The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-03-11

opee1S ~ -
BULwKR in his cnchanting nove4
What Will He Do With IT." speaks O
the attire Of Frenchw0man who neules
in its pages - being - finished = an
epf1usanr; An thiS cosstant chasacssrls-
tic e b. snong he grestmAss o. FTencAr
women. more .han any astonishing mar
wells Of toilet that may be occasionally
DISPLAYED n festive gatherings by the
rich ana reckIes. always in n,inorityin
every community, which has earned fer
Frenchwomel their deserved reputation
Of being the only really well-dressed ma
ton Of women in the world Among the
other bits Of vanity with which this
country may be charged is the Unbound
ed belief that American women have
now taken the lead in this matter, and
are at present "head Of the heap as
dressers; but no one who has looked into
the subject with anything like careful
judgment, and studied the typical
Frenchwoman in Paris and the typical
American woman In New York, viii fan
TO see that the Pdrist<nnl stands To-Day
as she has for century or more, the IN
carnation of perfect taste, pracncaity
and wisdom in all matters Of dress.
The leading idea in regard to dress
any dress, almost-in the mind OF an
American woman is that it shall be rich
and costly. For many years no black
silks but those called gros grains could
find purchasers in this market. Even
now. In these our times Of Tightening Of
purse-strings, this heavy and costly
fabric is almost in universal use, and it
Is nothing uncommon to see girls not out
OF their teens wearing silks Of heavi-
ness OF texture fit for the pomp-
Gus apparel Of gray-haired dowa-
gers. Many Frenchwomen whose at
tire has always been as finished as an
epigram" have never owned so costly a
dress as gros grain. And just here is
the point to note the basis Of the differ
ence between the French and the Ameri-
cans, which is visible not only in dress,
but in ali other observsnces, and which
contributes 50 greatly to the admirable
ordering of life in France, viz: the alb
sence OF pretension, the avoidance OF a
desire 70 appear richer than they really
are, which is the secret OF the success Of
the Paris salon. the pitts DINERS and other
unattainabie French luxuries. No re-
spectacle woman in France would con
sent TO wear apparel not in strict &C
cordance with her established position
in life. For the wife of clerk or other
small-salaried person TO appear wearing
q lace founce or an India shawl, or any
other expensive garment, would be to
invite such comment as mo modest
dame can meet without a blush 4
Frenchwoman's dress must be in accord
ance with her means: but how frequent
~ We hear the ordinations in this
country: How do they do it," Where
dues the money come from:" and when
the wife and daughters Of Jones, the
bankers clerk, swell up and down Broad
way in seal-skin sacks and founced gros
grains ana the last new thing in bonnets
and fve-button, pearl-colored gloves,
the least censorious person cannot but
marvel how they afford such costly ac-
coutrement.
Are Jones' wife and daughters well
dressed, Are American women usually
well dressed: rs TO be well dressed is
to be fifty dressed and freshly dressed, ]
have small hesitation in replying tina.
they are not
Perhaps even greater than her aversion
to not being dressed as becomes her sta
ton in life is the FFenchwoman' horror
Of wearing garment that is passe, fame,
frtpe. Il requires but few wearings in
the dirty streets of any of our towns to
convert the handsomcst gros grain into
that Understandable improperly, "a
sight to behold" Strictly for carriage
wear toilet OF elegance and costliness
may be allowed; but no woman can be
Well dressed when clothed in the costliest
gown, the sweeping skirts Of which have
caught the impurities of the streets. The
length Of the street-dress skirt of the
present day, though far from being the
disgusting trail Of few years ago, is
yet sufficiently great TO cause it to dip
in the mud and snow, the dust and water
Of the thoroughfares. The only means,
therefore, by which lady can preserve
her neatness tolerably intact is by wear
ing dresses SO inexpensive in their ma
tcrial and make that she can afford to
lay them aside as soon as they are hope
lessly soiled. Certainly half dozen
pretty dresses better adapted for street
wear than gros grain can be had for
the cost of one of this latter material.
The extravaganza of American women,
so often the theme of masculine remark,
is not SO much displayed at routs and
parties-the proper scene Of gorgeous
apparel--as in the street, where eatrava-
gance is not merely extravaganza but
vulgarity and folly.-Olice Logan, in Har-
Ter's R0z1r