The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-12-05
ReyoIutIons ar Vo.,umo

The changes Of fashion interest every body, and
the following views Of those changes, considered
in the light Of their relation to social usage will
therefore be found worthy Of perusal. Facts Of
this kind teach us che future by reviewing philo-
sophically the conduct Of the past
Revolutions in costume are periodical, az in
almost everything else in this world, From the
beginning Of this century, when dresses were
reduced 20 their narrOwCSt pro portions they have
gradually increased in size Gill they have become
90 uHc mely aud UuCOmiOrtaby disteuded that it
is neither safe nor possible to wear them OtCOursc
this applies more TO feminine than 70 masculine
costume but both are progressing in a parallel
line on the racing ground Of fashion. Singuary
enough, the tendency towards distcnsiOn regu-
larly comedies with the progress OF the century.
When q century, for instance, is in ts first
year,, civilized humanity seems to feel young
and in no way eager to conceal under pile of
garments the beautiful form granted TO the "lOri
Of creation" As the century advances in years,
fashion assumes matronly ideas, aud stately
notions quite unknown to the preceding genera.
tons of beaus. And when the century apprOa hes
towards It's completion then all the resources All
the craft Of millinery, tailoring, and p9rtumcry
are brought to bear on the means of discriminating
Old age and dccrepitudc.
In the beginning Of a century man IS not
ashamed of himself. With the sunny confidence
of youth he walks In the streets and appears in
assemblies dressed as nearly as possible rs the
man OF nature. In the latter part of the century
youth itself seems to delight in assuming the ap-
peaIancc Of old age. the examination OF any
book of costume affords numberlCss Illustrations
OF this inscrutabe law Of revolutions in dress,
from the Middle Ages down 10 our own time.
Writing and preaching against fashion have in
all time not only been perfectly useless but
made the Wcarer more determined to per,overe
IN IL, however unseemly ridiculous, or even dan
gerous to wear. Some days ago three OF the
denli.monde, dressed in the light garments worn
at the beginning of the present century, appeared
in the gauden Of the TuilcTies, and caused, az it
may be imagined, an immense sensation. But
they were not allowed to enjoy long the benefit
OF being stared at in wonderment by the prome-
naders OF the Partisan garden Authority, under
the form of three cornered Sergcnt de yille, eX-
PEELED them from the fashionable garden. 1t ap-
pears that each Of them had adopted one of the
cOlors Of the French tri-cOlor.
The question is to know if the ladies were eN-
PEELED for want OF respect for the French flag, or
for their bold protestatiOns against the prevailing
fashion introduced by the Spanish lady who
rcigns at the Tuileries. There is no fear that
such an attempt will be repeated in Hyde PARK
for the simple reason that no lady would dream
OF making such experiments in public. Mems
costume is naturally less exaggerated in form
than the dresses of the fair 1t is also slower
in its secular development. Hats, for instance,
although from time to time slightly modified in
type keep during a century the same general
form.
The eighteenth century was condemned to the
ridiculous three-cOrnered hat; the nineteenth is
doomed to the still uglier chimney-pot. General
Foy, writing on military costume, considered 1t
an immense boon for the soldier the superseding
Of the breeches by the trousers He held that the
suppression of the garter gave much more easi-
ness to the movements of the leg. But the OPT
mon of Foy is no longer partaken of by the
French military authorities, siuce irresstibly
drawn in the circle of revolving fashion, they
have come back to breeches and leggings for
French infantry.
A similar attempt made by the volunteers in
England Is very likely to lead her sons, in a
given time, back to the costume of their fathers.
As II is, we may fairly expect that the prevailing
fashion Of enormously disteuded dresses is to
prevail during the rest of the century in spite of
all its perils and It's ugliness. Our grandmothers
had the doors of their houses raised and enlarged
to allow the introduction Of their head-dressos
and their hoops. Until such alterations have been
largely praCtised in our constructions carriages,
theatres bathrooms &c, there is no chauce of
seeing the taste for the present bell-shaped
dresses diminish or begin to disappear