New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Women white collar workers -- Fiction
"I don't care what you call me, if you can tell me how to make a
seventeen-fifty suit look like _Vogue_. Isn't it awful, Miss Joline,
that us lower classes are interested in clothes, too?"
"My dear girl, even the beautiful, the accomplished Beatrice
Joline--I'll admit it--knows when she is being teased. I went to
boarding-school, and if you think I haven't ever been properly and
thoroughly, and oh, most painstakingly told what a disgusting, natural
snob I am, you ought to have heard Tomlinson, or any other of my dear
friends, taking me down. I rather fancy you're kinder-hearted than they
are; but, anyway, you don't insult me half so scientifically."
"I'm so sorry. I tried hard-- I'm a well-meaning insulter, but I haven't
the practice."
"My dear, I adore you. Isn't it lovely to be frank? When us females get
into Mr. Truax's place we'll have the most wonderful time insulting each
other, don't you think? But, really, please don't think I like to be
rude. But you see we Jolines are so poor that if I stopped it all my
business acquaintances would think I was admitting how poor we are, so
I'm practically forced to be horrid. Now that we've been amiable to each
other, what can I do for you?... Does that sound business-like enough?"
"I want to make you give me some hints about clothes. I used to like
terribly crude colors, but I've settled down to tessie things that are
safe--this gray dress, and brown, and black."
"Well, my dear, I'm the best little dressmaker you ever saw, and I do
love to lay down the law about clothes. With your hair and complexion,
you ought to wear clear blues. Order a well-made--be sure it's
well-made, no matter what it costs. Get some clever little Jew socialist
tailor off in the outskirts of Brooklyn, or some heathenish place, and
stand over him. A well-made tailored suit of not too dark navy blue,
with matching blue crêpe de Chine blouses with nice, soft, white
collars, and cuffs of crêpe or chiffon--and change 'em often."
"What about a party dress? Ought I to have satin, or chiffon, or blue
net, or what?"
"Well, satin is too dignified, and chiffon too perishable, and blue net
is too tessie. Why don't you try black net over black satin? You know
there's really lots of color in black satin if you know how to use it.
Get good materials, and then you can use them over and over
again--perhaps white chiffon over the black satin."
"White over black?"
Though Miss Joline stared down with one of the quick, secretive smiles
which Una hated, the smile which reduced her to the rank of a novice,
her eyes held Miss Joline, made her continue her oracles.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account