The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-02-23
For the National Era.
t0r inc NatlOnaI ETA
BE L SMITH ABROAD.
No. XIII.
FASHIONS AND FOLLIEs

lore ieavlng home came from numerous female
lrienos, begging earnestly to send them the
fashions-the latest wear. have been very
delinquent. To tell the truth, am at loss,
and have been since my arrival, upon this i'm
poftant point. The French women are the
best-drcssed persons in the world, and being
such, have no one pattern of an article which
all exhibit as with u.s. The fair and brunette,
the tall and short the slender and robust, can
not save by miracle, find one garment suitable
to all. Yet, at home, the attempt is made, and
the unbending milliner deals out to each the
one thing, casting every one who dare depart
from it outside Of good society. This is one of
the mysteries of Partisan toilette that | have
m ade some approach to a solution. The spirit,
which adopts the becoming, gives a peculiar
wear to the dress. Come with me upon the
Boalexards, this sunny afternoon, and Let US
take Paris as it promenades. What count
less throng, and all on parade If there is a
single affair Of Importance in two miles Of this
stream of life am no Judge of business II is
the hour for an exhibition, and let us take it
in such spirit and notice. The stores have
their contents in the windows; the idlcrs have
their best upon their persons; and represent
atives are here from all parts of the world In
competition but without success. The Paris
ians are at home, and without equals. This
English woman, with her thick shoes costly
furs comfortable dress, and ruddy complexion,
is real daughter of John-has, doubtlessly,
many acres good health, and feels independent
and above all creation-but she is not Partisan,
oil her money and influence cannot make her
that. Here comes pale, delicate, American
grl-intellect in every feature, and unlimited
wealth, too, at her command-yet all her in
genuity aud imitation, sustained by unlimited
resources, only make her a conspicuous failure
The very "bonne" in cap and gown, is some
thing more than they. Look at this animated
instance, as she walks gracefully along. What
a complete picture. The dress is not dress,
but grace born with her, and far beyond the
touch of art. She owes nothing to the bonnet
that is SO small, and falls so far back that in
front it appears only cap; she owes nothing
to the velvet cloak and rare furs though she
carries three thousand dollars on her shoulders
and arms; she owes nothing to the we'll fitting
dress, so subdued yet so rich nothing to the
fair face even, to the delicate hand to the we'll
turned ankle, and exquisite foot-those all may
be given to another, and amount to nothing II
is the manner in which these are carried-are
shown to the world it is not dress, it is grace
not modest precisely, but spiritual. She comes
and goes q thing inimitabl0, unparalleled. She
lifts her skirts to escape the soiled pavement in
a way that would startle our home people-yet
how we'll done Crowds may jostle, carriages
may splash, yet she glides along, untouched,
unsoiled creature of grace, of beauty. She
has not the dignity of the English woman, nor
the modesty of an American-yet superior to
both on the Boulevards she has the talent for
dress that makes up for the want of all else
The great evil, with us, is the spirit of imi-
tation. An American woman dare not dress
becoming, for the fear of appearing odd The
Parisisns have way Of holding their dress,
not unbecoming precisely in them, because
done with the talent. That manner will be
important to the United States, and one and all
will attempt the performance-awkward and
unbecoming, to say the least as it must ap-
pear. Yet, the "Bloomer" dress, costume
very we'll in its place, was hooted and laughed
out of the country, because it did not originate
in Paris. Now, beg of you to remember,
am not "a strong minded woman" but quite
the contrary-something Of a timid, weakly
conservative-and the Bloomer dress by no
means think becoming; in it we lose the long
sweep of drapery, so beautiful in our present
dress; but, in the country, for fields and woods,
riding, driving, or travelling, it is necessary to
comfort and health. Yet, such are the wrongs
of our humble imitation, that the very evils of
Paris are unhesitatingly adopted. We wear
AtHpTOptI uEcScCS III GNCDlDS pdIbiec, VIC UdHc6
improper figures in public assemblies, and suf-
fer all kinds of uncomfortable ways, because
we dare not be honest and independent.
We have the belief, prevalent ct home, that
gaudy colOrs in dress are'peculiar to our coun-
try. This is not correct. The Parisians on
bright day. resemble, if you can imagine such
thing garden ofpromenading sunhowers. The
Boulevards have looked to me, at times, as if
the merry owners bad put in circulation their
window curtains. Strangers, perhaps, do not
notice this SO much as with us, because Paris
ian women can carry anything so gracefully
Before we pull down the curtains and shape
them into dresses, we must learn to walk and
to learn this art, we must walk. The sham
bling, rolling, duck-stcp-the hard, angular,
upright, grenader quick-step-the slow, the
fast, the uncertain, may all be hid in car
riages, or kept at home-but never cured, save
by exercise, continual walking in the open
air.
1t is my duty to give you some information
of the gayeties Of Paris. But you must look to
some other correspondence have neither
health nor inclination. S-ve few visits to the
opera, and three dinner parties, know moth.
ing. Tie bal-masqUe, once so famous that all
strangers were expected at least to see one
have degenerated into such vile things that no
one having the slightest sefrespect ever wishes
to witness the second. The most famous
was tempted to write infamous-are at the
Italian Opera House, and commences ut mid
night, Saturday. This makes it Sunday
orge; and it continues on Sabbath morning
until daylight. Our little party, one and all
declined witnessing such, until curiosity over
came their .cruple., and they went, d.! Bob
protesting that it was a shocking sffair--any
other day it would not be so bad. ID. answer
ing, that Bob reminded him of the old lady in
Virginia, who begged the gentlemen engaged
in running the boundary line so to arrange it
as to keep her house where it was, for Caro-
liny was SIGH sickly State I'D. thinking the
evil to be in the ball, and not in the day.
saw nothing of our friends until after a late
breakfast, when they appeared, looking much
ashamed of themselves, and were loud in their
of the affair. They amused me
with little history of an elderly gentleman
they were pleased to call "Ancient Jones'"
This individual had accompanied his only con
TO Paris to see that his medical education |
should be thoroughly completed, and under his |
paternal care. | did not learn that the youth |
ful Jones was disposed to break from the wise |
control of his careful father But the old gen.
,leman was full of fears-he heard of Paris as |
he city of evil, full of pitfalls and snares for |
youthful steps. One night not long since, the
,uiet, hopeful, said that his near and kind |
friend Brooks was very i'll of the typhoid fever,
Ind he wished to tender his services, and sit
Up the night by his friend The father readily
consented to thi, Christian conduct--and, as
he permitted his boy to have no night key, lefG
he door of their bedroom unlocked
After his son's departure, however he re-
rendered that it was Saturday night-the
light of the grand bal-masque at the Italian
opera House, thing he had heard much Of,
nd had been solicited by his delicate boy to
ttend, merely to see, for once; but his morali-
,, his sense of duty, recoiled he sternly bade