Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-10-01
THE EVENING STAR.
WEDNEsDAY....... October 1, 1873.
AUTUMN FASHIONS.
0rientaliAm in CoiOr-ss Taller,
Fashions and all About Under.
',lr Orcn Corespondent.]

| NEW Okh, StpttuuUeI 81, lStS.
| Some one has said that women never can
amount to anything in any other direction so
| long as they continue to be absorbed, or rather
| carried hither and thither by the eternal
| changes and requirements Of their dress. And
| this is undoubtedly broadly true. Dress to wo-
| men is perpetual obstacle; an always begin
| ming and never ending source Of worry, trouble
| and anxiety. 1t is even more OF difficulty to
| the questionable than to the fashionable wo-
| man, for the latter is presumably able TO give
her orders to persons who are able to execute
| them, and her responsibility In the case there.
fore, is very slight, as she usually depends more
upon the taste and knowledge OF other persons
than upon her own. The absorbing perpleXity
upon the subject Is principally felt by women
| OF the middle classes; the wives and daughters
of professional and tolerably wel-to-d do business
men, whose education has cultivated natural
TASTE INTO love and appreciation OF the best
things whose position gives them standing in
their own little world Of socie y, and whose
means are sometimes more limited than those
OF girls who work in shop or factory, and
whose ambition is limited to the ribbon for
dance, or new dress for the walk out on Sun
day. Many have almost no income which can
be devoted to dress. Their resources for this
purpose are derived from dollar squeezed out
here aid another out there. But as for being
able to make settled calculation, upon basis
Of just so much for the wardrobe of themselves,
Individually, or for the family il never enters
heir minds They never have had it, and do
not expect it.
These are the women who often dress, as 1t Is
called, "genteelly;" how Is mystery to
themselves and their friends. These are the
women who agOnfZe over every change and
every recurring fashion, because their main-
tenaDce OF certain style and refinement OF
appearance, separates them from lower class
who really have the command Of more money
and preserve self-re5pect which would be lost
without some basis upon which to rest. The
amount OF calculation, of good Judgment, of
been expended by such women, upon the old
clothes OF themselves and Others would have
| dressed the whole world in cloth OF gold, If it
| had been expended In more profitable drec-
| lions. There is no saying, however, how much
| this effort on the part OF women has tended to
develop and preserve the decencies : the
| many of them have wore themselves thread.
| bare over their thread-bare garments Is their
| misfortune rather than their fault.
| ECONOMY AT DISCOUNT.
But this sort OF economy Is at a discount, now
a-dayS. The world is full Of buying and SELL
| ing,-of beautiful things which can be had for
| money,-of ideas which come out so rapidly
| that they tumble over each other and are lost
almost before we have time to seize them.
Mending is not an economy, when it takes more
| time than to earn the money to replace the
| garment; making over has superseded 1t. but
| even this is a waste of force. Still better for
| the truly economical is dress which suits It's
| purpose, and is worn until it can be replaced by
| lew one. 1t is appalling to think of the
amount Of precious time which might be used
| in getting fresh air. in hearing music, in re i'd
| ing books, In seeing pictures, In enjoying the
| society OIL one Ifl6QQS, consumed IN ripping,
pressing, taking out the stitches In one place,
| and putting them in another,-raistng skirt
| higher, or making it lower,-taking OFF one
| lllmsy trimming and putting on another, neither
| Of them worth the money they COST, nor the
| tine and brains spent upon them.
| BEAUTIFUL DRESS.
| There are plenty OF materials by which to
| dress beautifully, and they are constantly In
| creasng In number. The waves upon waves of
misty plated lace; the depth of rich fabrics;
the blending OF lovely color: the marvellous
| skill exhibited even by artisans in the produc-
| ton OF what constitutes mere elements in mod
ern clothing, makes one almost faint sometimes
| with desire for possession, just as we would
| wish for picture, book, or a mosaic which
| represented the best In human thought and
expression. This 1t Is true, exists for us, If we
can see 1t and appreciate 1t, whether we can ap-
| proprlate 1t or not: But why not have 1t In some
| degree for our very own? AT least, If we can
| not, let us not throw ourselves away on what is
Unworthy, even In dress. Let US work towards
| it, getting one thing which is permanently
| We can work to get, as well as work to save,
| for saving is not always having, and those who
spend are sometimes the only ones who have.
