Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-08-06
FRENCH SOCIETY.
MOude.

Monde. t
Correspondence Of the Cincinnati Gazette.l
II is strange state of society which in
one country permits notoriously bad and
impure women to set fashions in dress,
which are initiated and followed by the
pure and virtuous women of the rest OF
the world Strange as it is, it is never.
theless true. The leaders of tie denaf-
monde in Paris, as bold and shameless
class as can anywhere be found, are
also the leaders of fashion. These
women, who have, generally speaking,
gained the position they occupy by their
personal charms, are du fat in every
art that will enhance them, and reckless
and extravagant in the use Of means to
supply these arts, conspicuous among
which are those of the toilet. They are
the most costly and elegantly apparelled
females of the capital, delighting in OPP
portunities to haunt their extravagances
Of equipage and attire in the face of the
wives of their cher amis as they pass
them on the drives.
Several years since, when the de'ni
monde first came into fashion, a courage
GUS lady of high rank, whose husband,
report says, had been led away by a
siren of that class, determined that she
would see for herself in what the seduc-
tive power Of these women consisted,
which could allure men from pure homes
and lawful wiveg. Consequently she
made up a party, who disguised them
selves, and managed to gain entrance to
one of the select masquerades given by
noted courtesan. When questioned
afterward as to the discoveries she had
made, she replied she had made but one
that they knew how to dress; as for
the rest, she believed it was only the
longing for forbidden fruit.
A later writer states that the scandal
ously low dress worn at the present day
at the French court where three inches
of corsage and one thickness of illusion
| is a womans covering from the waist up,
can be traced entirely to the influence OF
| the demi monde. Private letters say
that the failure of Madame Olivier to
| impose the high corsage upon Parlslan
society is due to the same cause. The
daughters of pleasure laugh at and rid
| icule il, and make themselves more at
tractive than ever in their decollete
toilettes, having more influence in the
salons than even the Empress on her
throne. 1t is represented that Eugene $
adherence to bare shoulders is as much
a matter of popularity as taste. The
canaille of Paris deeming that such exhi-
bitions are part of royalty, expect it,
having no fancy for an Empress choked
to the throat like a great grandmother
; A Parisian fashion artist, after spend
ing time and talents on the invention OF
toilet, takes the steps most certain OF
securing its success and making 1t the
rage. Selecting one of the leaders OF
| the demi monde, whose points she has
had in her eye while engaged in the
work, and who is in the pay of the artist,
she fits and adjusts the costume to her
. style, studying its becomingness and ele-
gance in every little detail. When nm
ished it is perfect, and arrayed in it the
daughter of pleasure" has no objec-
ton to entering her carriage and moving
slowly among the crowd who throng the
public places, for she knows that her
novel and attractive costume wiz draw
all eyes upon her. and she will be envled
by those who level their glasses to ex-
anime her dress and note its effective
ness. She thus becomes fashion model
and an advertisement for the modtste.
The Empress Eugene, the Princess
| lMetternich, and other ladies of rank
have had the credit of originating most
of the Paris toilets. when in fact they do
nothing Of the kind. They choose from
the styles offered for their consideration,
adopting and thus sanctioning those
which please them most, or are most be-
coming, the same styles having very tre-
quently been first introduced by the
demi monde.