The Kanzas news., 1858-11-06
Teste h<Dress.

| had. into which some really exquisite ro-
ses. besides pansies, mignonette, English
daises, verbenas, and other blossoms had
been trsnsplsnted. :, Kate, our Irish cook.
and q beautiful girl, by the way. was hang
ing out the Mondays washing to dry, over
la plat of rich new grass, green and velvety,
and delightful to the eyes and feet. She
sympathized with our admiration of the
grass. and the delicate, soul-enchanting ro-
ses; "but this said she, sis the purtiest
flower of them all, think" and she point
ed sprig of the scarlet bloom of the fish
geranium. 1t was gayest, and therefore
hansomest to her-she required not the
yearning holiness of the lily, nor the grace
and love-inspiring perfumes of the roses
and pansies. We would not give one half
expanded rosebud, with the blush diHusing
itself outward from Its odorous heart, for a
basket-full of fish geraniums. But which
of us was right? Often, when We have
been thinking upon dress. as a subject for
study. to be cultivated as fine art, we
have gone to nature, who is the mother of
art, for lessons. We have seen that she
mingles all eolors with effects which are
truly harmonious; and Why should we be
more arbitrary than she in her adornment
of the flowers, when we would prescribe
the hues and combinations for lady's toll
lette =? The puritan pansy'' puts on a
yellow vest with It's purple velvet robe; the
qeenly tulips are gorgeous with streaks OF
red and yellow, gay enough for an Indian
squaw; the florist labors for rainbow effects
in his pet dahlias; the poppy fiaunts her
scarlet looped petticoat, and the peony
shakes out her dozen of crimson jupes; the
morningglory trims her blue robe with
scarf of pink; while one and all, without
exception, find a mantle of green becom-
ing. Nature tries all Kinds of experiments
with the materials at her command. and her
success is always certain. If nothing in
nature is ugly, then is nothing in art ugly
when it simply copies nature; and 1t can
not truly be said (though it is often assert
ed that good taste limits the colors of the
toilette, and that drab, or black, or white,
slightly relieved by some trimming IN har-
mony, not in contrast, is the only really
elegant costume. IF dahlia can look well
in purple, black, and yellow, then why
not lady? If maiden fastens the foun-
ces of her azure ball-dress with pink gar
lands, she is only copying the pattern of
the morning glores-and would she ask to
Still, there seems to be such thing as
the correspondence of attire with the COM
plexion, hight, style and years. The frag-
lie lily of the valley dos not depend from
mullen stock, nor is the superb japonica
violet. Therefore, ladies may well and
profoundly study, which of all the various
patterns and hues best assimilate with the
character of each; and therefore it is that
we enter our protest against the blind
adoption of any and every color and shape
which fashion may dictate. Upon the brow
of fashion is written, change; she is a
chameleon; yet there is no woman (almost
money but will pronounce her beautiful,
whatever aspect she assumes; and the
number is precisely equal who will pro-
nounce her thrown-off aspect as hideous
and ludicrous. The woman who adored
her elegance in large bonnets, coat-sleeves,
and slender skirts, now turn from the
memory with uplifted hands. The name
of fashion is caprice. and of her followers
is folly. 1t is well that nature knows her
own mind better; else, some seasons we
should have all the flowers of the garden,
regardless of what was intended for them,
dressed up in the queenly bell-shaped robe
and snowy trail of the Gala; again we
should have the hollyhock and peonies all
squeezed into dainty ladyslippers; and anon,
the violets and primroses smothered IN the
mantle of the dahlias.
Let word come over from Paris that
green is to be worn by Mistress Fashion,
and straightway every sallow-faced woman
becomes "sicklied DER with the pale cast"
of iaundice. Or let the mandate be blue.
and no face is so fiorid but that it can af-
ford deeper tint for the sake of being in
the fashion. No woman is too short for
plaids or too tall for stripes, when they are
fashionable-nor too thick for short waists,
nor too thin for long ones.
It is impossible to arrive at any fixed
standard of taste in dress; for it is curious
fact, that what our eyes have become ae-
customed to, that we regard as becoming.
Most new fashions displease when first
seen, and become more charming as we
grow familiar with them-we regret to
change; yet after the change is made, it
grows more beautiful than the last. Stud
ying the art of dress is like gazing into a
whirlpool of bubbling waters-the longer
it is continued, the more confused we grow.
We would only suggest, that while fashion
is not neglected entirely. propriety, becom-
ingness, style and place, be also respected.
I-A Lady tn Cosmopolitan Dirt Journal.
| SUNKEN TREASURES The Charleston