Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1865-12-23
Worship Of Dry Goods.

IL " amazing what sums OF mon
cy women expcnd in the little do.
tails OF dress, which amount only
TO designation. Elegant simplici.
~ is II thing Of the past, The rich.
or tho fabric, the more IL now do.
mands trimming and Ornamental
ton; no material, however expen-
sive soevcr, being able to stand
alone without these merotricious
props, To my thinking, here wo-
men miss it. To patch over rich
silk velvet garment with lace and
beads is not only superfuity, but
bad taste. To furbclowa rich satin
seems to mo as great an absurdity;
and yet you will see women paying
six, ten, and twenty dollars n yard
for trimmings for this purpose. AS
to the gilt bedizenings now in vogue
on every article of female apparel
save stoclsings-for gilt slippers
and gilt boots have already made
their appearanco-this epil will soon
cure Itself by becoming 20 stunn.
ingly loud and vulgar that no true
lady will wear them. In my shop
ping excursions, ! havo noted that
the fair purchasers of the suporAu.
Gus trimmings l speak Of general
ly inquire for them in very bad
grammar. "You ain't got none?
being II very fair sample Of their
mode of address.
"Idt's the kind Of dress women
ought to wear" remarked a man in
my hearing, as two women passed,
with drab pokes of bonnets, and
brad gowns, innocent Of hoops,
roaching just to the edge of the
ankle, and white kcrchiefs crossed
demuroly over fiat chests. "That's
the kind of dress women ought to
wear" l took an inventory of him.
His has not a broad -brim; his coat
was not cut away at the stomach,
with 'ong, square flaps behind
His trousers were not short and
useful, and out of reach of the mud.
Not Il bit of it He was dressed in
the height Of the fashion, as to hat,
coat, vest, pantaloons, CATERS, cane
and nexk-tie; but, with mans
beautiful consistency, he could see
that Il woman had no right to take
the same liberty if she chose. Still.
after saying this-for nobody shall
abuse women but myself wish
they wouldn't dress like apes. I
can't say l like the apparel Of the
drab sisterhood any better; but
heaven help us isn't there mcdi-
UNI? And must woman wear q
thing because every other woman
does? Can't a short woman for
swear big plaids? Can't a tall wo-
man cschew striped garments p
Cant a blonde let yellow alone ?
and can't a brunette turn off her
eyes from pale blue? and can't a
woman be worthy respect, though
she may choose to wear no trim
mings at all IN her dress, no matter
what milliner or modistc shall have
decreed the contrary? The idea of
wiping ones nose on fifty dollars, in
the form of pocket handkerchief!
Well-well the remedy for all
this is brains. Now who is going
to furnish them ? The mothers of
The present day can't, Judging from
present appearances; and as to the
fathers, their brains are oozing out
of their meerschaums at such a
fearful rate, that upon my word l
can't see where the promised mil
lennium is to come from. Nobody
can tell how glad 1 am when l hear
that woman in any part Of the
wide earth has moulded a statue, or
painted a picture, or written book
which is creditable to her in the
least degree. Anything-anything
but this eternal whitening, soluble
stroying alteration of dry. goods !
l say "withering' advisedly; look
upon the poor outcast women OF
New York with an aching heart,
whose insignia are these same gay
trappings, that our wives and moth.
ers seem to be striving to rival, till
the strangcr-cye can scarce draw
the distinction between the wearers
repeated again tn the daughter
whose dress at sixteen is fac-simile
of her mothers at forty. / think ]
would rather see the young girl
who is paradihg to and fro in her
fnery, grinding hand-organ.-
That, at least, would give her mus
cular exercise; and rs to the "vul-
garity" of the two cmployments
people now have odd notions about
vulgarity. FANNY FERN.