The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1879-08-06
FROM Our Regular Correspondent,
PARIS LETTER.
Pans. July 20. 1879.

PARIS, July 90. 1879.
In Paris two schools are now strug-
Cling in the Republic of Fashion,
one, which might be called loud, goes
in for extraordinary and daring things,
very largely patterneu , ID. a COM
bination Of the most opposite colors
in a word, gives way to all the vaga-
ries of an imagination which knows
no law but that Of personal taste.
The other is still ruled by the old
principle of wearing what no one else
wears, aud still looking like every.
body TO produce an effect without
seeming to have wished to produce
one. This is the classical school.
Each of the two camps has its lead
ers. | do not wish to speak i'll Of the
Sen~sationalists and Independents but
they must take care. They need very
much tact not to touch the ridiculous.
One must be o born colorist to day
to know how TO dress we'll, and TO
choose between The Thousand fancies
of fashion. Each woman is in her
way q tabtedu uicant, and if she
abuses what sue borrows she is apt to
be ridiculous.
A woman must possess a very
strong and dazzling complexion to be
able to stand those many-varied
shades, those gauzes and saiins of
glaring hue, which seem to wish to
put out the sun himself. Picture to
yourself one of these fashionable tot
%lettes a satin foulard, color old gold,
with sprigs and embroidery Louis
XII q Rembrandt hat trimmed with
ruby colored satin, and feathers Of
three shades, pink, red and ruby : a
bouquet of red tulips and violets at
the waist. How can the wearer help
adding to the usual suspicion Of pow
der, two clouds Of very faintest pink?
Must not the face be lighted up q lit
tie, if it is not to be quite put out? 1t
is whispered that enamellers are grow
ing quite common. Only two used
to be known; and their formidable
terms were debated ever in the law
courts. To-day there is quite a num-
Der of these artists, who attend on
ladies ct their own homes, and at
moderate prices.
Historians must be very happy,
they have only to consult the past,
and, given a few falsehoods and a lit
tic imagination, their work is done /;
but fer the unfortunate chronicler OF
fashion, what disasters, what protests,
attend the slightest mistake! Meth
err yesterday nor to-day is his prov
ince he must forecast the morrow.
He is simply required to have the wit
of Talleyrand and the depth of Mae.
chiavelli. For the fashion of to-mor-
row. then, are we to accept the threat
ened short waist, the dreadful bodices
of the last days of the 18th century
The truth is that the laboratories OF
well-known dress makers are closed
to outsiders.
These recognized powers ara quite
Jealous of their secrets. To enter
their dens one must send in ones
card, as to an ambassador, and OBJ
tain an audience. Seconded a fash
ionables, who do not know their way
about, are exposed to traps and the
blacklist treacheries, to pitfalls of
mistakes. Men do nor even suspect
the worries of women and yet a wo-
man must look pretty, or at least
charming ; it is a duty and it is in the
power of every one.
There are two kinds of beauty, So
cial aud natural beauty the n in
herited and the other acquired. The
latter is an objectionable sin not to
know how to obtain.
Artificial beauty has one great ad-
vantage over natural beauty-it is
uariad In this ~itin-4nite the nppnsiia
to wit. Artificial wit is monotonous ;
natural wit is varied. Sincere and
regular beauty is almost always non.
otonous, being the slave of type, a
real tyrant, to whose despotic power
we must submit.
The unpretty Tin our present sys-
tenn there are no ugly women) are
mistresses of their own faces and it
is not better to be charming in a
thousand ways than always admira-
BILE in the same way? One essential
condition to this kind of charm is ele.
gance-that elegance which has no.
thing to do with fortune, and is with
in every ones grasp, born of tact and
of o wish to find out the best 10 every
thing; in a word, a kind of social
charity.
There are some woven whose ele-
gance simply comes of a pink bonnet
Ga very favorable shade) or of a silk
dress of a color very suitable to them.
selves.
Fashion, as we have said before,
is extremely fanciful at present. The
bodice coats with turned. back nevers,
short points in front and long ones
behind, are considered more dressy
than Louis Nv waistcoats, and the
} pleated or gathered bodices with
Wristbands. Quite short costumes
will never take, except for seaside OF
watering-place wear; for town they
just touch the ground, and sometimes
are a little longer.
The kingdom of bonnets is o king.
dom of Babel. The large turned-up
edges, Rembrandt, 1880, or Clorin'
do, are more worn for concerts, gar
den parties, and driving. For street
wear they lack distinction !; he baby.
shape, the Niniche, the Directoire,
tie Mary Stuart, the Pamela, al
with small edges, almost hiding the
forehead, are looked upon as the cor
rect thing.
The round toque is still the best
travelling hat, but does not suit eve.
rybody it is trimmed with a single
bird-parrot-or large butterfly, q great
quantity of feathers.