Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1872-05-02
a}listellauepns &eading.
Ell Perkins in New York Commercial.
WHAT ARE DOLLY VARDENSs

FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL, April 11.-Im
sick of Dolly Vardens2
That is, could stand it to have Mrs. Per.
kins live in Dolly Warden morning wrappers,
wear occasionally Dolly Warden afternoon
costume, and indulge in Dolly Warden opera
dresses now and then; but when Mrs. Per.
kins-asks me-to w-e-a.r Dolly Warden vests,
Dolly Warden pantaloons and Dolly Warden
collars-and asks me to change off my Bon
Marche cambric handkerchiefs, with the big
monograms on them, for lot of exaggerated
window curtain-I say when she asks me to
wear Dolly Warden clothesmyseE sleep on Dol
ly Warden sheets, and wipe on Dolly Warden
towels, then I say, like poor prosecuted Too
dies, chang Dolly Warden" aforesaid!
"What are Dolly Vardens?"
"This is how they came about: In the
spring of 1870, while Napoleon was fussing
with Benedict up at Ems, and Benedict was
fussing with old King William to drive him
into the war, the Empress was making up a
party to 20 to the Longchamp races The
crazy ladies of the court had exhausted all the
recent fashions, and so the Empress set about
getting up a style for the races which should
be Just about as crazy in fashion as old Nip,
her husband, was crazy in war. Eugene sent
for Worth, the man milliner, and together
they planned those rose and sunAower span
gled Oretonne suits, and got up Leghorn
fshoo hy' hat, with velvet and daisies and
dandelions, and any and everything which
should look like Mrs. Flannagan's weedy,
hollyhock-bordered back yard.
"They succeeded. The dress was the most
insane specimen of window curtain, and the
hats look ked-well, looked just as coquettish
as our Dolly Warden hats do now. 1t looked
as if it had been struck with whirlwind be-
hind-or, in word, it was cooked hat just
ready to fly, but anchored down by velvet
strings.
"Well, the Empress and the court ladies
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 were
full of wounded Frenchmen."
"Who revived the crazy fashion2"
w cIA, MILD. - VI I'LL ofoAuo, eshu
several of our ladies brought back the win.
dow curtain dress from Paris in the fall Of
1870, and wore itatt the Jerome races-a very
proper place for it. Last spring it began to
creep out up to Saratoga. The pretty Mrs
P was the envy of all the ladies, for she
had one right from Worth's. They were Just
the cheese for the races, and did we'll for Sar
atoga grave yard Airtations and morning
breakfast down at Moons, but now the ladies
are becoming as crazy as the fashion. They
insist on wearing the hop vine, sunAower pat
tern, all the time
"They are cutting up their window curtain:
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
$lO worth of Paris pansies and poppies and
bachelors buttons, and sold for $26. But
don't they make a sensation? It's all right
! Dolly Warden was a crazy woman she die