Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-12-02
ManTLEs, GOWNS, AND HOOPS.
From the Westminster Review1


fls AL reasonable conditions; but the major
ity ofthem SO made as to partake of all the
disadvantages OF the existing gown. II used
u be thought, and il will be thought again
that every thing in the cloak way loses it's char
acter aud therefore its tastefulness by being
h;ie1 10 the figure. A modern mantle which
Is confined 1T the waist and has sleeves in
serted IN tight armhOle, is certainly not a
. yeritAble mantle, whatever else il may be; and
when we see 1t, as in this summer of 1857 cut
down 10 a mere band round the chest extend
Ing no higher than the point of the shoulder.
and turning into sleeyed jacket below we
have no more to say ~ it as a respectable MEM
Der Of the mantle tribe. But TO respectabiity
III tie eyes of taste, it usually forfeitS all pre-
tension by ITS parade Of OruamentatiOn. Its
frInges, and bUgles and braidS and gimps and
laceS. and buttOnS-it5 frillings and uuillnys
aad Puiings. and edgings, and slashings are
meretrIci0uS for any garment Of the cloak order;
or for permanent fashion. though this article is
perhaps the least Objectionable of the whole
suit now favored by the caprice Of the day
The madness runs riot in the gOwn-(tO use
the old-fashiOned word, which is more distinct
i've than the technical use Of the term dress y
The ennSciOusness of the whole public enables
rs 10 DO brief on this head. When We enter on
the topic Of the gowns of 1857, every readers
prophetic soul warns him what animadyer-
sion 10 expect on tig ght waists, bare shoulders
i an1 arms, cumbrOus and encrOachng skirts
and an apparatus for their management which
Is in every way Objectionable The coldness.
the elumslneSs the uglineSs. the affectatiOn
the stiffness, the nUlSinesS, the complete reYer-
sal of tho objects and attributes of dress in the
' dress. evening and morning, of the present
fashion. seems 10 be generally admitted: there
fore we shall not insist on them at any length.
Ihe plain facts of the case are these: The gown
Of 1871 IS made Of the most expensive materials
obtalnable. Ladies who used to dress hand
S3mely on thirty pounds a year, now find that
sum insufficient for their gowns alone and mid
dIe-class young ladies who have hitherto been
satisfied with twenty pounds year, are now
driven To their wits end to keep up with the
IaJie at all; and they have recourse 20 cheap
l snowy silks that will not last, or light gauzy
nIteTIals requiring a style Of petticuat which
X makes the dress a costly one after all Maid
servants. who nave before deposited something
IN savings banks every quarter. now feel NOR
ally compelled To buy twice as many yards as
!. formerly for their gowns. 1T is but ninepence
yard, the mistress says, when a gown is
print, but the gowns are not al prints and
Il all require eight or ten breadths in the skirt
tAe difference At the end of the year to A Girl
whose wages are ten or twelve pounds, is not
small Even the cheap print gowns require
- much making, and are so troublesome to
wash and iron, that the custom is a tyrannous
one 10 those on whom il weighs least
As for the most numerous order Of its vic
4 tIms-that Of the middle class ladies-this year
i 1891, will be mortifying or disastrous one in
tbs family history Of too many households
The cost OF dress has become So disprOportiOn-
ate TO other items of expenditure as to create
i serious difficulty in the homes Of men of busi-
ness, who have hitherto been able to provide
/ their wives and daughters with whatever was
/ heediul 10 moderate cOmplacency. The rich
I -iks Of the dag, under the various names, Of
which every lady now thinks one at least ab-
s"Iuteiy necessary, cannot be had for a wife
ana daughters, with the prOdigiOus trimmings
1 ThIch are equally Indispensable under a less
4 sum than would maintain q country clergy
4 man or half pay officer and his family The
aphernalia Uf ribbons, laoes, fringes and
4 nOweTs, IL more expensive than the entire gown
Ot ten years sgo- II is not our purpose. as we
have notified, TO go into the serious moral con-
siderauCn Of the case, or we might disclose a
decline Of respectabiiity in this class as we'll
a. III ranks above and below. which would
make other hearts as heavy as our own Our
readers can imagine, if they DO not know. the
process of decadence-e exhausted credit debt
secret gambling in one shape or another. and
4 even theit, Ia the form Of d great spread of
4 slGphitInS and the purchase OF stolen goods
.: these thing We might say much, but our
iIetne u the bad taste Of tae fashion. The
HIdIle class man, then, finds his house and
garden too small.
Inc dinner table will not accommodate the
Oh number; and if u leaf is inserted, the wait
Ing maid can hardly get rOund-a process the
more d'ncuit, from the number Of breadths in
Tie -Airt, and the extent Of stiff cord In her
Fet;IrOat- Ibe most delicate flowers in the gar
leA are cut Oh by the ladies hens as they walk
NE path and the little green house is no place
III such tragedy queens; they cannot move
".;aOut knocking down half dozen pots
IL The children are young, the parent dares
LJt commit more than one st time To the
charge Oi nurse maid. for q neighbOr's child
Va actually swept into the water from a bridge
\ ~ The fiih skirt which went Haunting by, the
"earer being unconscious Of the mischief If
| he walks with his wife, he has to be on his
guard all the time Ii the wind blows he is
lrtteTei by her superhaity of garment; and IL
, u raIns, no umbrella can cover them both III
/ the Weather il settled fine. the Iady's train
IAises cloud Of dust, and sweep. the path of
-.. Loose filth a. they 90. If they enter the
larAt, tho steel TIn Of her pctticOat cuts his
&c a. they squeeze through the narrow gate
arI II they try the high road, there is too much
PROBABILITY that the whole apparatus may be-
cine inverted by y sudden gust catching the
balloon. Umbrellas get turned wrong side out;
and the existing skirt is much more easy to in
vert IL 70 l. 70 be u drive and not q walk
re god man runs the risk Of being dismissed
:. hLughty actress dismissed an old friend
hItL Sehsment prOhibitiye gesture she drove
L.ia back from the caTriage-step. with - Par
IN me- and my dress occupy the carriage
he women who in their youth marveIled ut
ne slavery 10 fashion which induced their
grandnOthers to kneel in the carriage for
lrl'e u many miles TO save their lofty head
aTssSes, now Danish husband or father to the
toI or compel them to walk. to make room for
tue accommodation Of hOunces or steel springs
Sunday IS changed. The children cannot 90 to
shurch, because mamma leaves no room for
lIaem; and papa has 10 stand aside in the face
'0i the congregation, while his lady ID effscting
ne NF mil g.
Are The ladies aware that the duIness Of church
L relieved 70 baeEslor gentlemen by the amuse-
ment VI watching. and afterwards discussing
\ the comparative skill Of the ladies in passing
taeir pew doors.
We are concerned to find that a new method
o! getting up prayer books and bibles for
saurch use, enables the ladies to find their own
amusement while apparently engaged in wor
mp. 1t seems 10 Dc really the fact that the
!aiIes prayer books have small mirror bound
" with the cOyer-prJbably of about the same
@te Is that IN the hat-crowns Of dandies. which