If he wears black and white check trousers and a short blue coat, he
should travel with a screen. A man in just such a rig attracted no end
of comment in a fashionable hotel. The caricaturing effect of his
trousers and coat were unspeakably comical. The wearer had a face as
grave as an undertaker's and the air of a serious-minded college
professor; but he had the nondescript look of a scarecrow composed of
whatever available garments could be obtained from the cast-off wardrobe
of summer boarders in a farmhouse.

[Illustration: NO. 90]

Coats assuredly have the power of making cartoons--living, jocular
cartoons--of their wearers. It would hardly seem necessary to call
attention to the fact that a man of huge dimensions should not wear a
short coat, such as shown in sketch No. 91, yet his type is too
frequently seen attired in this style. A man so dressed certainly seems
the living exemplification of the definition of a jug, namely, "a vessel
usually with a swelling belly, narrow mouth, and a handle, for holding
liquors." It cannot be reiterated too often that a large, stout man
should aim to acquire the distinction and dignity given by long lines.
If his body is proportioned so he really has neither length of torso nor
of limb he must pay more attention to the cut of his clothes and attain
length in whatever artistic way he can. The long coat, as may be seen
in sketch No. 92, not only apparently adds length but it conceals too
protuberant curves.

[Illustration: NOS. 91 and 92]

Of course, character counts far more than clothes, we will all agree to
that, but at first glance it is a man's clothes that impress people.