le cases where decided plainness
and even ugliness was the lot of one who nevertheless was a person of
great charm.

One's figure and bearing count perhaps for most, as they give the
first and distant impression, and are, as it were, the outlines of the
picture.

Self-consciousness, for any reason and to even the slightest degree,
is a great barrier to social intercourse and to mental freedom. It
shows as often in a person's carriage as in his words or features. It
should be broken down at all costs, and this can be done only by the
person himself. It may be done, usually with comparative ease, by
becoming and staying interested in something. Then awkwardness, and a
defiant attitude of spirit and body, will vanish. Haughtiness is
usually the outward sign of a great inner self-consciousness. All of
these traits, as well as their opposites, stamp themselves upon the
bearing of the body, and reveal there the clearest manifestations of
character.

Dress is almost as essential. By this is not meant a rigid adherence
to fashion,--the stamp of a weak mind,--or even good taste, but an eye
to the appropriate and fitting. First of all, dress should be
subordinated to character, that is, it should be no more costly than
the wearer can afford, and no more striking than modesty and good
taste allow.

Good taste in dress means plain and simple styles, but material as
elegant, serviceable, and pleasing as one's purse permits. It means
also a few things well chosen and kept in good order, rather than many
things more or less untidy; that one's wardrobe will be
harmonious,--not a cheap, shabby garment to-day, and an expensive,
showy one to-morrow. It means also that the wardrobe throughout, not
only the external garments, is equally well chosen and well cared for.

One should not mix one's wardrobe. A coat of one suit and the skirt of
another should not be worn together. A carriage parasol should not be
used on a sunny promenade, nor an umbrella in a carriage, or open
automobile.

It is necessary to wear a dress appropriate to the occasion in order
to be well dressed. No matter how excellent one's costume may be, if
it does not suit the time and place it is absurd and incongruous. Some
of the major rules for appropriate dress are as follows:

Full evening dress demands one's most elaborate gown, made of silk,
satin, velvet, lace, or crepe-de-chine, as costly as one's purse
permits, with decollete effects, gained by either actu