Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 95, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 August 1898 — ADVICE ABOUT PACKING. [ARTICLE]

ADVICE ABOUT PACKING.

More Gowns Are Made Impossible by Careless Packing Than by Wear. Now a word of advice can be given to the woman traveler who is not so fortunate as to possess a well-trained maid. Pack your own trunks and pack with care. More rumpled and impossible gowns are due to careless packing and loose adjusting than any other one thing. No amount of tight packing or of pressure applied downward will do more than accentuate the natural folds. A single toss of the trunk that is loosely packed means a hopeless jumble of hats, wraps, bodices, laces and what not. Begin at the foundation with the heaviest garments. Do not fold too much; shake skirts from the waistband and spread them for the entire length without folding that the size of the trunk will allow. If not, spread out with great care in the folds which are naturally taken when held in an upright position, and turn over smoothly at the top. Shake wraps from the shoulders, lay them out in the folds they naturally take, with great care smooth the sleeves and turn the fronts over on the back, smoothing and adjusting all trimmings and frills so as to avoid horizontal creases. It is impossible to so fold a garment as to avoid all lines, but those taken lengthwise of the cloth readily disappear and are also little noticed, as they take the direction of the folds formed by the garment itself. Jackets, however, must be so managed as to show not a crease. Loose bodices require tissue paper for the support of puffs and the like, but they can be saved from much rumpling if spread out in the trunk and folded as little as possible. Then pack close and tight. Hats should be packed firmly, so as not to move, and for this purpose any light article, such as handkerchiefs, mouchoir cases, or soft and pliable objects that will not crush or injure the fashionable headgear may be used.— Philadelphia Press.