er human society ceased to be all alike as to
occupation, diversion and interest.

In the world of caste, costume has gradually evolved until it aims
through appropriateness, at assisting woman to fulfil her role. With
peasants who know only the traditional costume of their province, the
task must often be done in spite of the costume, which is picturesque or
grotesque, inconvenient, even impossible; but long may it linger to
divert the eye! Russia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland,
Scandinavia,--all have an endless variety of costumes, rich in souvenirs
of folk history, rainbows of colour and bizarre in line, but it is
costuming the woman of fashion which claims our attention.

The succeeding chapters will treat of woman, the vital spark which gives
meaning to any setting--indoors, out of doors, at the opera, in the
ball-room, on the ice--where you will. Each chapter has to do with
modern woman and the historical paragraphs are given primarily to shed
light upon her costume.

It is shown that woman's decorative appearance affects her psychology,
and that woman's psychology affects her decorative appearance.

Some chapters may, at first glance, seem irrelevant, but those who have
seriously studied any art, and then undertaken to tell its story
briefly in simple, direct language, with the hope of quickly putting
audience or reader in touch with the vital links in the chain of
evidence, will understand the author's claim that no detour which
illustrates the subject can in justice be termed irrelevant. In the
detours often lie invaluable data, for one with a mind for
research--whether author or reader. This is especially true in
connection with our present task, which involves unravelling some of the
threads from the tangled skein of religion, dancing, music, sculpture
and painting--that mass of bright and sombre colour, of gold and silver
threads, strung with pearls and glittering gems strangely broken by
age--which tells the epic-lyric tale of civilisation.

While we state that it is not our aim to make a point of fashion as
such, some of our illustrations show contemporary woman as she appears
in our homes, on our streets, at the play, in her garden, etc. We have
taken examples of women's costumes which are pre-eminently
characteristic of the moment in which we write, and as we believe,
illustrate those laws upon which we base our deductions concerning
woman as decoration. These laws are: appropriateness of he