Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-05-19
EVENING STAR.
FRENCH VIEWS OF AMERICAN DRESS.

journalist Blague de Quanart, whose oOntri-
buttons to the principal Partisan and Belgian
journals of late years attracted so much at
tentiOn.
Ii has often been remarked by travellers,
that one of the predominant characteristics of
our American cities is their newness. Every
where there is q fresh, bright color and an
expression OF recent manufacture the houses
seem to have been turned out by thousands
to order, and look as if just finished in one
colossal batch-the payements are washed as
If for holiday-the very trees on the side
walks, in their elaborately trimmed neatness.
look rs If they were young, and not yet ac-
customed to a regular growing life-in short,
the endless newness and recent fashion Of
everything creates at last feeling as though
the whole city were for sale, and its proprie-
tors were bent on keeping it as clean, and as
| much In the style as possible, so that no op-
portunity to praise it as ga neat and tasty
thing, sir," might be lost
But not in houses alone do we perceive end
less newness and never ending submission to
the mode as though the Americans, who have
succeeded thus far, better than any other ma
ton In aDnlhilating space, were bent on defy
| ing lime also, and leaving no trace of his
progress In the past. These people, so rapid
| so bruSque, when threatened with DELAY, so
| intoxicated with the endless spirit of busi-
ness, Still contrivo TO present in their persons
newncss and freshness Of attire which alto
gether corresponds with their houses, and
which, TO practical philosopher, is psrhaps
one OF the most curious of the lesser phenOm-
| ena of the race. For, As among tie houses,
there are but few Of those palatial eiifces SO
common in Europe, although their freshness
and luxury Of paint and scrubbing distinguish
es them entirely from tho citizen hOmCs Of
Franco and Germany, or even England, so tho
American, though but rarely fashion-pIa
dancy. stiii III his style and attire maintains
| on an average, an Infinitely higher standard
than that aspired to by his colleague in
perhaps III the same line Of life in Europe
when you promenade even the BouIeyards of
Paris, or Tide In the Champs Elysees-thoso
gardens of all tho flowers of fashionable at
tire, where the robes and fiounccs OF Victo-
rlne wave In harmony with the arlistically
constructed coats of Humann-you do not, for
all thdt, hnd yourself In Il multitude Of well
dressed people. No, even there the lon
haired peasant en- HoUse-tho artist, fierce.
picturesque, and sometimes dirty-the old
gentleman who recalls the storms of the reyo-
luton, and who clings fondIy to his long queue
and coat IN HaerriR, (or who, rather, SUI
fers them 10 cling to him)-all these persons.
picturesque though they may bc, break in
upon The idea Of plain good dressing They
M serve as tOlis to others, but are in them
selves discOrds-of silk, cotton, and wolIen.
But let some one who can recall the best
dressed street multitude which he has ever
seen In Europe, walk some fine morning up an
American street, and that at about nirc
clock. just when the entire current of busi
ness men Is flowing down town in one enor-
nous tide towards its daily hauuts Par
pLcference, would commcnl Broadway, New
York. for this observation, since [ can recall
no other city in which such a vast food Of
lie flows through one single street You who
nave only seen the BOuleyards, or the Punt
Id .
who have derived ideas OF a crowded thor
oughfare from that terror to strangers, the
Strand In London, or whe believe that the
Vienna Prater was ever too full on the day of
high procession, would regard them all as
dreaTy sOlitudes when compared with Broad
way. In all this immense multitude there is
not one who is not more than passably dressed;
and If you see single person among them
whose boots are not faultless, or with soles
which are not thin as a rose leaf you may
rely upon it that he is an Englishman, Ger
man, or a millionaire None but foreipner
or man whose standing is moro than secured
in society, would dare transgress the law of
good boots, which weighs more heavily upon
the American than ell the ten commandments
and the common code of the land
Chiefly are we impressed with the fact that
among all these fine clothes there is nothing
oWtre-nOthing absurd unless Ii be indeed
an occasional instance given by some one who
In his intense eagerness to keep up with the
fashion, has actually leaped beyond it, In
this uniformity-thisd dread of being E" odd -
we have curious illustration of one Of the
ultimate social effects of a republic. In all
communities where every one exercises freely
his right TO express opinion, and where such
rights are cherished as the dearest Of privi-
leges, we soon have public opinion-for as
history in nothing but fusion of biographies
so IN a republic the governing opinion is no.
thing but the concentrated thoughts of the
many. This public opinion. confined in Eu-
rope to so few points, extends itself in Amer
lea over many-I may say myriads. 1t has
few bad points, and many good ones. 1t is
the cause of little hypocrisy and Of much
sound morality 1t suffers no one to wear an
old coat, but condemns to a dreary and des-
perate life of brandy, of clubs and of stables,
the man who gives himself entirely up to
wearing fine clothes or to being idle
1t is a striking popularity Of all this fine
dress Of all this broadclOth and velvet in
in winter, and of all this delicate linen Oren-
tai cloth, which look like woven air, in sum-
mer, that it is enormously expensive The
Parisian peHtLt reRtIer-the small proprietor
who, in common with the Prussian officer, is
supposed to possess the art Of carrying economy
to its utmost extent, would tremble with terror
could he know the prices which those clothes |
cost, and the sacrifices which some Of those
"to preserve appearances" and with them their
situations Yet with all this, as have before
said, there is but little elaborate dandyism,
none OF the exquisiteism tire q guatre eptu |
gtes which distinguishes the petit natre of |
Paris: No-the same inexorable public opin- |
ion which requires the young man rising in /
the world to conform to a certain standard, |
also forbids him from going beyond it. do
not remember to have seen or heard il re.
marked, but / am none the less certain that
to succeed among Americans, and above all
to acquire with them the slightest influence
or respect, you must be neat in your person.
L am convinced of this from the frequency
with which have heard one American, while
disparaging another, say q He is slovenly."
This was always a concluding argument, and
suficsd to silence the warmest friends Of the
unfortunate sloven.
One of the most curious instances narrated
to me, and which singularly illustrates this
American mania for neatness, relates to the
very eminent journalist and politician, Hor-
ace Greely, who adopted style of excessive
,arelessness in his outer garments, simply TO
attract attention TO the exquisite fnene,s