Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1867-09-19
THE FASHIONS.
The Opal Mania-Autumn Styles
Skulls and Tears-Sham
Jewelry-White.

There is an opal mania raging IN Paris
just now. III ID not slnpiy d iashlon' IL
is superstition III gre" OUT Oh very
ordinary circumstance "A Russian
countess had noble loyer, VINO, having
TO depart on long Journey ieIg ell, her as
a memento' set oil opals. men 9e
had been absent month"; the lady
opened her casket and found that 1he
opals had changed Their color; Ihey
had grown very pale. mat DAY sne
heard OF her lover Illness a lew Gays
after she found on consulting her Jewel
oracles that the opals were merely dust
and powder. The same evening an en-
velope bordered with black, informed
her that her lover was dead. Since then
the fashionable present from gentle
man to lady is an opal Young girls
who are bethrothed VIII accept OF no
thing else from their atfianced husbands.
And every time the men are absent their
sweethearts consult the opais to see Ii
they are false or true, sick or well.
The wise men OF Paris lind that while
this opal mania is on the fair sex 1t
would be useless to expostulate or to try
to explain causes and etfects., The
opals erumhled ana he dled, is the stag
gering answer to reasoning. But before
our readers invest too largely in opals,
the following is worth consideration.
Turquoises, pearls and opals all die out
in certain atmospheric circumstances
They lose their brilllancy first, but IN
stead of attributlng to them knowledge
of the health or feelings of those who
offered them 1t would be well to ascer-
tain what has affected them. Acid
damp kills them; an opal touched by
vinegar falls into calcinated powder.
'Nasturtiums and buttercups embrol'
dered IN dark silks are TO be the autumn
styles among the cream OF the cream;
Under petticoats are to be made OF all
colors, worked in bands or garlands, as
now. The Empress Eugene persists IN
this fashion.
One old friend, whom we little reamed
Of meeting again is, coming back and
that is the old fashioned camlet Where
are those old square capped cloaks, brown
shaded or green, such as he of the Cot,
ters Saturday Nigh" was wont to wear
Packed away IN old chests IN the garret,
where, stiff and stately they await a
resurrection.
A British nobleman, according to the
Heralds correspondent has produced a
new robe of horrible design. 1t IS n
black ground worked over with white
skulls in silver threads, and the bottom
is bordered with big dropping tears An.
other idea is the gentleman's neck scarf
pima skull, with small, electric eyes,
which turn round and roll and frighten
every lady to death every time she looks
the wearer Of one in the face F.; for, how
ever hard one may try, there is no look
ink man in the face without noticing
his neckiie, too
We discover from the Sunday Times
that in ladies dress goods, there are
signs of a return to plaids-a fashion
so pronounce that it will hardly become
general. Everything really desirable
continues expensive; the best black
silks being particularly so. When one
remembers the tax of sixty cents a yard
on silks. and takes into account the
several profits of different dealers, one
can understand why silks are so expen-
siye.
Silks are silks these days, but the
same does not held good as to jswelry.
At the exhibition in Paris, the largest
proportion of space for jewelry is set
apart for the display Of sham jewelry.
Diamonds. pearls of great value, and
emeralds, may be had for a mere song.