The Cairo daily bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1870-1872, 1872-06-02
FASHIONS FR0LlCS.

NOVELTY, NOT BEAUTY, THE GOVERNING
PRINCIPLES OF FEMININE ATTIRE.
From Temple Bari
But fashion knows nothing Of beauty,
cares nothing for beauty. Fashion as
people say nowadays, goes in for nov
city. No. to accept anything new for
beautiful, stamps you as AN outside barba-
rian. The fashionable modesto abso-
lutely prefers II block-a human block, be
it understood for which nature has doEe
nothing. Ellie manqusite absolum de
tout" said u famous Partisan drcss-maker
Of one of the most: llustrous Of her clients
under the late imperial regime. The lady
who thus was without what every woman
is supposed to have, WAS considered to be
the best dressed woman in Paris-if the
empress herself be excepted-owing moth
ing TO nature and everything to the mod
iste. Fashion sets aside In the most sum
mary manner all attempts of nature to in
terfere with, hinder, or battle her. 1t
takes no account of native beauty, native
defects. 1t is no respecter of persons
that, ut least, must be ssid in its favor.
Clara has rather long neck, Clarabel a
very short one. What does fashion care
about that Deep collars or broad ties
are all the 60 and poor Clarabel's head
seems to start direct from her shoulders.
She looks absurd but all her friends would
tell her she looked still more so if she
we're out Of the fashion. Long bodies
ard short skirts suddenly come in,
and woe to the woman whose bodies are
longer than their members. They must
exaggerate a natural defect, in Difference
to the omnipotent edicts Of fashion. Skirts
all at once expand in every direction, and
become as long as they are broad. Ladies
who never step from their carriages save
into house or shop, carry couple Of
yards of silky tail behind them. Under
the circumstances it does not much matter,
and occasionally it looks rather graceful
than otherwise. But forthwith, the ladies
who must walk because they cannot afford
to be always driving, initiate their carriage
friends, and the pavement is swept by the
skirt OF the period. If it were only swept
clean, that twould be some consolation
though to think of the dust and and name
less dirt accumulated by those fair crea-
lures in mornings walk but while half
OF it adheres to their petticoats, the other
halt is whisked in the air for the benefit
Of those who follow in their footsteps.
| Why cannot individual Woman make
a stand once for ALL and say, each in turn,
81 have found out what suits me. am
tall, or short, or middle-sized, slim, stout
or dump, This new fashion of yours
makes me look fright. ! have studied
the matter now Tor some little time and
! have hit of to hair the style Of
dress which most becomes me- which
sets mo of to tho best advan-
tage, which does me most Justice,
and all the modistes in the world
shall not persuade me to make u guy of
myself" Just look at the advantage of
such course. Three gloriously good
things would at once flow from il. We
should have beauty, variety, and economy.
For fitness is always more or less beauti.
full and unhtness never can be even par
TALLY beautiful. Really pretty women
are many, and really uncomely women
are few. The former would be yet more
numerous, and the latter yet rarer, If fitness
instead OF fashion were their habitual
study Women are willing enough to
recognize that there are certain colors
which everybody cannot wear. One girl
cannot don yellow, another must eschew
green, a third must beware Of purple. Is
color, then, a relative matter, and is form
an absolute one? Most women look, per.
haps, equally well in three or four diff
ferent colors; and it is possible, though
not probable, that three or four different
styles of costume will equally become them
Here surely is choice enough.
Depend upon it, however, some
women never do themselves justice
save by adhering to one fixed
style, and even fixed color. Why, then,
try dangerous experiments Tho modiste
may be delighted, and female friends,
enamored Of novelty, and too kind to
wound, may extol the dazzling innovation
but they all in their hearts know full we'll
that il a woman is to be looked at as a
woman, and not as clothes horse, the old
garb was the comeliest and the most be-
coming. BY strict fidelity to the rule we
are insisting on, ugly costumes would be
banishe1 from sight, and every woman
might walk the world feeling that she was
obeying the dictum of Ben Johnson
It was for beauty the world was made.
The second advantage that would accrue
Is variety. 1t Is often urged, In palliation
Of the shifting modes Of fashion, that man
hates monotony, that we grow tired Of the
most beautiful objects II they never change.
Surprising such to DO the case, here 10 the
cure. We may we'll oil wax weary Of .