Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-04-22
Dolly Warden and the Ladies' what
are Dolly Vardens?

I'm sick Of Dolly Vardensl That is
/ could stand it to have Mrs. Perkins
liveIin Dolly Warden morning wrappers,
wear occasionally Dolly Warden after.
noon costume, and indulge in Dolly
Warden opera dresses now and then
BUT, when Mrs. Perkins-asks me-to
to-e-a-r Dolly Warden vests, Dolly Var.
den pantalonns and Dolly Warden shirt
collars asks me to change off my
Bon Mdrche cambric handkerchief,
with the big monograms on them, for a
square of exaggerated window curtain
| say when she asks me to wear Dolly
Warden clothes myself, sleep on Dolly
Warden sheets, and wipe on Dolly Var
den towels, then | say, like poor perse-
cuted Toodles, " hang Dolly Warden y
aforesaid lt t
What are Dolly Vardens?" r..
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 Viii.
liam to drive him into the big war, the
Empress Eugene was making up q
party to go to the Longchamp races.
The crazy ladies of the court had ex-
hausted all the recent fashions, and so
the Empress set about getting up style
for the races which should be just about
as crazy in fashion as old Nip, her hus-
band, was crazy in war. Eugenie sent
for Worth, the man-milliHer, and together
they planned those rose and sun-hower
spangled Cretonne suits, and got up a
Leghorn shoe fly hat, with velvet and
daisies and dandelions, and any and
everything which should look like Mrs.
Flsnnagans weedy, hollyhock-bordered
back yard.
"They succeeded. The dress was the
mostinsane specimen of window-curtain,
and the hats looked-well, looked just
as coquettish as our Dolly Warden hats
do now. 1t looked as if it had been
struck with whirlwind behind-or, in a
word, it was a cooked hat just ready to
fly, but anchored down by 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
just then old King William slapped half
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."
F" Who revived the fashion,?
"Well, Mrs. B, of Fifth avenue,
and several of our ladies brought back
the window-curtain dress from Paris in
the tall Of 1870, and wore it at the Je-
rome races-a very proper place for it
Last spring it began to creep out up at
Saratoga. The pretty Mrs. P--io was
the envy of all the ladies', for she had
one right from Worth's. They were
lust the cheese for the races, and
did well for Saratoga graveyard hirta-
tions and morning breakfast down at
Moons S, but now the ladies are becoming
as crazy as the fashion. They insist on
wearing the hop.vine, sunfower pattern,
all the time,
"They are cutting up their window
curtains to make what they call now
Dolly Warden dresses, and the little
forty.cent Palmetto hats made by the
darkies in Florida are brought up here,
cooked up on one side, ballasted with
ten dollars worth of Paris psnsies and
poppies and bachelors buttons, and
sold for twenty-six dollars. But don't
they make sensation It's all right
Dolly Warden was crazy woman; she
did all sorts OF queer things; but il Dolly
should walk out Of her crazy English
rrav4 and drop down on Rroadyay, and
see thirty-nn7 nn7s thousand insane american
women adopting ner lapatle dressPat-
terms and cutting up genefc:!.lY' Just a as
Dickens said she used to cut up, Doiiy
would Immediately get up a grand fair
TO raise funds to build lgigantlc Dolly
Warden insane asylum.
These window-eurtain Cretonae suits
are only to be worn at the races. They
arc not for morning nor aiternooni but
now every Biddy on four dollars per
week is talking about Dolly Warden for
Dolly Warden for evening, and
Dolly-crazy Dolly Warden for funerals
and weddings--for the pall-bearers and
bridesmaids sez Eli.
-u