A plain cloth basque and skirt of
striped material make a happy compromise and can be worn with becoming
effect by a stout woman.
[Illustration: NO. 56]
A basque cut high behind and on the shoulders apparently gives height.
A very stout woman should never wear double skirts or tunics or dresses
with large sprawling patterns, such as depicted by cut No. 56, which
suggests furniture stuffs. A large woman who had a fancy for wearing
rich brocades figured with immense floral designs was familiarly called
by her kind friends "the escaped sofa."
White, or very light colors, should never be worn by the stout; they
greatly increase the apparent size. Large plaids should also be
eschewed. Small checks and plaids may sometimes be becoming.
Neither the too thin nor the too stout should adopt a style of gown
that caricatures the form as does the voluminous wrapper, finished with
a box-pleat, as shown in No. 57. There is no grace in straight lines.
[Illustration: NOS. 57 AND 58]
No. 58, which accentuates the height of the over-tall, thin woman, is
better adapted to enhance the charms of a woman of finer proportions.
The bony and scrawny, of the type of No. 58, seem to have a perverse
desire to wear what makes their poverty in physical charms only more
conspicuous. A woman of distinction in Boston, who is exceedingly thin
and tall, wore Watteau pleats so frequently, even on reception and
evening gowns that she was dubbed by a wag "the fire-escape," a title
which so strikingly characterized her style, that the term was adopted
by all her friends when they exchanged confidences concerning her.
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