The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-11-04
Miscellany.
nr..s i'm London and New York.

Dress hLOnuOh anna ANSW
DIR. Holland, writing to the Springfield Re-
publican, thus gossips of the course of fash
ion in Paris, London and the cities of Ameri-
ca:
1t must interest American people to know
how the English people impress the Ameri-
cans, and how English people are impressed
by Americans; and perhaps / cannot bettef
employ the paper before me than by little
chat about national peculiartles. IL haFGly
seems possible that party OF American Ia
lies and gentlemen, passing along the streets
OF London, would so greatly vary in their
dress and appearance from the same number
OF English people as to attract universal at
.tention: but such is the case. The moment
an American sets foot in London everything
he sees in the fashion or apparel carries him
back fully year upon his national record
When we lett America the immense chignon
which had once disfgured the heads of our
ladies had been laid aside. When we arrived
in London we found it the regnant monstrosi-
ty. Indeed, have never seen SO preposter-
GUS tumorS of this sort in America as L see,
even now, every day, on the heads of English
girls travelling on the continent. l saw two
yesterday only just a little just very
little-smaller than the heads to which, with
marvellous ingenuity, they were attached.
dress had become universal. The old spread
OF skirts and trailing cloth had all been re-
formed. Our girls, you know, were so trig
and trim with their slender, gored dresses,
and showed their feet SO daintily as to have
gained a new foothold in the masculine ad
miration. Well the moment these pretty
dresses and pretty feet show themselves in
London they ale. greeted by the broadcast
stare that decency will permit An Amer-
IaHy well dpnccpd n
crowded London street without being gazed
at, pointed at and remarked upon at almost
every step.
The explanation of this strange difference
lies in the fact that the sympathy between
Paris and New York is immediate and COM
plete, while that between London aud Paris
is Indirect at best, and imperfect always
Even in London, think that Paris is &C
knowedged to be alike the centre and the ar
bitter OF fashion; but they never adopt FASH
ion in London until it has been outlived in
Paris and New York. The short dresses, fol-
instance, will not be universally adopted fol
the street until next year, in England. 1t
may be that they will never be adopted there.
heard an intelligent and wealthy En2llsh
lady remark, day or two ago, that the short
dresses were only fit to wear at watering
place, and that they were not decent to wear
when at home and among ones friends.
l think it likely that SO sensible fashion will
hardly be quietly ignored, and that by and
by, England will rejoice in universal show
OF ankles L have heard American ladies talk
about this matter, and some of them have
been wicked enough to intimate that the
English ladies have private reasons for keep
ing their dresses long. Indeed, they declare
that the typical Englishwoman, if not the
Englishwoman universal, has large foot and
ankle. l have no right TO know anything
definitely about this matter, and | don't pre-
tend to; but from what could not help see
ing at street crossings in wet weather, ven
ture to guess that it takes more leather to
shoe the average Englishwoman than the aV
erage American woman.
Now let an American cross the Channel
and enter any street of Paris, and he will see
nothing in the dress of either ladies or gen
tleman to indicate that he has left New York
city. The clothing that a well-dressed Amer
lean takes to Paris finds itself entirely at
home at once. A gentleman or lady from
America, who dresses in style there, will have
no garment that will look outlandish in Par
is In some things there will be slight modi-
fication, often Tor the better, but the funda-
mentals are always the same; and there is
never variation enough to excite remark, OF
to give the slightest uncomfortable feeling to
the stranger exhibiting them. Here, on the
continent, one can never distinguish an
American from Frenchman by anything he
wears, nor can a Partisan lady be distinguish
ed from a New York lady by her apparel; but
an Englishwoman and especially an English
girl, can be known as such as far as she can
be seen. The enormous chgnon and the
general looseness and sloppiness of everything
she has around her-always, by the way, OF
the best materal-decides the question OF ma
tionality for the most careless observer
My impression is that the tailors of
England live little nearer to Paris
than the milliners or the mantuamakers
The fashionable young fellows of London
have good deal of the Partisan about their
makeup; but the great majority of plodding
Londoners dress in their own way, and find
themselves modified by Paris only by uncon-
scious degrees. Even here in Switzerland.
where only the French language is spoken
and mainly the French money is circulated,
at point only fifteen hours from Paris, and
IN constant communication with it, the fash
ions follow America at a long distance |
have seen the old fashioned peg-trousers in
numbers sufficient to furnish scare crows for
the whole Connecticut valley, since my arrival
here. will only add, for the benefit or the
satisfaction of my countrymen, that, accord
ing 10 my belief and my best knowledge, the
Americans follow Paris more promptly and
more closely in the fashion of their clothing,
than any other people. So look at each 9TH
er and into your mirrors with entire COM
placency,