Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1879-02-07
How They Look in Washington.

how They Look in Washington
Correspondence Of the Baltimore american.
A friend of mine whom I was chaperon-
ing around the Capitol the other day, and
who is great traveller, remarked to me
that he had never been in city where
there was such a preponderancs OF nom
descript dress as here. The truth of the
curing into the matter I find it to be a
literal fact. Take a walk any day through
the Capitol, and you will be met at every
turn by distinct characteristics of dress
that do not exist anywhere else but in
Washington. There is an absence Of con-
formity of style, too, which is not the less
remarkable. 1t appears as if each indi-
vldual here was seeking a measure of per-.
sonal notoriety through the mediumship
of d striking article OF apparel. Among
the members of the masculine persuasion
a broad brim hat, worn stiffiy or slapped
en- with careless grace, the cut of the
clothes, necktie, long watch chains,
worn la Beau Brummel, an indescri-
bable something-all serve as personal
characteristics to give notoriety to the
wearer Among the gentler sex this.
feature of personal dress varies from the
out and out male garb of DR.. Mary " ak
Ell to the fashy costume of the female
lobbyist, and then loses all identity in the.
prescribed guises OF fashion. DIR. Mary
who has just had her pension increased to-
$40 dollars per month, is Il daily attendant
at the Capitol. She has ridden her hobby
of dress so far that she now dresses exact
iy like man. A cluse-ftting surtout coat
is buttoned tightly over her chest, and its.
skirts fal. to the knees. Her small feet
are encased in shiningly blackaned boots.
Her pantaloOnS have the proper spring al
the instep, and are made of black dOeskin,
like her coat. A neatly laundried mans
shirt and Piccadilly collar are exposed.
With gold stud in the former, and a.
quiet necktie tied around the latter. The.
Doctor wears her hair cut short and part.
ed on the side, and an Alpine hat sur
mounts her thin and care-Worn visaga.
THIS extreme of dress, which would bring
a crowd at the Doctors heels in Balti-
more, is scarcely noticed here, and il is.
only the visitor who gazeS with curiosity
at the strange figure of woman in mans
clothes.
But this personal feature of dress is not,
confined to residents of Washington alone;
it exists with striking prominence among
senators and members as well. Of the for
mer, Senator Burnside is the elegant par
excellence lie is leader of fashion in
mems belongings, and his manly form con-
stantlY adorns the fashion plates that are
displayed at every change of Sc son in all
the tallor's windows. His personal char
aracteristics outside of his superb fitting
clothes are his whiskeIs. The name of
Burnside will live in history, if for no other,
reason than the name of a style of wearing.
the beard. Senator Hannibal Hamlin has;
personal notoriety for wearing had-bel-
lied coat. which looks like it had done ser
vice since 1886, the time when he first en-
tered public life as member of the Maine
legislature. Senator Thurman always.
makes HIM look like a Granger, and
his principal characteristic is a fond,
ness for displaying a huge bandan-
n& handkerchief, which he uses in Oft
recurring sonOrouS nasal blasts with mag
nlficent parade. Senator Christiancy, now
Minister elect to Peru, IS a prominent fig
ure by reason of Wearin. an Old-fashioned
coat with velvet collar, with the roll cut
IN the curious points that obtained among
beaux quarter of century ago. Senator
Conkiing sticks to an unique hat which he.
always appears in public. 1t is made Of
alpaca, or some such slight material, and
has no character us title except the brim.
which has all the stiffness that wire can
give. Senator Patterson, of South Carroll
ma, affects the same head-gear as the Sen
atOr from New York. Senator Blaine
wears q rusty black silk nat. which he is
constantly smoothing the wrong way, and
which process does not at all improve the
hats appearance. The Southern senators
and members 10 a man wear soft felt hats.
and add personal character by sundry
dents and kinks in the crown and curls in
the brim. Like all Southern people, they
wear high-heeled boots, and in walking
their bodies are thrown forward, thus
creating the true Southern gait. Senators.
Gordon and Lamar are exceptions to their
brethren in the matter of hats They both
don what are known as ''plugs.' but the
bow on the band is as frequently on the
light as on the left side, and shows that
they have only recently yielded to the Ca
prices of fashion. Senator Jones, of Ne
vada, in his outdoor appearance closely
resembles the photographic pictures of the.
bluff and hearty ''Old Judge" on the pack
ages of tobacco we see displayed in the
shop windows. A black wide-awake hat
of the true Western type goes very far to-
make this likeness.
attired in black ''store clothes,' and he
has the air of a Methodist itinerant. Gen.
Butler has not put on his own clothes fol-
years, that operation being performed for
him by valet. This can be readily seen
by the appearance Of the General having,
been stuffed in his clothes. and the seams
ready to burst from the stuffing. He COM
pensates this defect of style by a tiny bo
quet of flowers. which always decorates
the lapel of his coat. And SO these per
sonal characteristics of dress run through
all grades Of Congressional life, even per
vading the ranks of prominent Journalists