Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1867-09-21
Ladies' Fashions.
\ Severe CrfficismITheirI IndcIfcacy and
Indcccncy- Costume and las Morals.

Ladies' Fashions.
a Severe CrIficisrar-,FheIs TndeIfeacy and
Indeecncy- Costume and las Morals.
Nothing is more decisively Indicative
of the real value or necessity of a thing
than the fact that, while its presence is
hardly noticeable, it is immediately miss
ed and asked for when it disappears; and
it IS thus that the paramount Importance
of clothing asserts itself by the conspicu
business Of its absence. OF course, the
first purpose of dress is, or should be,
decency, and, for this, quantity rather
than quality is looked for. But as with
the little cloud no larger than mans
hand, so from the primary fig-leaf or first
element of dress, how great things have
arisen /! In respect to application, dress
may be said to have attained its maxi
mum when mcn wore ruffs which nearly
concealed their heads, and shoes a quar-
ter of Il yard longer than their feet but
Fashion" has its day, and now dress
threatens to dwindle into something not
tar from its original OF fg-leaf dimen-
sions. Another perfectly legitimate OBJ
.ject OF dress is attractiveness, so that by
its aid our persons may be set off to the
best advantage dress should also be in
dividual and symbolic, so as to indicate
clearly the position and character which
we desire to obtain aid hold
| 1t IS not OF mems attire that we have
now to speak that has been settled for
them by the tailors' strike, which practi-
cally ordained that he that was shabby
should be shabby, or even shabbier still,
and he that had allowed himself to be
thrust into the straitened trowsers and
coats of last year should continue to ex-
hibit his proportions long after the gro
tesqueneSs Of his figure had been recog-
nized even by himself But it is of the
dress OF our women that we are compell-
cd to testify, and it can hardly be denied
that at the present moment it otfeHds
grievously V i'll three particulars: 1t is III
adequate for decency; it lacks that truth
ftIlness which is and should be the base
Of all that is attractive and beautiful :;
and i'll its symbolism it is in the highest
degree Objectionable, for it not only aims
at what is positively hateful and meretri-
cious, 50 that it is difficult now for even
practised eye to distinguish the high
born maiden or matron Of Belgrayia from
the Anonymas who haunt the drive and
| fill our streets.
This indictment is, it may be said,
severe one but if we examine, so far as
male critics may venture to do, the cost
of fashionable woman Of the day, it
can hardly be said to be unjust. The APP
parent object of modern female dress is
to asSimilate its wearers as nearly rs pos
sible in appearance to women Of Il GER
tain class-the class to which it was for
nerly hardly practicable to allude, and
yet be Ineligible to young ladies but
all that is changed, and the habits and
customs Of the denai monde are now
studied as if they were indeed curious,
but exceptionally admirable also, and
thus study, unseemly and Improbable,
has begotten q spirit Of imitation which
has achieved a spirit Of degrading sue
cess. ''Our modest matrons meet" not
''to stare the strumpet down." but to
compare notes, to get hints, and to en-
gage in kind of friendly rivalry-in
short, to pay that homage to Vice, and
in very direct way, too, which Vice
is said formerly to have paid to Virtue.
BLUE-BLACK HAIR AND BRONZE CoMPLXIoN.
1t may be interesting to know, and
we have the Information from high,
| because SOidiSahet fashionable authority,
that the reign of golden locks and blue
white yisages is drawing to a close, and
that it is to be followed by bronze COM
plexion and blue-black hair--a u 41tri-
cdiae we presume When fashionable
| Madame has to her own satisfaction,
painted and vanished her face she then
proceeds, like Jezabel, to tie her head,
! and, whether she has much or little, she
fixes on to the back of it huge nest OF
coarse hair generally well baked i'll order
to free it from the parasites with which
it aboGnded when it first adorned the
person Of some Russian or \ orth Ger
man peasant girl. OF course this gives
an unnaturally large and heavy appear
ance to the ccrcbe1lar region; but nature
is not exactly what is aimed at, still less
refinement.
b PAINT AND POWDER. il
Paint and powder are, of course, the
first requisites for the end in view, and
these adjuncts have to be laid on with
such skill as the debed@ate of her toilet
maid possesses, which is sometimes so
small as to leave their handiwork dis
gustingly coarse, and apparent. There
are pearl powder, rouge, bistre for the
eye lids, bella donna for the eyes, white
lead. and black lead, yellow dye al and
mineral acids for the hair anu SKIN. Inc
effect of this ''diahpanous" complexion
and "auriGed'' hair 1--WE borrow the ex-
pressions) in person intended by na-
ture to be dark, OF swarthy, is most COM
ical;- same times the white lead is used
SO unsparingly that it has quite blue
tint, which gIistens like a deaths head