First of all, buy your clothes with deliberation so that they will look as though they belonged to you, not as though they were bought in a hurry. Deliberate buying is the economical way. Emergency buying in clothes is like food from the delicatessen—it’s a “make shift” and an expensive one.

Buy for suitability, for smartness, and think of all the uses you can make of a garment before you buy. If it’s a dress, what wrap or hat will you wear with it? Does it mean new shoes, new hat, and gloves? If so, then consider the advisability of purchasing another style which would look well with the accessories you have and are wearing with another costume. Buy few clothes if you must, but buy the best quality fabrics your purse will allow. And buy carefully. Being well-dressed is not so much a matter of money as it is information, for the well-dressed woman gives evidence of discriminate deliberation, of knowledge applied to selection, and of a wise choice of accessories as well as essentials. So take heed and take your time about every purchase so that everything harmonizes perfectly with what you have and so that every article, from shoes to hat, has its part in aiding slenderness rather than in emphasizing stoutness.

FACTS TO KNOW ABOUT MATERIALS

Acquaint yourself with materials, their wearing qualities, their clinging proclivities, and their color quality. By this latter, I mean their ability to “take the dye” and be soft and rich in their shades, because certain shades we must wear, and we don’t want to have them dull and lifeless, like brownish black or grayish drab. We want them to be deep and soft like those of beautiful old fabrics that have been ripened to an inimitable softness by age.

The most becoming colors for us come in good fabrics, so for the average woman there must be economy in the number of dresses rather than in their quality. A garment made in good style and of good material is more of a credit to you when half worn out than a cheap new garment could possibly be.

It is necessary to remember, too, that materials with a glossy, brilliant surface or finish, no matter what the color of the fabric may be, are difficult to wear and are not generally becoming, because the sheen and, in some instances, the stiffness tend to make the figure appear larger. Materials of soft finish or dull colors, on the other hand, will make the figure appear smaller and will attract less attention.

Every fat woman loves pastry and taffeta. We know that before we start. Pastry you can eat if you study hard to dress correctly, but taffeta you cannot wear because it sticks out where it shouldn’t and does not cling as it should. The surest way to have you avoid it is for me to tell you that it adds 20 pounds, and it truly does. The luster of satin eliminates it from our list while the conspicuousness of large-figured fabrics makes them equally inappropriate. When you see lengths of large figured fabrics in the shops, you may be tempted, but do not buy. They will thwart your whole purpose of putting into the clothes you wear the lines that make for slenderness and grace.

Shun bargains of miscellaneous materials. Unless you are offered a type of material that will slenderize, don’t buy it. And never stint your dresses by using remnants. Your dresses should never have an extra inch visible but likewise they should never in the least appear as though they were stinted in cutting. And that means that you must always have plenty of hems and facings and bias sleeves or bands if you want them. Stingy, scrimpy hems on big folks’ skirts are a “give away.” Always buy enough material for at least a 3½–inch hem, and more if fashion allows.

It is pitiable to see a big man humiliated and equally so to see a large woman in cheap flimsy fabric. Save up your pennies and look out for remnants if you must, but don’t buy cheap materials. The better materials, too, are an incentive for more careful planning, and as a result you have a more likeable, wearable dress.

CHOOSE THESE SLENDERIZING FABRICS

What can you wear to create the illusion of slenderness? In woolens, everything except firm hard finished weaves, or those in big or definite designs or colors. If silk is to be purchased, consider the closely woven heavy ones. They may cost a little more, yes, but they wear longer, and when you give thought and time to making a perfect dress you are happy to have it last as long as it will. Some big women delight in chiffon and Georgette and lace dresses, but these fabrics must not be used unless a substantial foundation dress is worn under them.

No one needs to use so much care about the foundation of her dress as a stout woman. It must be wholly non-transparent. It must fit perfectly, and any dress of lace or sheer material fitted over it must follow the slip silhouette easily but perfectly. Some designers use two and three thicknesses as though they were one. They say this softens the line, weights the fabric, and proves altogether advantageous where grace and line are desired.

Materials like faille or bengaline, with a definite crosswise grain, are smart and becoming and are best when cut and made crosswise. They hang more limply and, therefore, are more graceful and entirely desirable for slenderizing.

