The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1882-05-05

Let MS not Halter ourselves that the
matter Of high aesthetic dress is some.
thing which is understood only 10y us
Americans and English OF the latest
days. Listen 10 q description Of the
clothes worn by the Duchess Of Queens.
bury at royal entertainment in the year
1740: "A white satin petticoat, en-
broidered at the bottom with brown hills
covered with all SORTS Of weeds, aud
every breath had an old stump OF tree
that run ''sic' mp almost TO the top Of
the pettieoat, broken and ragged and
worked with brown chenille, round
which twined nasteFsians "sie" ivy,
honeysuckles, perwinkles, conVolvnluses
and all sorts OF twining flowers which
spread and covered the petticoat, vines
with the leaves yariegated as yon have
seen them by the sun, all rather smaller
than nature, which made them look very
light the robings and facings were little
green banks with ali sorts of weeds, and
the sleeves and the rest Of the gown
loose twining branches Of the same sort
as those on the petticoat; many Of the
leaves were finished with gold, and part
Of the stumps of the trees looked like the
gliding Of the sun. ! never saw q piece
Of work 80 prettily faneied, and am quite
angry with myself for not having tue
same thought" How is that for q coz
tume? II seems 70 equal those OF BuI-
thorne's twenty adorers. And the
Duchess Of Queensbury was not the
only lady Of fashion who could boast Of
such wonderful gar nsnt. On another
occasion the Duchess Of Bedford. acourt
dame Of the Same period, wore q pet
ticoat Of green paduasoy; the pattern
was festoons Of shells, coral corn, corn
howel :, and seaweed; everything in diff
ferent works of gold and silver, except
the flowers and coral, the body Of the
gown white satin, with mosaic pattern
Of gold facings, robings and train the
same as the pcttieoat. One wonders
who devised these costumeg,-the Ia
dies themselves, or some matchless man
tua maker Of their day. / often ques-
ton IL the time will ever arrive when
women's taste shall become 80 educated
that fashions despotic rule shall cease.
III only a minority should IN this way be-
come edurated, the majority might per-
caps be led by them; and then although
the larger number were still mere ini-
tators, il would be good taste that they
were initiating, aud so taste, not fashion,
ion is omnipOtent trne good taste i
impossible. To aIopt a style Of dress
simply and solely because others do it
sheWs unintslligence. but TO follow the
suggestion Of a person of good taste be-
cause We can zee that il Il good taste,
though We may not have had originality
enough TO invent for ourselves. is sensi-
BILE. The essential bad taste OF fashion
followers 10 in the fact that they are quite
indifferent TO aesthetic con EderatIons,
their aim being 10 dress in the latest
mode, whatever il may be, and their
highest satisfaction to go little before
or beyond the others. The leaders Of
fashion are not those who wear the most
beautiful or even the most costly dresses,
but the newest invented ones. IL is the
fashion at present, at least in some cir
cles, 10 dress 'sestheticAlly." and the
hideous results that follow some Of the
attempts to be aesthetic prove that the
desire Of being fashionable. and not an
educated taste, has been the guide.
Mrs. Delaney, whose description Of
the Duchess Of Queensbury's gown we
have quoted, thought it very prettily
fancied; but was il so. for a dress? The
effect lady should produce is hardly
that of walking landscape. The des-
cription reads good deal like that of
one Of Mr.. Tiffan's designs for the cur
tain at the Madison Square Theater. New
York. Many women seem TO have no
perception OF the artistic necessity of
fitness as an element Of beauty. If o
color appears which they hear labeled
aesthetic" and which they see used in
Wallpapers and hangings, they think it
| does equally well TO dress themselves in.
Tones which serve a good purpose In
house decoration may be simply ugly on
n woman's person, for the reason that
the color is not in itself beautiful, but
can be made of use when put in combi-
nation with other shadings of the same
color, or with its proper contrast. All
this seems too obvious to need saying.
Mrs. Delany herself can see the folly
| Of some of the aesthetic dresses her aC-
quaintance indulged in, for she saws
of q certain ''petticoat OF black velvet
embroidered in chenille, the pattern a
large stone vase filed with ramping foN :
ers, and between each vase gold shells
and foliage, with two or three of the
vases on the tail" that it was "labored
piece of finery much properer for q
stucco staircase than the apparel of q
| lady," Another danes costume of white
satin with leaves aud rosebuds and con-
volvuli embroidered upon it, remarking
that the lady was in herself so far beyond
this masterpiece of art" in dress that
one would hardly look at her clothes.
/ Eet-ps have embroidered dresses, by ali
means and nut sunhowers on them If any
one likes their. though lilies seem
preferable; only let, us exercise our
selves in the acquisition VI few artistic
ideas before We set up rs dress in q