expression of the back discernible, and a knowledge of its character
valuable, but in every-day life in drawing-room and street. How many
women consider their backs when they dress? Look at the backs here
deformed by laces and fallals," she went on contemptuously. "The
majority of women never look below their chins and I believe not one in
ten ever looks thoughtfully at her back," she said emphatically.

The dramatic value of a well-poised, expressive back may only concern
the thousands of young women who are aspiring to be a Sarah Bernhardt or
a Rachel; but a knowledge of what constitutes a properly and
artistically clothed back should be of interest to all women in
civilized countries.

That there is much truth in the assertion that "the majority of women
never look below their chins, and not one in ten ever looks
thoughtfully at her back," every observer of womankind might testify.

[Illustration: NO. 45]

The open placket-hole and sagging waist-band, sketched in No. 45, is an
all too familiar sight that advertises the fact that too few women take
even a cursory look at their backs. Fathers and brothers who wish to
protect their womankind from adverse criticism frequently give impromptu
lectures upon this very subject, as this slovenly arrangement of skirt
and basque is not only seen in Grand Street, Second Avenue, and equally
unfashionable quarters, but in Fifth Avenue where the modish set are _en
évidence_. If the dainty safety-pin displayed in No. 46, goes out of
vogue, the time-honored custom of sewing hooks to the waist-band of the
dress, is always in fashion. Indeed, many women prefer this way of
connecting separate skirt and waist to using a conspicuous pin. This is