Having done this, you must place your workman in the midst of beautiful
surroundings. The artist is not dependent on the visible and the
tangible. He has his visions and his dreams to feed on. But the workman
must see lovely forms as he goes to his work in the morning and returns
at eventide. And, in connection with this, I want to assure you that
noble and beautiful designs are never the result of idle fancy or
purposeless day-dreaming. They come only as the accumulation of habits
of long and delightful observation. And yet such things may not be
taught. Right ideas concerning them can certainly be obtained only by
those who have been accustomed to rooms that are beautiful and colours
that are satisfying.
Perhaps one of the most difficult things for us to do is to choose a
notable and joyous dress for men. There would be more joy in life if we
were to accustom ourselves to use all the beautiful colours we can in
fashioning our own clothes. The dress of the future, I think, will use
drapery to a great extent and will abound with joyous colour. At present
we have lost all nobility of dress and, in doing so, have almost
annihilated the modern sculptor. And, in looking around at the figures
which adorn our parks, one could almost wish that we had completely
killed the noble art. To see the frock-coat of the drawing-room done in
bronze, or the double waistcoat perpetuated in marble, adds a new horror
to death. But indeed, in looking through the history of costume, seeking
an answer to the questions we have propounded, there is little that is
either beautiful or appropriate. One of the earliest forms is the Greek
drapery which is exquisite for young girls. And then, I think we may be
pardoned a little enthusiasm over the dress of the time of Charles I., so
beautiful indeed, that in spite of its invention being with the Cavaliers
it was copied by the Puritans. And the dress for the children of that
time must not be passed over. It was a very golden age of the little
ones. I do not think that they have ever looked so lovely as they do in
the pictures of that time. The dress of the last century in England is
also peculiarly gracious and graceful. There is nothing bizarre or
strange about it, but it is full of harmony and beauty. In these days,
when we have suffered dreadfully from the incursions of the modern
milliner, we hear ladies boast that they do not wear a dress more than
once. In the old days, when the dresses were decorated with beautiful
designs and worked with exquisite embroidery, ladies rather took a pride
in bringing out the garment and wearing it many times and handing it down
to their daughters—a process that would, I think, be quite appreciated by
a modern husband when called upon to settle his wife’s bills.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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