The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1839-09-25

Thar serious and learned treatise had been written,
= Contra caudas r1m"-againsl the ladies'
trains. Fanlascal as was this part OF feminine az
lire II scarcely deserved the satiric notice OF the
bard who added sianza 10 poem called ne
Scole House, Alter harshly abusing all women
for their attachment TO dress. expense, and so on,
he says,
Trewely some men there be
That 1--WE alwaye in great honeure,
And say, Il goth by deslinie
To hang, or wed-both have one houre.
And whether il be, | am we'll sure
Hang & is better Of The twaine,
IT'S sooner done, and shorter paine
You may be sure that this sairis upon mairimony
and the sex, was some rusty old bachelor who had
never had the courage 10 ask lady 70 wed him! II
was precisely because he had mol participated in
the pleasures OF marimony aud the SMILES OF the fair
that he abused them. The liable Of the fox and
grapes appear applicable in this case, at least,
hope so.
and mantle becams shorter, while the neither gar
meni, elongated into something like The pantaloon
took the place Of the short peicoat hitherto worn by
gentleman As the King increased 10 bulk, the
courtiers took 70 shifting their habits TO make them
resemble his--jnst as In the Cour Of Alexander the
Great, his fashion Of holding his he'd TO side
was initiated BY his conriiefs The bulky dress still
worn In EnglInd BY the present yeomei OF the Guard
Is remnant OF the fashion introduced In compliment
to the cofpulency Of the fiat King
The men having exchanged the hoods Of the 18th
century for coarse round felt hat, cap or bonnet
with jewel in front, the women assumed plain
oifcomposed OF roll and false hair or velvet bon
are represented by Hans Hobein. lf they were
maidens, the head was left uncovered and the hair
either hung down, or was very simply braided with
ribband. The men wore their hair at full length, in
graceful ringets on their shoulders, until Henry
VIII directed that his attendants aud couriers should
cut il short II was about this time that perukss were
first worn in England. They enter the lists Of fash
ion with no advantage, for Paid for Saxton, the
Kings foot for wig, twenty shilngs," Is charge
made by the Treasurer of the Chambers To Henry
VIII. This monarch appears TO have had pen
chant for meddng with every thing-from the holy
mysteries of religion to the ephemeral fashions of
Court He made an ordinance that cloth OF gold
ana tissue should only adorn Dukes and Marquises;
and that purple should be reserved for the Royal ia
mily: silks and satins might be worn by the opulent
commoner; but none inferior TO an earl In dignity
might use embroidery. The usual covering for the
legs n these days cloth boots and pair Of black
silk hose made in Spain, was present which found
great favor in The eyes of sovereign! That sove-
reign was Elizabeth, and the silk stockings were
second hand pair which had already seen service.
Under Edward vi, the covering for mems heads
was plain velvet cap, worn diagonally and deco
rated with ajewel and large ostrich feather. The
hair was cut Short The beard left full small ruflle
surrounded the neck, and the gown was furred with
sables in front and round The broad sleeves, which
nung over the upper part ut the arm.
The female attire was then characterized by con-
ceament, though the spendor Of the dresses was
ry great by the addition oil Jewels, vevets fur-lrim-
mings, and cloth Of gold. The Carmen usually
consi,e Of long bod Ices, with without skirts,
close bodied habits over them especially those large
hoped ones called far,hingaes, which were intro
duced from Spain by Queen Mary.
Al the same time, Philip Of Spain, on his mar
riage. brought into England richer style OF dress
for the men, particularly the close ruff the doublet
vncttvn pAc ntarth ard ~.
Spanish cloak, all OF which long remained in fash
ion About 1865 the enormous trunk "inexpressi-
bes, Introduced under Henry VIII, began TO disap-
pear but while they lasted they were carried 10 such
an absurd degree Of magn Jude, that in the Parlia-
ment House, there were certain holes about two
inches square in the walls, having posts in them,
supporting scaold all around the building for those
members TO sit upon, who great breeches stuffed
with hair, like woolSacSs.
The general fashion under Elizabeth was nearly
stationary, and consisted Of very rich doublels and
cloaks trimmed with fur; full drawers terminating
above the knee and hose which flied tightly to the
legs below them. Shorts were also generally worn,
but an immoderae length Of blade was prohibited
The most remarkable and well known feature Of the
costume of this time was the ruff Of Plated linen
or ca,nbic, around the neck and wrists These rufs
spread out TO great size, and until the invention of
starch, was supported on every side BY pieces Of
ivory wood and gilded metal, called poking sticks,
which were especially wlrn by the men, The art
Of starchng, however, was brought from Flanders,
and In 1864 the wife Of Guiillim Boenen the
Queens coachman, s,arched for the whole court,
and taught The art to young persons for high gra-
tuty
Under James |. the Spanish habit continued 10 be
worn in England. II was chiefly of black, with
large trunk hose, rapier, and hat with lofty
conica crown, with a band of twisted silk frequent
ly decorated with jewels.
The female dress had the neck closely enveloped
in small ruff though the bosom was often exposed,
and decorated very many rows Of large pearls,
which appear TO have been The avorite jewel Of the
time. In the time 0f Elizabeth, the boards and
whiskers of The mae had become universal--the
former We're sometimes worn trimmed to a point
hanging down at the division OF the ruff. BY the
time Of Charles !. however, the hair was worn long
and the mouth stood in the centre of ariange form
ed by the moustaches and the pointed beard
Then, Also The ruffs and collars were worn Of
rich point lace, large, hanging down on the shout
ders. and held by cord and tassel at the neck
such as You may see IN the portraits of Vandyke.-
Inc chiet habits were vests and cloaks of velvet a
silk damask, hats of conical form, but sometimes
with broad leafs and feathers. The female dress
was more elegant than splendid they were charac-
terzed sometimes, by SORT of gorget ruff, standing
up about the neck like fan, and sometimes by a
falling ruff, OF very rich lace, hanging over the
shoulders. Gowns, with close bodies and tight
sleeves were also worn. The hair was generally
curled, gracefully with plain brading, or a few
flowers; and an elegant FAM made OF beautiful
feathers, fixed in an ivory handle, was greatly in
vogue. | have seen many portraits Of ladies thus
dressed, and question whether at any time, a more
graceful simplicity prevailed In female attire
The civil war and the military nterregnum which
suct eeded altered the national Dress chiefly by the
addition Of armour, or rendering ito please the
puritan tase-more plain in its form, and less ex-
pensive in its materials. The females were pre-
vented from wearing lace jewels, and braided hair
Il wonder how they lived under the prohibiion!-
and then the men were habited in long vests and
cloaks Of some dark hue with plain linen collar,
called falling band or turnover.
In the Restoration of Charles ii appeared the
first resemblance to the present costume of coats and
vests, then, however, generally worn the Cont
nenl. The coats were long and straight having
long line of buttons down the front, while the pock
els were low down in the skirts The vests had
ruffles were worn loose al the wrists with Holland
sleeves. Across the shoulders was hung broad
sword belt Of embroidered cloh The formal linen