| The world is not growing more economical; it is
! growing more extravaganza every Gay. Our
| labor-saying machinery Is not money-saving
machinery; it is money-spending machinery,
| and. to have money TO spend, money must be
| Led. The bare walls, the slow methods. the
| crude results OF a hundred years ago, would not
| now be tolerated; but the added luxury, the
| genius which has been put into the looms which
| weave our carpets into the adOrn1ngS OF our
| wallis into the articles OF beauty and conve-
nieEce which are used for the comfort and orna-
| mental finish Of our houses, are not cheap In
| the sense Of lessening expenditure, and must
| either be put out of life and thought altogether
or cur lives and efforts must be graded
up TO meet the anew emergencies. All
this requires an adaptation Of dress as well
| as CT faculties Like men, the majority OF
| women now require but two costumes, one for
wooden cloth, plain, neat, compact, unobtru-
| sive, comfortable; the other beautiful, accord
| Ing to the taste and ideas OF the wearer. The
latter may be beautiful. light and delicate; or
beautiful dark and heavy. AL beauty is not
alike, are all ideas of it alike, and the diff
ference creates an agreeable diversity. But one
other women's beautiful garments; let her be
| content with her own. Beautiful dress means
much more to-day than it did fifty years ago
| 1t means a knowledge of form, Of color, of har-
| mony; in brief, OF art, as well as acquaintance
| with Industries and their progress. For to know
| how to choose fabrics one must be able to judge
Of them, of their quality, their style and con.
| struction. To know how to choose designs one
| must be able to subject them to the test of true
| principles in art, else we shall find our struct-
ural details, the architecture Of our Dress SO
| to speak, all At fault, and it is this which many
| persons do discov er without being able to find
the exact cause or suggest remedy. Indeed
| to know how to dress specially, one must study
the subject universally; In this way fine DIRE ss-
ing is elevated with an art-it becomes an edu-
| Gator and the woman who has learned to dress
herse If is competent to teach the rest of the
| world.
| NOVELTIES AND EcCRNTRICTTEs.
| We hear constantly Of eccentrlc1ties in dress
| which are called fashionable, but which no one
| ever sees, and which have no more right to be
| clasSed among the constituent parts Of the ordi
| nary wardrobe of woman than the occasional
| fancy for bright red neck-tie or an eXtraordl-
| nary Scotch plaid In his trousers should be set
| down as characteristic Of all men. One import
| ed dress, for example, has trimming of en-
| broidered pine apple gauze, which is caught uI
| all over with real humming birds and flowers
made of scarlet feathers, but there is not likely
| to be more than one such dress among the many
| thousands made during the entire season. An
| other Is reception dress Of Scrabee velvet
| crossed upon the shoulders with bands of white
| satin antique (Which is fine sort Of satin
| plush) and spotted to exactly resemble leopard
| Skin. A band of this leopard skin trimming
| borders the train and Is repeated In an upright
| stripe upon the front of the dress. An amber
| satin dress, with a long plain train, is Orna-
| mented with bands Of hand pointed white satin
edged with narrow fiat gold trimming, In
| which Is wire that bends 1t to posi-
| ton and forms cord. This Is used addition.
| ally for the new Medici, and Regence ruffS
| which are three or four rows deep and set out
from the neck, In the style Of Catherine de Medt.
| els, rather Elizabeth of England. New jackets
| for indoor wear are of white cloth with applica
| lions of birds in relief, the raised effect being
obtained from stufhng OF cotton. This Il
about as absurd caprice as it is possible te
| conceive and one that few ladies are likely tc
| follow Tho h1a7n pO10 and htph color when