pend!

The complication of the woman's life by this domination of clothes is
extremely serious. In many cases it becomes not one of the sides of
her business, but _the_ business of her life. Such undue proportion
has the matter taken in the American Woman's life under democracy that
one is sometimes inclined to wonder if it is not the real "woman
question." Certainly in numbers of cases it is the rock upon which a
family's happiness splits. The point is not at all that women should
not occupy themselves seriously with dress, that they should not look
on it as an art, as legitimate as any other. The difficulty comes in
not mastering the art, in the entirely disproportionate amount of
attention which is given to the subject, in the disregard of sound
principles.

The economic side of the matter presses hard on the whole country. It
is not too much to say that the chief economic concern of a great body
of women is how to get money to dress, not as they should, but as they
want to. It is to get money for clothes that drives many, though of
course not the majority, of girls, into shops, factories, and offices.
It is because they are using all they earn on themselves that they are
able to make the brave showing that they do. Many a girl is misjudged
by the well-meaning observer or investigator because of this
fact--"She could never dress like that on $6, $8, or $15 a week and
support herself," they tell you. She does not support herself. She
works for clothes, and clothes alone. Moreover, the girl who has the
pluck to do hard regular work that she may dress better has interest
enough to work at night to make her earnings go farther. No one who
has been thrown much with office girls but knows case after case of
girls who with the aid of some older member of the family cut and make
their gowns, plan and trim their hats. Moreover, this relieving the
family budget of dressing the girl is a boon to fathers and mothers.

It is hard on industry, however, for the wage earner who can afford to
take $6 or $8 helps pull down the wages of other thousands who support
not only themselves, but others.

Moreover, to put in one's days in hard labor simply to dress well, for
that is the amount of it, is demoralizing. It is this emphasis on the
matter which impels a reckless girl sometimes to sell herself for
money to buy clothes. "I wanted the money," I heard a girl, arrested
for her first street soliciting, tell the judge. "Had you no hom