s play--should be wisely studied, and some
avocation adopted by every girl.

[Illustration: Photograph by Brown Bros.
A quiet retreat. Every girl needs some unoccupied time in order that
she may not acquire the habit of rushing]

Part of this training girls everywhere in this country may get if the
opportunities open to them are seized. The proportion of purely mental
work and of handwork will vary according to the locality in which the
girl finds herself. In general, however, such matters receive more
consideration than the more complex ones of direct social bearing.

How a girl shall dress, with whom and under what conditions she shall
find her social life, what she shall know of herself, of woman in
general, of the opposite sex, what her relations with her mother shall
be--these things are more often than not left to chance or to the
girl's untrained inclination.

The dress question rests fundamentally upon the personal question,
What do clothes mean to the girl? Behind that we usually find what
clothes mean to her mother, to her teachers, to the women who have a
part in her social life. Instinct teaches the girl to adorn her
person. Environment is largely responsible for the sort of adornment
she will choose. To bring the matter at once to a practical basis,
what standards shall we set up for our girls to see, to admire, and to
adopt as their own?

"Well dressed" may be interpreted to mean simply, or serviceably, or
conspicuously, or becomingly, or fashionably, or cheaply, or
appropriately, according to the standard of the person who uses the
term. It would necessarily be impossible to establish a common
standard for any considerable group of women, since individual
conditions must govern individual choice. A wise standard for girls
and their mothers, however, will conform to certain principles, even
though the application of the principles be widely different.

These principles may be expressed somewhat as follows:

1. Beauty in dress is expressed in line, color, and adaptation to
personal appearance, not in expense.

2. Fitness depends upon the occasion and upon the relation of cost
to the wearer's income.

3. Simplicity conduces to beauty, fitness, and to ease of upkeep.

4. Upkeep, including durability and cleansing possibilities, is as
important a consideration in selecting clothes as in selecting
buildings and automobiles. Freshness outranks elegance.

5. Indivi