of from fourteen to eighteen wear black for three months
and then six months of black and white. They never wear veils of any sort,
nor are their clothes trimmed in crepe. Children from eight to fourteen
wear black and white and gray for six months for a parent, brother, sister
or grandparent. Young children are rarely put into mourning, though their
clothes are often selected to avoid vivid color. They usually wear white
with no black except a hair ribbon for the girls and a necktie for the
boys. Very little children in black are too pitiful.

=EXTREME FASHION INAPPROPRIATE=

Fancy clothes in mourning are always offenses against good taste, because
as the word implies, a person is in _mourning_. To have the impression
of "fashion" dominant is contrary to the purpose of somber dress; it is a
costume for the spirit, a covering for the visible body of one whose soul
seeks the background. Nothing can be in worse taste than crepe which is
gathered and ruched and puffed and pleated and made into waterfalls, and
imitation ostrich feathers as a garnishing for a hat. The more absolutely
plain, the more appropriate and dignified is the mourning dress. A "long
veil" is a shade pulled down--a protection--it should never be a flaunting
arrangement to arrest the amazed attention of the passerby.

The necessity for dignity can not be overemphasized.

=BAD TASTE IN MOURNING=

Mourning observances are all matters of fixed form, and any deviation from
precise convention is interpreted by the world at large as signifying want
of proper feeling.

How often has one heard said of a young woman who was perhaps merely
ignorant of the effect of her inappropriate clothes or unconventional
behavior: "Look at her! And her dear father scarcely cold in his grave!"
Or "Little she seems to have cared for her mother--and such a lovely one
she had, too." Such remarks are as thoughtless as are the actions of the
daughter, but they point to an undeniable condition. Better far not wear
mourning at all, saying you do not believe in it, than allow your unseemly
conduct to indicate indifference to the memory of a really beloved parent;
better that a young widow should go out in scarlet and yellow on the day
after her husband's funeral than wear weeds which attract attention on
account of their flaunting bad taste and flippancy. One may not, one must
not, one _can not_ wear the very last cry of exaggerated fashion in crepe,
nor may one be boisterous