Often the mistake is made of choosing a material with wide stripes, due to the prevalent belief that stripes tend to make a person look slender. This is generally untrue. The stout woman can wear striped material, but the stripes, as a rule, must be fine and without definite color or line when viewed from a short distance. In other words, stripes should be felt, not seen, except at very close range. Stout women, and, in fact, most women look better in materials of plain or indistinct design in harmonizing colors than in those of bold design and of decided color combinations.

The heavy silks, striped by means of the weave, and in self color, are the best for tailored dresses. The heavy crÊpe weaves are more appropriate for draped dresses planned for occasional wear. And the best quality means the best wear, appearance and general satisfaction. It is better to have one very good, smart dress and take care of it than two cheap dresses that you are never quite satisfied with.

In selecting material for skirts, stout women should choose either plain fabric or fabric with a narrow or indistinct stripe or small figure and of a texture that is as soft and pliable as Dame Fashion permits.

For summer wear, good quality voiles are better than linens, and the crÊpe de Chines are better than the tub silks, because they cling, and that, after all is a vital consideration. Swiss, organdie, and ratinÉ, like taffeta, are too stiff or bulgy to give slenderness, so these fabrics must be admired always from a safe distance. Allover lace is permissible if of small design and heavy enough to hang rather than bulge.

For quick and easy reference I have made a complete list of fabrics that are certain to create a line of slenderness—materials that you can safely wear with the assurance that if properly used they will do much toward giving you the slender, fashionable lines for which you are striving. When all is said and done there is really quite a varied range of fabrics for you after all.

MATERIALS YOU CAN WEAR

HOW TO LOOK SMART AT ALL TIMES

Never hesitate about navy blue in fine wool or heavy silk. When beautifully made, either of these may be irresistibly youthful, and if care is used in selecting rightly balanced designs, such dresses can be so interestingly varied as never to be monotonous. For instance, a change of collars is allowable. One day smart turn cuffs may be worn, and the next day omitted, all giving variety without deviating from the path of good taste and slender emphasis. And navy blue is always smart, no matter what the prevailing fashion may be.

Watch for values. Know the kind of wool you want; avoid stiff satins and taffetas. Remember when buying or planning dresses that wools that fuzz up and satins that have a stiffness back of their shininess, taffetas that stick out, and voiles and Georgettes that are over-sheer are to be avoided. Fortunately, the better grades of these fabrics eliminate these tendencies by the very quality of the fabric, and to say that shiny satin is not possible for the large woman is unnecessary, although there are some qualities of satins soft enough to be wearable, provided the sheen is not too decided. But the heavy crÊpes are always more desirable because of their weight and lack of luster.

IF YOU MUST PRACTICE ECONOMY

If I could have but one dress, I should choose soft, brown Canton crÊpe with a satin side to use as trimming. If I could have just two dresses, one would be blue cloth and the other brown crÊpe because both are becoming. I say they are becoming despite the fact that a prominent color specialist says that black, blue, and brown are heavy colors and not the best for large figures. But the use of such a simple accessory as a scarf of lace or chiffon can lift out of the ordinary a brown crÊpe dress and can in the quality of its beautiful, smart lines, prove doubly effective. And fine white linen or piquÉ collars and cuffs can do wonders to a simple, correct-fitting one-piece dress of blue cloth.

I know of a certain manufacturer of a very excellent line of dresses for stouts. Expensive? Certainly, but worth the price, for following the rules of optical illusion is practically a religion with him. He uses only navy blue—the darkest navy—in heavy faille, crÊpe silks, Poiret twill, and charmeen. Some are trimmed in white linen or piquÉ, a few with net, but the majority are untrimmed, tailored, and pressed “to a turn,” even when made of silk. Dresses of this type are of a quality which will permit of one remodeling at least, so that the maximum of wear may be had from them. When this is possible the material can be really “worn out” because it was conservative in the first place and did not lose its style value too rapidly.

The feeling of satisfaction you get from such a costume, even when you discard the outfit, is much to be preferred to an attempt to wring the last drop of usefulness from your clothes by wearing them in the home. Never do this. Rip up, renovate, and make over, but don’t be shabby at home. There is too much to lose if you do. The stout woman just must get into the habit of looking smart at all times. Once acquired, it is a habit that brings with it a sense of pride, pleasure, and self-reliance very much worth cultivating.