The Grange advance., 1874-10-14
An Ecelau6ic Woman In Full Dress.

f. V@" A1AtoS5s 1t A@sPGs o 1AU5N-
zi,ae for October.
An Ecelandic Woman in Full Dress.
A correspondent Of the London
Standard, who has been assisting at
the late festivities in Iceland, saw sew
eral ladies dressed in the old Icelandic
full dress. One of the ladies and her
costume he describes as follows: She
was some forty years Of age, tall and
stately, and would have commanded
attention in any assembly. The bright
complexion and abundance of fair hair,
as we'll as the general tone Of her fea-
lures, proclaimed her true Morse blood.
| Her dress, however, was what most
caught my attention. She wore close
fitting bodice and sleeves, made Of.
black wooden material, with broad gold
embroidery down the front and on the
seams, fastened at the throat by a
gold button, open after this about half
way to the waist so as to show white
chemisette, but with gold buttons on
either side, 50 that it could, be closed
at will. Such bodice as this is
often laced, up in front by a
gold or silver chain, passed through a
kind of ring on the edge of the but
tons; but this lady wore it open. Round
> the waist was q belt formed Of plates
of gold linked together and hanging
down in, front nearly to the knees.
r Many Of these belts in gold or silver
: are heir-looms, and come down from
), generation to generation--perhaps rel
n les of the time when people carried thei,
# wealth about with them, IS Hindoo
S women and shas of Persia do nowadays
: The skirt was Of the same materia
It with the bodice, and was perfectly
u plain, except for narrow band OF golt
2, embroidered round the bottom, whiel
IS was some two inches from the ground
e No flounces or frills, and, above all, n
!! denominations in the way of crinoline Q
ct dress.improver disfigured the graceful
'e costumes am trying to describe. l kno,
n do it very badly, <nd I dare say ladie
u will think am a Ounce, but the task
n new and somewhat uncongenial. Bu
1t the head-dress was the most peculia
IS part of the whole. I can only describ
Ve it as fattened cornucopia turnln
e. over from the back toward the, front
'g The cap was high, covered with whit
rs silk or linen, strained over frame
n cardboard, and built up with waddin&
d. This construction I afserward inquire
m into, 50 it may be accepted IS correc
y Round the band of itNglittered about
lis dozen of gold stars. and set in all rour
be With . very deep net fall trimmed wit
or lace. This fall was lifted up in frol
he and turned back Of the : CT
,ss while the back part Of :
Ter fell almost to the waist, t!
7er whole giving much the effect Of a brid
'en veil. The hair was worn in sever
lie. long and very broad plaits, which We v.
ef- turned up in loops, and their ends hi
ch- den Under the cap. This is the usr
tic Icelandic style Of wearing the hair, ar
md of course, dispenses with all the ado,
irl, ment of crizzes and false plaits, viii
re- the bellies of our more southern clin
re. find Indispensable. Clumsiness in
re. description may, perhaps, :impart
and idea of clumsiness to this head DIRE
ess. but it is by no means clumsy. On
eful contrary, it is very becoming, and q
inst played above bright and pretty fat
i'm IS / afterward saw it, adds = charm
> to what hardly requires improvement
the the features Of the better class of l
'ode landic girls.