The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1872-07-05
ROCHEsrER. \.
Dolly Vardens.

"What are Dolly Nardens 81 This is
how they came about. In the spring of
1870, while Napoleon was fussing with
Bendetti up at Ems, and Bendetti was
fussing with old King William to drive
him into this big war, the Empress Eu-
genie was making up party to go TO
the LOngchamp races. The crazy ladies
of the court had exhausted all the re-
cent fashions, and so the Empress set
about getting up a style for the races
which should be about as crazy in fash
ion rs old Nap, her husband, was crazy
i'm war. Eugene sent for Worth, the
man-milliner, and together they plan
ned those rose and sunfiower spangled
CrctOnRc suits, and got up a leghOrn
'shOe-fly' hat, with velvet and daises
and dandeliOns, and any and everybody
which would look like Mr.. Flanagan's
weedy holly-hOck borlered back yard.
They succeeded. The dress was the
most insane specimen of window cur
tain, and the hats looked Just rs coquet-
tish as our Dolly Warden hats do now.
It looked rs if it had been struck by a
whirlwind behind-or, i'm word it was
a cooked hat just ready to fly, but an
chOred down with velvet strings.
Well, the Empress and the court la
dies went up to the Longchamp races,
and wore these window curtain suits.
OF course Paris was crazy about it, but
lust then old King William slapped half
a million Dutchmen over into Alsace
and Lorraine, which made The Empress
quit the races and run back to Paris to
look after the-hospitals which We're full
of wounded Frenchmen.
"WhO revived the crazy fashion ?n
Well, Mrs. b, of Fifth Avenue, and
several of our ladies brought back the
window curtain dress from Paris, i'm the
fall of 1870, and wore it at the Jerome
races-a very proper place for it. Last
Spring it began to creep out up to Sara
toga. The pretty Mrs. A-io was the
envy of all the ladies, for she had one
right from Worth's. They were s'iust
the cheese" for the races, and did well
for Saratoga flirtatiOns and mornings
down at Moons, but now the ladies are
becoming rs crazy rs the fashion. They
insist on wearing the hOp-vine, sun
flower pattern all the time.
They are cutting up their window
curtains to make what they call ''DOlly
Warden" dresses, and the little forty
cent palmetto hats made by the darkies
i'm Florida are brought up here cooked
on side, ballasted with $40 worth of
Paris pansies and poppies and bachelors
buttons, and sold for S2G.
But don't they make n sensation 4?
II is all right-DOlly Warden was crazy
woman, she did all sorts of queer things;
but if Dolly Warden should walk out of
her crazy English grave and drop down
on Broadway, and see $1,000 insane
American women adopting her lunatic
dress patterns, and cutting up" gener-
ally just rs Dickens said she used to
''cut up" Dolly would Immediately get
up grand Fair to raise funds to build a
gigantic Dolly Warden insane asylum.
These window curtain cretOnRe suits
are only to be wOrne at the races. They
are not for morning nor afternoon; but
now every biddy on 81 per week is talk
ing about Dolly Warden for morning;
Dolly Warden for evening, and Dolly
Narden-crazy Dolly Warden for funer-
and weddings-for the pail bearers and
bridesmaids.