Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-02-23
SIBERIAN LADIES AND FASHIONS.
From the Household Words we eXtrac

From the Household Words we extract
alsassage respecting the qualifications ol
Siberian bride, and the winter costume
of Siberian ladies. -aNc
A bride is required, on arriving ut her
husbands house, to invite guests to a
dinner that shall prove her quality, and
npon which, in fact, her future reputation
Will depend. 1t must be prepared by her
ON hands. and both to herself and. her
parents shame will be the consequence
if she be found deficient. IL her dinner
proves triumph, it will recommend to
honorable notice not only herself, but
also tho family in which she was soundly
trained.
Men marry for domestic comfort in a
place where they are quite unable as
bachelors to get it. Wives, therefore,
arc in great demand, and women have
opportunity to make choice of their own
husbands, with no chance at all, if they
be not infirm or deformed, of dying sin
gle. Great as is the nicely of rank
among the Berezovians, or inhabitants of
the town of Berezov, in marriage all dis.
tinctions founded on it are set aside rs
announcement. The daughter Of poor
Cossack may be courted by high gov
eminent functionary, and will not unfre-
qucntly refuse him. During Tire brief
Summer, Berezovian ladies visited, and
went to parties, in thin attire. There
was great display of silks and satins
and all feminine fnery. But when Sep
TENDER opened, with a heavy fall of snow,
and the whole dirty town suddenly looked
clean, and became covered with sheet
of white, the ladies and gentlemen out of
doors underwent, to the amusement of
the exiles, great transformation. They
all turned out like herd of white bears,
that is to say, in Ostiak costume.
Winter clothing, in Bereziv, consists in
putting on, first, shirt of reindeer skin,
with the hair inside, and over that coat
Of the same make and material, but larg-
er, with the hair outside. To this coat
there is hood, which is drawn quite over
the head and tied with leather strap un-
der the chin it Comes over the entire
head-face Misunderstanding only OPEN
ingS for the accommodation of eyes, nose
and mouth. This hood is formed of the
skin taken from the RENDERS head, and
the ears of the reindeer left upon it, stick
up as fine ornaments. The gentleman
or lady, for the most fashionable Berezo-
Wan wears the dress out of doors during
the winter-draws over the hands large
gloves Of shaggy fur, which are attached
to the fur coat, and when not used are
tucked up in the manner of cuffs.
Over the feet and legs are drawn long
stockings of reindeer skin, having the hair
INSIDE, and over these again are pulled
boots with the hair outside. The boots
are made Of skins taken from the rein.
deer's legs, sewn together in strips: they
cover the thighs. and are fastened by
straps at the girdle. As the soles also
have the hair turned outward, they assist
the feet in walking over the ice. In
travelling, the Ostiak, or his Russian imi-
tator, throws . third garment of fur over
the other two, having hood that covers
the whole head, and contains no opening
bef1re the eyes, nose, or mouth. So
dressed, the traveller bears not the least
resemblance to human being.