Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1875-07-02
EVENING STAR.
fRlDAY............. =, 1873.
FASHIONS FOR SUMNER WEAR.
Dress Abroad and az llome-Gradu.
nttnS Dresses -Saratoga Trunk. and
What IL Inside Ibem.
prom oar o'rp CoyrcspondcR,.l

Prom oar o1rn C0rrcSporfelsl
NEW YORK, June. lS5S.
Year by year the summer season begins
later and extends longer into the autumn
Perhaps IL is the gradual Eurapeanizing 81
cur manners and habits that is bringing
about the change. lie IL So or not. II is SEN
sih.e, Tor 10 Il better adapted 10 or climate
ana makes life more agreeable. lunctS
delightful lbuI regret 10 saw not a!fpoathar
a reliable month IL has ilj> and cspriceS.
ara 10 leave comfortable home for country
boarding or a dreary watering place during
TIE earlier part of the month l. % leave the
sooi We have 10 encounter Ills we Know
rot of.
Then II il In the city alone that we have
frulI ia abundance and carly Vegetables IN
June, not 10 speak OF the pleasure II b. de-
rived from the grand drive" IN the Central
lark ana the absolute necessity Of att udiug
the Jerome Park races; that is ir you are "A
meniber 81 the cub or "A friend OF a member.
For ali these weighty reasons. and many
Others which have not time 20 enusn.rafF
New \ OK j. beginning to be considered the
proper place during the leafy month: ard
only No}agtrS and persons who have country
houses which must be attended - leave its
manifold attractions for the doubtful en-
| chsl lments which distance lends 10 ooiects
! remote.
III, Of June has waned now. however.
| streets hay grown hot; people SiEh for 5he
touch OF fresh, green gTa>S-nOt the grlSs
| they generally see, bat the grass they re a.
| abCGt-auu trunks are packed hurrleily u
/ escape the dust. heat. misery OF the Fourth
| Of July. Ladies have done their last >hoo.
| Ping. they have bought long English lis'e
| thread gloves for country wear. ami a shade
| Rat, and ce-Irlmmcd neCktieS. and checked
! cuffs ami collars. and batiSte hand kerchiefS
| ana sash, and "a belt, and hal! dozen sum
! ln,r i'tla>, ana some tulie and flowers IN give
/ finishing touches 10 dress, and "A fichu TO
| make the OLD black silk pTeSentablp. and
some lace that may be wanted, and some
| ribbons That are sure 10 be needed; and after
| thinking of all these things, and using
! islo,.--h diplomacy 10 ct the money for them
| 10 make the fame am. ..'-!tiut ~ man, they
| have packed them, and with them "iteen
| iasflonahle double dresses, several bonnets,
| laraSoiS' jackets, lace points. sleeveless
! sacks, quantities Of skirts, under-clothing
| shoes, ana what not. and are going into the
! country 10 enjoy themselves; and II they can
| after all this effort, who would gruige il
| them? For il is not always love of IL that
| eNcltes women 10 such devotion 10 dress:
| there Il philosophy In tat least for women,
| II not Tor men. Dress is almost everything
| 10 woman i'm the effect IL produces on the
| minds OF those about her. 1t is an argument
| no one pretends 10 Withstand. IL exlin-
! cuisines rivalry. People armed against a
| tongue are subdued by a train. As remarked
| recently, The consciousness TO a woman OF
being well and becOmingly dressed imparts
| degree of compoSure and serenity which
! even religion cannot bestow."
| But the sustaining influence OF dress Is not
| confined 10 women; IL is seen in children. \
| boy behaves better when he mas on his sun
| day suit Than when he wears his everyday
| one IL - hard TO make the experiment, but
| II mothers want TO keep their boys ont of the
| gutter, let them try-inStead OF colIing-
! dressing them in their best clothes
/ GRADUATING DRESSES.
