Men that do not have their hair frequently cut, keep their faces clean shaven, and their teeth clean are never welcome in the society of ladies, should they chance to know any. They may be well received by women of the lower orders, but women that are ladies are never drawn toward men that do not have the appearance of being neat in their persons. Ladies may and often do tolerate such men; in fact, they are often compelled to tolerate them, but they generally do it with ill-concealed reluctance.
Men of taste that carry canes select those that are strong, plain, stiff, light, and small. Very large canes are in very bad taste, especially for young men.
A few hints concerning the wearing of a man’s clothes should suffice.
A full-dress suit consists of a swallow-tailed coat, a low white or black single-breasted vest, black trousers, a white necktie, a stand-up collar, (?) a high black hat, and, properly, of a pair of very light kid gloves.
This dress should never be worn until evening, _i.e._, never previously to the dinner hour, no matter what the occasion. There are a few men, in the large cities, where they dine late--at six or seven o’clock--that put on their dress suits regularly every day before dinner and wear them for the rest of the day.
A white necktie should never be worn except with a full-dress suit, save by clergymen and a few elderly men that never wear any other color.
Black trousers should never be worn except with a dress coat, save at funerals.
A high hat should not be worn with a sack coat, especially if the color is light.
A low hat should not be worn with a long coat--a double-breasted frock, for example.
Straw hats should be worn only with light summer suits.
Dark suits are to be preferred for Sundays, especially in town, and light suits should never be worn to church anywhere.
Double-breasted frock coats should always be of black or gray material.
At small, informal gatherings most men consider themselves sufficiently dressed when they wear black frock coats and dark trousers. Indeed, there is no good reason why men should appear in full dress on any occasion where the ladies do not wear full dress. At public entertainments, for example, where the ladies wear their bonnets, the man that wears a black frock coat, dark trousers, and light kid gloves is better dressed--because more appropriately--than he that wears a full-dress suit. True, the practice of wearing such a suit on such occasions entails additional expense, as otherwise a business or walking suit and a dress suit may be made to serve for all occasions.