At Laren Mauve's fame is kept sweet by a little colony of artists,
who like to draw their inspiration where the great painter drew his.
North of Laren, on the sea coast, is the fishing village of Huizen,
where the women have a neat but very sedate costume. They wear white
caps with curved sides that add grace to a pretty cheek. Having,
however, the odd fancy that a flat chest is more desirable than a
rounded one, they compress their busts into narrow compass, striving
as far as possible to preserve vertical lines. At the waist a plethora
of petticoats begins, spreading the skirts to inordinate width and
emphasising the meagreness above.
The sombre attire of the Huizen women is a contrast to most of the
traditional costumes of Holland, which are charming, full of gay
colour and happy design. The art of dress seems otherwise to be dead
in Holland to-day; In the towns the ordinary conventional dress is
dull; and in the country it is without any charm. Holland as a whole,
omitting the costumes, cannot be said to have any more knowledge of
clothes than we have. It is only by the blue linen jackets of the men
in the fields that the situation is saved and the Dutch are proved
our superiors. How cool and grateful to the eyes this blue jacket
can be all admirers of Mauve's pictures know.
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