! 1here has been vast deal OF nonsense
! written lately about the ruin To the country
| involved IN allowing the girl graduates of
| female colleges ana high schools To wear
| white muslin for a graduating dress. In such
a case one cannot help thinking with a char
| acter In popular French play, that "A "Iit-
! tie ruin occasionally is good for us prOviI-
| ing The object Il worth IL. Bat why the out
| cry against white muslin as a graduating
| dress? 1t is pretty. simple, appropria'e and
| not necessarily expensive. II they did not
| wear white muslin, they would perhaps wear
| something more costly, and white muslin
| more or less fine and elegant, yet preserve
| uniformity of appearance which is desirable
| upon an occasion when one does nOs wish To
outshineI nor Yet look inferior to another.
| Few parents there are who would not de-
| sire upon an occasion ike that which brings
| friends and kindred and strangers together
| 10 witness he exercises which mark the close
! OF school lie, 10 make the little effort TO pro-
| Vide simple and sui table dress for the oc-
| caslon, and nothing can be conceived more
| simple, nothing more suitable than white
| muslin But II is objected that the form of
| dress IS no longer simple, that the hoancaI
| and plated white muslin of to-day is very
| different from the plain white muslin OF
| twenty or thirty years ago
| But this criticism applies 10 all dresses as
| wei as white muslin. Moreover, is IL en-
| tirely just" Twenty or thirty years ago
4 NUlIC dresses were tucked to the waist by
! h6'h Now, The hemming or plated flOunces
| Is executed in tWentieth part Of the time
| upon the sewing machine, and the plating
| laid more easily in muslin than almost any
| other material.
| To many girls with grabbed fathers and
tlmid mothers the white outfit at a cost of
| nom ten 10 twenty-five dollars, which they
obtain with difficulty as "A concession to the
| supposed necessities of commemorative DAYS
| Is the one dress which has TO do duty on great
| occasions for years TO come, and those who
4 b R.fa sU.a
| care with which il was laid aside. would
| have no fears for the country il its safety
| depended on white muslin graduating
| dress. The storm, however, has induced
| some schools and some classes of students To
| relinquish the distinguishing costume and
| wear whatever they please. Could the aver
| found that the cost OF dresses under these
| circumstances was greater, and the effect,
| a. whole, less pleasing.
AT q college commencement year ago.
one Of the young ladies wore black silk plain
| trained skirt. simple overskirt. and tulie
| ruche al the neck and sleeves. 1t was a very
| DISTINGUISHED dress upon the stage. and the
| spectators said, How admirably that girl is
| dressed; how well she looks" So She did:
| nut III was costly dress, Notwithstanding
heappeaEance was 50 plain and simple. The
| SIX was rich, as IL must he 10 look well if Il
| is not trimmed; and il must have cost fifty
| or sixty dollars before il was cut. Black silk
| i one OF the most useful dresses for a young
| lady 10 have, but hare are many parents
who really cannot afford the first outlay for
silk, and white muslin becomes. therefore
the only resource; the only fabric which
kindly lends itself 10 the wants Of rich ami
poor alike.
TIFF CNITIES OF DRESS.
That the laws which govern dress are be-
coming sufficiently understood To make "A
certain unity or harmony between its 5 apa-
rate pats nec,s SaTy. as evidence OF good
taste, Is Lot the fanlt or virtue OF any iIdi
Vidual or class of individuals; IL is the nat
ural OutgrOwth of the advances ma lie in
culture and civilization. If white shoes and
certain nicely of detail Is demanded for
while attire. SO is black with black, and
blue with blue. OF course all persons 30 not
at all times obey these laws. Want OF habit
and custom stand in the way more than ne
cessity; but there is a class that are able 10
pay this strict attention to aesthetic de-
maHGs, who stand as the representatives of
them, md To certain extent it il properly
demanded OF all when they present them
selves before an aSsemblage OF persons for a
public or social purpose.
The moral influence OF a dress coat or of
fitting and harmonious dress on the part OF
women has not been properly Appreciated,
but al persons can understand il. Women
ought TO cultivate dress from its highest
standpoint as n duty they owe To their
womanhood. They will not then waste SO
much money on trifies. They will not trail
| skirts in the street 10 catch dirt, be they of
silk or cotton; they will not choose designs
which are cut up into many parts so as 10
| present a patchy appearance ana destroy
them for future use, nor will they pile trim
II