Rationing of textiles brings the war home to women on the clothing front. It means that we must all economise, buy fewer clothes, take greater care of our things so that they last longer. But it need not mean dowdy dressing; if the problem is intelligently tackled it may even mean that we shall be better dressed at smaller cost. What it does mean, however, if we want to be both patriotic and stylish, is that we shall have to stop being haphazard about clothes. The whole essence of the thing is forward planning, planning for a season and, better still, for a year or two ahead.

A woman who aspires to be well dressed must have suitable clothes for all occasions and be able to ring the changes. It might be argued that this needs a well-stocked wardrobe, and so cuts right across the Government's policy. But that is not the case if the wardrobe is well planned. The art of dressing well on a limited amount of money and with a limited stock of clothes demands hard self-discipline. There are two essentials: you must restrict yourself to one basic colour scheme for at least one season, and longer if possible, and you must concentrate for your big "buys" on what might be called basic clothes.

Restriction to one colour is always unpopular advice, but it need not be dull if the shade is well chosen. It must be a neutral colour. Black is best for the purpose, but it is not a patriotic choice, since it is heavy on dyes. So is navy blue. For those who like it and can wear it grey is a good choice, since it is an admirable foil for bright and dull reds, all kinds of blues and petunia shades, greens, and yellows. Brown is another possibility.

Now as to garments. The plain suit, or three-piece garment consisting of skirt, jacket, and full-length coat is a good choice, since it lends itself to variety in outfits at small cost by interchange of blouses, waistcoats, vestees, and fronts. Both the long coat and the short jacket are suitable for wearing over other dresses in the wardrobe, which shows the importance of the one-colour or matching-colour scheme. If the colour choice is, say, grey, all the outfits need not be grey too, but they must embody that shade or be of a colour which marries with it.

The main point is that there should never be in your wardrobe a dress, a skirt, or a jumper which you must leave on the peg because it does not "go" with all or most of your other garments. If there is, then it was just a bad buy, however inexpensive or attractive in itself. In war-time the well-dressed woman cannot afford passengers in the wardrobe.

If you do not like suits or if you are not tall enough or slim enough to wear them successfully you must plump for the one-piece dress. The problem here is how to make a frock do double or even treble duty. The solution is the basic dress, a garment cut on plain classical lines which not only avoids all exaggerated fashion points but which depends for its interest on detachable accessories. This rule clearly does not apply to that odd little dress we all treasure, to summer frocks in prints which can be as frilled and as frivolous as you wish, always provided the ground colour matches the serious items in your wardrobe.

The essence of the basic dress is that it should have no permanent trimming which either clashes with some other garment or so completes it that it cannot be changed. In cut, neckline, and so forth it should be so built that it can with the minimum of trouble and expense be transformed into a different dress by the addition of belt or scarf, gold clip, necklace, or flower posy. A dress of this kind should be made of good material, so that it hangs well and keeps its shape. It is wise, too, to buy good accessories, for nothing cheapens an outfit so much as tawdry trimming.

Restriction to a one-colour scheme means an immense saving in major accessories such as hats, shoes, handbags. and so on, which are often duplicated or even triplicated in a wardrobe. With all additional colours eliminated, one set of accessories serves, with a big saving not only in money but in trouble and wardrobe space. It is not easy to save on stockings, which ladder even with the best of care. The wisest plan here is to choose one colour and to buy all stockings that shade. It will not stop them from wearing out, but by judicious pairing it will double their life and halve your bill.