South Bend News-Times, Volume 34, Number 245, South Bend, St. Joseph County, 2 September 1917 — Page 23

THE bUUTH BEND NEWS-TIMES

srxn.w. sr.iTi:ir,i : irur.

rm : 1 . " . - ' . - , - .. ; , . .v .. . y- . . . ' ' - v. .-..;-y- ' . ... - a . .. - . . . . t ... ' - - ' 4 " '.-' , 1 . . .ir' - ; V&i 'U: il ... ; -r:A4 v- i.-'- ' " xhyw - : .y; -. : . .---y-- -r -y -

ti;

7i f -

- . ? ' .V . t

fi Quaint, Old Picture from Harper's Bazaar of 50 Years Ago. This Picture Is Grotesque to Ut Because We Sec at Once the Disharmonies Between the Clothing of the Men and Women and Yachting. People Clad in Such Fashions Could

never ue uood bailors, and It Is Because What Professor Dearborn Calls Our "Clothes Sense" Hat Progressed So Far Since Then That This Picture Seems "Funny" to Us Now. By Dr. George Van Ness Dearborn, B. L., M. D., Ph. D., A. M. Professor of Physiology, Tufts College; Professor of the Philosophy of Physical Education, Sargent Normal School; Instructor in Psychology, School of Eugenics (in a Lecture). LOTHES sorvo as a protection, iust as ihe skin docs. dividual. "

The box coat of the tortoise, the quills of the hedjreho, the armor of the sturgeon, are all examples of ?lothcs ,we might say in the lower animals, which serve as protection, very important protection, against fears of various kinds. In the first plaee, most important of all undoubtedly, is fear of ridicule. I have no doubt that more people are impelled bv fear of ridicule to drrs well than bv anv other one motive. The seeond fear is of an estimation of poverty, fear of being considered poor if they wear poor clothes, fear of estimation of inelTieieney or stupidity in as far as :hose things are indicated by one's money, by what they spend on elothfS; fear of skin discomfort and of bodily internal discomforts. The fear of estimation of bodily immodesty is perhaps nowadays a rather minor affair. I .should like to enlarge on this ultra, super-importance of fear in o'ii social life. There is no one thing in this world that the vast majorty of men and women need to be relieved of more than various kinds of far. Fear is one of the very worst enemies of our civilization and of our romfort, and, moreover, of our efficiency. Protection and relief then from these fears, I take it, is the real aim and purpose of our system of clothes. Fear is so instinctively a part of each unique individual that relief from it in all its phases is a positive joy. Heins well dressed relieves us from these fears. Then add vanity, self-confidence, pleasant anticipation, satisfaction with oneself, etc., and we have the pleasant emotional tone which lends a tremendous energy and "pep," o to say. to the desire to be well dressed. Comfort is indispensable to a hiirh efficiency. This feelinp: one gets when one's clothing tits absolutely. To me two criterion, in clothing are essential one of a general and the other of a particular nature. First, a uniform snugne.ss, with a reasonable amount of looseness to the organism as a conscious and living and active man, as a machine with vital and mental processes to :-arry on. And, secondly, fitness to each unique individuality. At least ninety-nine out of every hundred men who are not deformed could be fitted by a reasonable number of well-developed types of clothes. For each unique individual there is a relative unobtmsiveness. An essential thing about a well-fittinir suit of clothes remember, we are not talking about the body any more, clothing must fit the personality is that it must be unobtrusive. Of course, there are exceptional people in whom obtrusiveness is a virtue. The detective, for example, the ioctor of medicine, the sport, the politician, the army general, a great many others, all wear clothes which should oe obtrusive; their business is to be obtrusive. Hut for ;he most part, for the run of men and women who aro not in these groups, the essential thing is unobtrusiveness. Xowf self-confidence is another form or aspect of the satisfaction arising from clothing fitness. Self-eonfi-Ience, protected, fearless, initiative; unirritated, normal manhood, confident of its eternal and universal mastery, irise from satisfaction. Success has as one of its conditions self-confidence ind fearlessness. Success in general is not possible without them. From one of my classes in psychology, men and jvomeu. twenty-four of them, averaging twenty-eight years in age, I obtained seventy-eight answers giving reasons why being well dressed helps a person to success. I will give a summary of these reasons: First : "A well-dressed per;on more eailv sains the conndence of people in the busi

ness world." Fifteen answers said practically that. Second: "Consciousness of zood personal appearance frees the individual from the fear of the most common form of adverse criticism.'

Third: 4The personality f an individual is judged first of all by his external appearance." Fourth: "Those habitually well-groomed carry that neatness to things beyond clothing. It suggests a neatness which is sure to be applied to other things." Fifth: "Social advantages are frequently obtained as the result of pleasing personal appearance." Sixth: "First imnrcssions are lasting with many in-

At Least TLey Add -Jic 10 Pel Cent or Efficiency Tkat Makes the Difference Between Failure and Success, Says Prof. Dearborn. Discussing Why It Is a Moral and Business Dutv to Be

