A daughter or sister wears a long veil over her face at the funeral.  The length of the veil may be to her waist or to the hem of her skirt, and it is worn for from three months to a year, according to her age and feelings.  An older woman wears deep black for her parents, sisters and brothers for a year, and then lightens her mourning during the second year.  A young girl, if she is out in society or in college, may wear a long veil for her parents or her betrothed, if she wants to, or she wears a thin net veil edged with crepe and the corners falling a short way down her back—­or none at all.

Very young girls of from fourteen to eighteen wear black for three months and then six months of black and white.  They never wear veils of any sort, nor are their clothes trimmed in crepe.  Children from eight to fourteen wear black and white and gray for six months for a parent, brother, sister or grandparent.  Young children are rarely put into mourning, though their clothes are often selected to avoid vivid color.  They usually wear white with no black except a hair ribbon for the girls and a necktie for the boys.  Very little children in black are too pitiful.

=EXTREME FASHION INAPPROPRIATE=

Fancy clothes in mourning are always offenses against good taste, because as the word implies, a person is in mourning.  To have the impression of “fashion” dominant is contrary to the purpose of somber dress; it is a costume for the spirit, a covering for the visible body of one whose soul seeks the background.  Nothing can be in worse taste than crepe which is gathered and ruched and puffed and pleated and made into waterfalls, and imitation ostrich feathers as a garnishing for a hat.  The more absolutely plain, the more appropriate and dignified is the mourning dress.  A “long veil” is a shade pulled down—­a protection—­it should never be a flaunting arrangement to arrest the amazed attention of the passerby.

The necessity for dignity can not be overemphasized.

=BAD TASTE IN MOURNING=

Mourning observances are all matters of fixed form, and any deviation from precise convention is interpreted by the world at large as signifying want of proper feeling.

How often has one heard said of a young woman who was perhaps merely ignorant of the effect of her inappropriate clothes or unconventional behavior:  “Look at her!  And her dear father scarcely cold in his grave!” Or “Little she seems to have cared for her mother—­and such a lovely one she had, too.”  Such remarks are as thoughtless as are the actions of the daughter, but they point to an undeniable condition.  Better far not wear mourning at all, saying you do not believe in it, than allow your unseemly conduct to indicate indifference to the memory of a really beloved parent; better that a young widow should go out in scarlet and yellow on the day after her husband’s funeral than wear weeds which attract attention on account of their flaunting bad taste and flippancy.  One may not, one must not, one can not wear the very last cry of exaggerated fashion in crepe, nor may one be boisterous or flippant or sloppy in manner, without giving the impression to all beholders that one’s spirit is posturing, tripping, or dancing on the grave of sacred memory.