Omaha daily bee., 1882-11-17
CLARA BELLE, ON BEAUTY,
A Wonderful Night for Wealth
and Fashion in New
York,
The Style of Women Who
Went to zee Langtry and
Patti-Flne Clothes
on Fine Bodies.
Corrosrondence oithe ClneInnatI EnquIrer.

Correspondents ofthe Cincinnati Enquirer.
New York, November 10. Two
audiences paid $50, 900 for their seats
last Monday night. Reasoning that
the women Of these gatherings would
be supsrbly dressed, l resolved to see
both ofthe exhibitions of good clothes.
That was why l went to Wallack's,
where Langtry made her American
debut, aud afterwards to the Academy
of Music, where Patti appeared in
grand opera for the first time in many
years. | don't believe that two as
brilliant theatrical assemblages were
ever before seen in this city on the
same evening, and their clothes real
lied my expectations. At Wallack's
the efforts Of the management to in
duce the women to discard hats and
bonnets failed utterly. Outside of the
boxes only half a dozen female heads
were uncovered. / was glad of it.
What's the use Of independent, taste
full American women following an
English customl 1 was also pleased
by the general absence Of full evening
dress, that is, toilets of the ball and
drawing room sort. The result was
an abundance Of elegance of q dis
tinctively American kind. The colors
of the dresses were usually dark, the
textures exceedingly rich, and the
styles rarely conspicuous. But there
was sufficient gayety, and it was con-
centrated in wraps of which the varie-
ty and picturesqueness were truly
wonderful. At the Academy there
WA plenty of technical full dress, but
here, too, 1t was overshadowed by
combined richness and quiet taste. l
am not going to harp much on the
played-out string of
LANGTRY,
and will simply say that those who
were reasonable in their expectations
found her satisfactory; but those who
looked for a t~rsnscendent beauty were
woefully disappointed. 1 counted FIVE
women in the audience who, beyond
all question, were q great deal nearer
to perfection than this princes dar-
ling. The chief charm was a lady
like aspect and manner, quite out of
keeping with the part she was acting
in the play And it wal observable
that when she did unrehearsed
things-as in picking up the dumped
flowers from a basket handed to her
while in front of the curtain, and lead
ing out her reluctant manager abe
was even more graceful and free than
when she was following instructions az
chester Grazebrook." 1t was easy to
comprehend how, with the prince of
Wales 60 push her, she had made such
o Roadway in London aristocratic So
ciety. She has grown thin since the
familiar portraits, exposing taper arms
and a boneless bosom, were made, and
she made no exhibition of those things,
nor is she likely to during her Ameri.
can tour. She is a large.jointed wo-
man, with big hands, and her elbows
are larger than the parts of her arms
between them and her shoulders, Us
was p'Eipiy disclosed BY the tight
aleevag ~ her costumes. Mo. she will
bare no sa0h arms ar she now possess.
es, believo me. Only one of her
dresses was low and that exposed only
q wodgo OF skin down the center of
her beast. This garment was of
rim. warm toned yellow satin, simple
in style and fitting perfectly. The
waist waa heart-shaped, coming low
down on the shoulders, and beneath
tho frill of point lace, which
CIRCUMsCRIBED H FLEsHY AREA
to the narrow limits already described,
wal only a piece of lightly twisted
satin following it's outlines. The cor.
sage simply carried the line below the
waist and ended In small points.
The sleeves reached below the elbow,
with q piece of the satin carried
round the edge, and a little puff of
white silk edged with lace in each,
tying it TO the arm. The front of the
skirt was laid in large plaits, which
gave a ~fullneas that was lightly caught
here and there, making a careless
drapery. The train was long, and Its
beauty left to depend on its own color
and folds. 1t has been suggested that
economical women, with q turn for
doing owe their dresses, might learn
a lesson from Langtry's clothes. She
does not cut, snip and spoil good stuff
with shirrs, putfs and bias bands, as is
the fashion with American dress
makers. However, this plainness is
artful instead of saving in her, for it
suits her individuality. Simplicity is
her strong point. She wore no ear.
rings or finger-rings, though on har
wrists were bracelets set with magnif.
cent emeralds. The other costume
worn in the play, except her rustic
dress OF the first act, had a petticoat
OF gray satin merveilleux, with a
panel directly in front Of gray mar
about feathers. Over this was a long,
tight.6tting coat of gray satin, bro.
caded in black velvet and bordered
with = wide band of gray marabout
feathers. Above this was a large cape
OF the same brocade, bordered also
with a feather band, lined with sal.
mon silk striped With delicate pink
and green, and caught in at the waist
in the back. With this costume was
worn . hat Of the gray brocade. In
all of her dressing she was careful TO
how
II OUTLINES OF HER WASTE,
which ia slender, and, to my mind,
rather out of proportion with her
broad shoulders and ample hips. The
idea suggested by her figure was not
of heshy roundness at the two wide
parts mentioned, but Of a big bone
frame not smoothly filed out. This
impression was strengthened by the
vislble action Of her shoulder blades
under the thin covering aud above the
top of her %coraet, as well as by the
meagrsness of her bosom. i fancied
that she was about seven. eighths bone,
and when che smiled, with her extern
siye mo'' ! and white teeth, the un.
nleaRuf. .auoht cauaa 20 mo thaE .ha