o one of limited income is not
encouraging. And yet a man with a modest salary can dress very well on
two to three hundred dollars a year, and even less. It is only the first
step which costs. One must have a foundation or a slight capital with
which to start. After that with a little care expenses can be easily
regulated.

The evening suit is the most expensive essential of a man's wardrobe.
This he is obliged to have. I would advise, in selecting a suit of this
kind, to have it of good material from a good tailor, after a model not
too pronounced, so that in case of any small alteration in the fashions
it can survive a season or two. With proper care your evening suit
should last at least five years. During the first two or three it should
be your costume for formal occasions. During the third season you might
possibly have another pair of trousers made or renew the waistcoat or
even the coat. When you find yourself, thus by the principles of the
doctrine of the survival of the fittest, the possessor of two evening
suits, use the old one for theaters and small dinners, and the best for
the formal functions. White waistcoats are very smart for evening wear,
and an investment in one or two of these during the course of a season
will save the waistcoat of the evening suit. The prices of evening suits
vary. The most fashionable Fifth Avenue tailors charge as much as one
hundred and twenty-five dollars for them. Some men argue that this sum
insures an excellent investment. However, you can have an excellent one
made by a good tailor for an outlay of about forty dollars. The large
retail clothing shops have a custom department, and that is their figure
for an evening suit made to order. You can even have one for twenty-five
dollars, but I would not spend a less amount. Superintend the making of
it yourself. Some men have adjustable figures, and they can purchase
their clothes from the block--that is, ready-made. The only fault to
find with these garments is their machinelike cut. The pockets, if any,
the lines, the binding, and the entire get-up look as if these affairs
had been turned out by the dozen.

White waistcoats for evening wear are, however, somewhat in the nature
of luxuries. They are difficult to have laundered, and some very smart
men object to having them sent to the wash, and would not wear one after
it has gone through that process. The Fifth Avenue tailor will charge as
much as twenty dollars for a white d