Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-11-12
Is CrInoline Out of Fashion?
Paris (0ctoberI 90 Correspondence London Morn
ing Post

tParis October 22 Correspondence London Morn
ing Postl
| meet I'm the streets of Paris, and some
times at an evening reception, a toilette OF
the period of the First Empire; short
wasted, and certainly there can be no erin
oline or iron-hooped anything under
somewhat scanty robe, such as Lady Jer-
sey danced in at Almaek's in the days OF
George lV. You can see the pretty feet
and some idea may be arrived at as to how
nature has sculptured the whole OF the
graceful female form. 1t is surely a pleas
ant thing to contemplate ladies' feet again.
For the last ten years, if one writes history
correctly, we must confess we have seen
little of that pretty feature of female love-
illness. This has been decided loss, for
nature has wisely provided that young
people should fall in love with others feet
and ankles as well as their eyes. AT the
promenade in the Bois you meet with
ladies whose dresses gracefully respond to
the movements of the frame; and certainly
there cannot be any cunningly conceived
sub-structure of steel and textile sub
stances under that empire style of costume.
therefore conclude that there are ladies
of fashion moving about in the most re-
fined society honestly without crinoline;
but they are not yet a majority. You find
most ladies, on the contrary, wearing
dresses which spread out at the bottom,
and show train which begins to be as
long as those worn at court. From the
waist downwards this overspreading trail
| ing robe must be supported by some mate
rial. Is it oginoline? Isit jupe in another
| shape, or is it mass of clustering under
clothing of cotton or linen? How am | to
| find out that? You cannot with propriety
ask lady what she wears under the ex-
| nj al cafi WI uar in tnn lnH
to be jealous secret),
| And take upon US the mystery of things,
| As if we were Gods spies. 'JN
as said King Lear on a similar courtly
| question. 1t would be exclusively mean to
ask the lady's maid privately and contiden-
| italy of what underneath material her mis-
| tress is composed. How are you 10 find
out t?r have watched sublimely grand la
| dies get out of a carriage, under the inn
preston that the accident OF events might
! enable one to form pretty good opinion
about the presence of crinoine. But no
| jupes-cdgeS ever turned up; the robe falls
into q monotonous spread, trails on the
| ground, and is as irritating to surrounding
| human nature as the old crinOline nuisance.
Gentlemen have to dodge about in the
drawing-room and on the pathway of gar
| deus and parks. These dresses like the old
|
| some men to come out with wicked oaths
| in French, and do not see why this fash
ion should not also cause ladies to burn to
death as in the earlier days of crinoline.-
| In the streets of Paris some ladies wear a
dress which appears to be crinolineless, un-
| til it suddenly and abruptly spreads out at
! the bottom as if a single hoop were en-
ployed. What is this? A windy day at
| the seaside might relieve ones doubling
I. mind. | strongly suspect this is the last
ring--a horrid cage. If erinoline is expir-
ing, it dies hard in Paris. The ladies at the
market still wear crinolne, and so do the
ladies' Of the Kitchen; therefore | suspect
crinoline is lowering still about in all class
es of society. Now those interested in this
| momentous question will say, Why don't
you 90 to the fashion books for information
Ask.a audience of Ne VT in
the Rue la Paix. DO you think you can
say anything positive after all this? One
magazine of the fashions tells us-"Taking
our impressions from certain high indica-
tions, we think we can go so far as to de-
clare that gradual abandonment of crino-
line is taking place in all classes of society,"
You then turn to the colored plates, and
there you find dress worn by lovely
creature, the bottom of which is occupying
nearly the whole width of the plate. What
keeps out its vast proportions? As when
you think. 2G time and eternity, or any
other sublime subject, the mind wanders
into dim confusion. Let us see what La
Toilette de says-that is an authority
Itwould be absurd to translate: Deu1
genres bien diStincts cdrdctermem les toiletteS
celui quj red,it rdmpleur et Ia lo,gaeur det
robes est adopte pour les courses pied, e
l'dutre genre Q,H ddmet aUec uae .tdcilite ertrG'
OrdinGire OlueS les eraQgerGttOnS dams te sense
oppose, est Seut reserUe diir toilet eS parees."
Do you not observe, ladies, that here i;
the same hesitation Of which you co nplair
In England? Is it that there are no origina
and great minds just now in Paris as of oil
to exclaim: This is the fashion for Octo
ber; wear it all the world ?"- If you asl
me to sum up, my answer is, believ'
crinoline is only half out and something
quite as bad is half in. We are probably
passing through period OF transition. il
will be very interesting for some time tt
come to look for the day when humanity
can write-CTinoliRa titt. ,r fsasst