The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-02-16
TWO LEADERS OF FASHION.
How the Empress Eugenic ana the PrIn.
cess Metternich Dress To-Day.
London Cor. Cincinnati Fnquirer.l

Just a few weeks ago we CHANGED to meet
the famous beauty and royal lady, Bugenie,
ex-empress, who has been blamed with all
the extravaganza Of women 8 fashions for the
last twenty yearS-the woman who Is to-day
| alternately lauded and lampOoned. for whom
famous artists were glad to compose studies
in colors, that she might utilize them In her
personal adornment. She had been off on q
little, railway. excursion, but she had gone
royalty, and, though dothroned, her fortunes
are not yet at so low pitch that she econO-
mizes perforce in her toilet, besides no beauty
ever willingly did injustice to her own looks.
We stood very close TO her, and naturally
enough looked equally hard at her, and we
made a special note Of her dress. She wore
a short black silk dress; tho waist was a
basque, and fitted neatly to the figure that
even Time respects The symmetry of, small
and unobtrusive white ruches finished the
throat and sleeves; LACK gloves. A soft black
bonnet, apparently OF silk, set in close to the
| head, and had a ,ronet front. She had
rather tall heels IN her boots which
clicked as she walked with metallic sound.
She wore no VEIL and, despite the ISLANDERS Of
the casual observers, she was not made up.
She has beautiful gray blonde hair, not yellow
| or gilt, as reported : he wears IL quite plain
| ly over the sweetest ID most womanly brow.
She has grave, sw et, sad face and she
/ bowed to the reSpec tful salutatonS of the
bystanders with tho gentlest and most cor
dial grace. She Is a beautiful woman, and
| without haughtiness. She walks like an en-
| press; and though she carried the modern
walking stick In her hand, she did 1t with
much the same Inconsistencies that any
lady does her fan, and made no other use Of
| 1t than just something to have hold Of Her
| lady-in- waiting had the Empress light man
| tie over her arm, and followed very close.
There were some gentlemen with the ex EN-
press, but no one thought OF noticing them
then. 1t is said that Americans take pc
cuniary view OF everything, and perhaps
there Is truth in the speech. IL SO, it Is just
as well to deserve the report, which leads us
to say we don't believe the costume OF this
returned to Paris, we 'elt more than ever. that
she was an exile from the scenes where she
had shone SO brilliantly ten short years ago.
CuriouSly enough we met another queen OF
fashion not long before-the Princess Meter
| Mich, whose name, extravaganza and caprice
there Is scarcely an American woman not ac-
quanted with. She christened the most
dreadful shade of green ever inflicted on
long suffering feminity. She is reported to
have wit and sarcasm to remarkable de-
a noble family and married to one of the
finest gentlemen and most accomplished
diplomats of Europe. Heaven was very kind,
but while giving all this good fortune denied
her to an unlimited extent any claims to
beauty. She is a moderately tall woman,
finely and strongly developed, with good
shoulders and Well-carried head, but she
has the widest mouth in Christendom, and
the harSheSt and most raSplng voice. Her
teeth are big and discolored. You would say
she has twice as many as the usual allow
ance. Her nose Is rather broad and not
handsome. Her eyes are dark, and arc such
as you would call muddy In daylight, though
even then you would recognize latent possi-
blities In them. Her hair is dark brown. She
Wore a full costume of brown camePs hair. 1t
was a short underskirt which showed her feet,
neither remarkable for beauty nor smallness.
The dress had a plain overskirt, and was fin
ished at the bottom by band OF fur OF otter.
long casaque of camePs hair was also
trimmed round the bottom, the cuffs and the
collar with otter. A felt round hat had fur
tails on It, and a bushy pOmpom at the side.
Inc dress was exqusitely neat, though per
Iectiy simple and we give it as another illus
Lration OF how plainly foreign ladies of great
distinction dress, and as worthy of imitation
py our own women. Only too often you see
iauleS OF very circumScribed income wearing
handsome velvet dresses through the filthy,
dirty streets. A European woman would look
upon any such thing as an admission OF a
most undesirable position in life. Yet these
grandes danes upon occasions of social en-
UelIdlilLnentS wear enormous fortunes in their
superb jewels and rare laces, and no web from
the looms OF france or Italy are then to be
found too costly or too handsome for their
wear. LIS IL not a custom worthy of adoption?
We recommend it heartily
I'm weary of the food l have to eat. TRY
Shadines.
For Carolina Clay Peas call on George Heck &