of her marriage with Philip the Good. Fashion demands a discreet, but not a servile: much judgment may be shown in the time, as well as the mode, chosen for complying with her caprices. It is injudicious to adopt every new style immediately it appears ; for many novelties in dress prove unsuccessful-

being abandoned even before the first faint impression they produce is worn off; and a lady can scarcely look more absurd than in a departed fashion, which, even during its brief existence, never attained a moderate share of popularity. The wearer must, therefore, at once relinquish the dress, or submit to the unpleasant result we have mentioned : so that, on the score of economy, as well as good taste, it is advisable not to be too eager in following the modes which whim or ingenuity create in such constant succession. On the other hand, it is unwise to linger so long as to suffer " Fashion's ever varying flower" to bud, blossom, and nearly " waste its sweetness" before we gather and wear it : many persons are guilty of this error; they cautiously abstain from a too early adoption of novelty, and fall into the opposite fault ofbecoming its proselytes at the eleventh hour : they actually disburse as much in dress as those who keep pace with the march of mode, and are always some months behind those who are about them ;-affording, in autumn, a post-obit reminiscence to their acquaintance, ofthefashions which were popular in the preceding spring. Such persons labour under the further disadvantage of falling into each succeeding mode when time and circumstances have deformed and degraded it from its " high and palmy state :" they do not copy it in its original purity, but with all the deteriorating additions which are heaped upon it subsequently to its invention. However beautiful it may be, a fashion rarely exists in its pristine state of excellence long after it has become popular: its aberrations from the perfect are exaggerated at each remove ; and if its form be in some measure preserved, it is displayed in unsuitable colours, or translated into inferior materials, until the original design becomes so vulgarized as to disgust. There are many persons who, while they affect to despise Fashion, and are ostensibly the most bitter enemies of " the goddess with the rainbow zone," are always making secret compacts and compositions with her. Their constant aim is to achieve the effect of every new style of dress, without betraying the most distant imitation of it: they pilfer the ideas of the modiste, which they use (to adopt the happy expression of Sir Fretful) 66 as gypsies do stolen children,-disfigure them to makethem pass for their own. " This is pitiful hypocrisy. Although the fickle goddess rarely approaches the realms of the truly beautiful, except immediately after having rioted in the regions of absurdity ; and scarcely sojourns in the classic air of Greece for a moment, ere she wings her way to that which is most Gothic and barbarous ; yet, in spite ofher absurdities, she is not only obeyed,