CHAPTER II. DRESS.

First impressions are apt to be permanent; it is therefore of
importance that they should be favourable. The dress of an
individual is that circumstance from which you first form
your opinion of him. It is even more prominent than manner,
It is indeed the only thing which is remarked in a casual
encounter, or during the first interview. It, therefore,
should be the first care.

What style is to our thoughts, dress is to our persons. It
may supply the place of more solid qualities, and without it
the most solid are of little avail. Numbers have owed their
elevation to their attention to the toilet. Place, fortune,
marriage have all been lost by neglecting it. A man need not
mingle long with the world to find occasion to exclaim with
Sedaine, "Ah! mon habit, que je vous remercie!" In spite of
the proverb, the dress often _does_ make the monk.

Your dress should always be consistent with your age and your
natural exterior. That which looks outr, on one man, will be
agreeable on another. As success in this respect depends
almost entirely upon particular circumstances and personal
peculiarities, it is impossible to give general directions of
much importance. We can only point out the field for study
and research; it belongs to each one's own genius and
industry to deduce the results. However ugly you may be, rest
assured that there is some style of habiliment which will
make you passable.