THE IMPORTANCE OF A BONNET.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2032, 28 August 1880, Page 3

THE IMPORTANCE OF A BONNET.

Xnere is no one article ul louiimuo which receives so muoh attention and thought as the bonnet; and oertainly it is more deserving of consideration than any other, since it has such a marked effect upon the face, and withal, enjoys so prominent a position. At church, conoert, or theatre other portions of the dress attract but little attention; the feet are seldom seen in a crowd—even the dress and gloves are scarcely noticed—but the bonnet is constantly before the eyes of our friends. It follows, in consequence, that to have it suitable and becoming is an all-important matter, especially as it is a well-known fact that if a lady habitually wears attractive bonnetß the remainder of her dress may be comparatively plain, and so long as there is nothing particularly ugly about it the wearer will be set down for a stylish and well-dressed woman. Dpon the contrary, she may go out in a handsome costume ; boots, gloves—in fact, every little detail of dress—may be perfect ; yet if the bonnet is ungraceful, or unsuited to age, face, or complexion, she will be spoken of as a woman who has very little taste, and one whom no amount of rich apparel can render stylish or attractive. Let a woman wear a bonnet she knows to be pretty and becoming, an-l it will make all the difference in the world in her manner. She is ready to greet every one with a smile ; her eyes are shining and her face dimpling at the slightest provocation ; but put a _ fright upon her head—a home-made combination which rag-bog and garret have been ransacked to produce—and you may at once observe how painfully she realises the fact of its unbeoomingness. She is afraid to smile, for fear some one will fancy she thinks her bonnet a perfect love, while she is dying of mortification on account of it. She_ nervously regards every one who is conversing in a low tone near her, and if any one happens to smile Bhe is convinced at once that her luckless bonnet is being made the subject 01 ridicule. She greets her most intimate friends nervously; she answers no when she should say yes ; she is cross without apparent occasion, and thereby astonishes her husband, for a roally ugly bonnet will put the pleasantest woman in the world out of temper. But in a handsome bonnet—one which is a " real love" —a woman takes unbounded dslight. This feeling is often ridiculed by the sterner sex, when, if they were wise, they would be thankful that their wives, sisters, or daughters take oomfort in a pleasure so simple, harmless, and refined. And however much they may profess to deride this feeling which they are pleased to term folly, a close observer will not fail to see that the lady with a pretty bonnet receives far more attention from her gentlemen friends than the one who wears an indifferent head covering. The young lady who sports an attractive bonnet is the one who receives more invitations to concerts, lectures, or evening entertainments the world over. The affection with which a woman regards her bonnet is not therefore a foolish whim. We all love the beautiful, and in certain respects the bonnet is the most dainty artiole of dress a lady possesses. It is true that ribbons are used to decorate the throat and to add grace to various costumes, but to ladies of quiet ta=tes, who do not for various reasons frequent balls and large parties, the bonnet is the only article of dress upon whioh flowers and plumes are employed. Use and familiarity make silks and their trimmings almost common place, but a bonnet, which is carefully put away after wearing, which must be zealously cared for or it will become oruehed or soiled, is something to be admired to the very last. We remember a few years since to have seen in a popular weekly the pioture of a graceful young girl admiring her face, crowned by a new and beautiful bonnet, in the mirror, while the remainder of her dress told the whole story. She had retired, but, unable to sleep on account of having the previous day purchased the bonnet, she had risen from her bed, lighted her lamp, and, attired in her nightdress, was trying, for the twentieth time, the effect of the pretty combination of laoe, ribbon, and flowers, whioh, in truth was wondrously becoming.—"Hatters' Gazette."