Always Well Dressed

Seventh: "The

appearance of having money carries with it the impression of the power to make money." Eighth: "To see an individual well dressed produces a pleasureable sensation in others and puts them h- a favorable mental attitude toward the indiYidu.'d." Ninth: "Heing well dressed has unconscious cfi'eet on the carriage of the individual, and eonversely a good carriage promotes a desire for good clothing. " Tenth: "Heing well dressed hns an effect upon the emotions of the individual, Mich as joy, etc." Eleventh: "Clothing: often reflects the habits of living, such as home influences.' Twelfth: "Heing well dressed requires a certain amount of cleanliness; therefore, is hygicnieally worth while." Ami, thirteenth : "Half the world is being bluffed

by the other half; dressing well helps your bluff." I also asked my class to state instances in which good clothes had been useful in business. No less f than seven cited instances in which obtaining a position in competition had been unmistakably due to ' the first impression caused by good clothes. First impressions are of great practical importance because they impress the sub-conscious mind strongly, and through continuous action of the sub-conscious gain permanent influence. Von have here a contrast effect. Von have the vigorous impression that comes from something wholly neu and striking, striking in the sense that it is a first impression obtained of that individual. Perhaps this is stronger in women observers. Perhaps it is more intuitive and emotional, and therefore wives and sweethearts are the proper chaperons of men when they go to buv their clothes. This is something that is very well worth consideration. Women in general are very much better judges of well dressed men than men themselves are. If the business interests could in some way educate men to trust to their wives and sweethearts and mothers as to whether their suit is fitting or not fitting to the personality, remember, not to the body only it would be a distinct advantage in the securing of satisfied customers. Women have a faculty distinctly of s:.zing up an appearance, especially in a man, which rests on their intuitive faculty, which men for xhe most part lack. Uniformity, save in uniforms, is a erying wrong

of our system of dress. Uniforms for soldiers, police

men and sailors are clearly more than a symbol indispensable esprit de corps. The uniforms make the esprit 1 ? o 1 nrrK

Obtrusiveness. or consniou- .v;

Xy yyyiK-y - ;r J w4 - --y : : sry. :.c?"-; A yy . . .... - ---w. y.. ,. - --

1-7 -y.t:; vi-:- y y.: , yC:y.y SP$$S -y ?y K Brauty and Grace Raised to Ont My ; Sy y-yy yy -rZ y: Hundred Per Cent of Efficiency K' by Harmonious, Beautiful ClothL lfc ing. It Is Because Woman Ha. l 'S.:.my0m So Well Developed a Sense of y " JVVVlh': ;:':V''-'::.v,:' the Power of Dress, Professor t yyy:$?Sfi:. yyyyf'- jry- Dearborn Says, That Man Should Take Her Along Whenever Hi v.; - . ' " ------: - ry-yy'f-v yyrr y y:s i; ßyyyyyy- yytyvx yy-t-m fci-;y-.y. -V ' .y '::'.; A - . II b 'Sr- . -y-yty. . . -y l,; J yzriyy ' -A-j7 " 7 hA SQ'yy . A ' -'" .-y y - ;-v.--- :-y;:.y- j m.v.öP- - ?.-v ...v ... i I - .f;:i' -i 1 : f yy f) -vx rr 'yty- ?y' - - v h--i V .-y! '- ;: Xte- v-! vj.:;:! V 'S V :.y-y1 yjj ryJrty uf v v . -K - fcrA --. .7 t v. - , ; : a.

: . y . ' ' - ; 4

4 ,'. ' i1

r?r; :vuv: -- -" V'v- rvV,! 1"? f '

i' 4trf They should be f r-? -1 "jA on him unobtrusively. They should be part

miff y y of the individual.

Af'y yr " The .self-resnect and

!Kt:f- ''SK;-'-!' vhich seem to be, in fact, however loath a

5v ÄW5

T ,"4-.t- 1, - 4 ..' 'J

. V -y -

-'1

ousness, sometimes is an aim and end in itself. The widow wears her sombre colored clothing, the sport his rlashy checks, the Cos

sacks their uniforms. The really well dressed persons in general wear clothes which are not differentiated from the rest of their personality at all. Indeed, philsophically speaking, one's selfness, one's ego, as the philosophers call it, includes all of his relationships. A man's clothes, in fact, are naturally in a social community part of himself. It is an actual" philosophic proposition. They are not something that he puts on and takes off and that bear no relation to his personality, but the clothes a man wears are part really of his personality, considered from a common-sense point of view. There-

self-confidcnee

may be to accept the fact, partly dependent

on clothes in some persons, in some persons largely so dependent, are intimately part and parcel of the initiative of vidual. If a man hasn't self-respect he will not have that self-confidence which i the necessary preliminary to a normal

success. lie won 't try to do things, but if lie has self-eontidence he is sure to have a large amount of initiative, and in my deliberate opinion that self-confidence for the great mass of men and women is to an extent dependent on bing well drcssid. The multiform discomforts of poor clothes are an important economic factor I believe in many men and women a matter of 10 per cent or more of efficiency. And this percentage, small as it is. may often be just enough to make the difference between failure and success.

?y.:C?y :s- v -a - ;

It - . ' - - . "t 1. . - v ....., ' ,. y.

How Clothing Actually Expresses Character. Above Is the Fawning, Effeminate French Ccurtier of the Fifteenth Century, and Below the WarLike Musketeer

y.t

- - T ' 4 -

. mm,, m n m 1 j.

CoDiright. 1317. tr th SUr Comaaav. Great Britain lilshtj Reserve

of a Century Later. The C'?'' tz . Frch C-e WouM Show Exactly the Kind ol Man to Wear Their., Even If Dct .i.cu Tneir Husidn OccuDant.

( V n