Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-10-29
WARTIME FASHIONS.

WARTIME FASHIONS.
How tats Women - the South Get
Along During tho War Of tho Re-
bellioM. s..
Several histories And numberless
sketches have been written describing
the military straits to which our men
were brought during the late war, but I
do not know OF any chrcnic!er, says .
correspondent Of the Philadelphia
Times, who has depicted the straits to
which the women and girls of the South
ern Confederacy were reduced for clothes
during the blockade.
The men of the Confederacy, those in
the army at least, Jared much better in
respect to clothes than the women did.
the Government providing them with
uniforms imported from abroad, through
tho blockade. Occasionally, too, .
woman would get prize in the shape Of
q trunk or box Of new clothes smuggled
through the blockade, in which case her
toilette would be the envy and admira.
ton of all her feminine friends. Per-
sons Who had friends or relatives In
Baltimore, Philadelphia or other North
ern cities would sometimes be favored
with q box OF "store clothes" Ire
member such box being sent from
Philadelphia to acquaintances Of mine
in Richmond, who became in conse-
quence the glass of fashion and the
mold of form" A plaid ribbon in this
box was lent by turns to various friends,
who looked on it az o rare and dainty
ornament, something almost equal to
the ribbon Of the order of the Garter.
The writer wore it to an elegant enter
tainment in Richmond the lest winter Of
the war.
Merchants, as we'll as individuals.
would occasionally receive goods through
the blockade, but these were scarcely
opened before their eager customers
would seize on them and buy them up.
Prices rose almost as high as during the
Revolutionary war of 1776. The Last
winter of the war, the thinnest, finn
siest silk rose above $1O0syard. Dresses
that winter we're made with q basque
and full, plain skirt, or q flounced one,
semi-long. Bali dresses Of silk or other
heavy material were made after the MEM
OriA fashion Of Grecian waist, with Q
full, plain skirt, in train behind, andI
do not think any Of the changes OF capri
ces of fashion have improved upon the
beauty and simple elegance Of this cos
tune. Muslin dresses were h0unoed or
pulled, and, by dint of being carefully
daxned and hundried, were made to do
good service.
Such transformations and makeshifts
were the order of the day during the
war. Numerous articles sscontrived by
turns double debt to pay" like the
pieces Of furniture described by Gold
smith, "By night q bed, chest Of draw
ers by day. A gentleman Of my &C.
quaintance had himself "swell" suit
made out Of gray blanket shawls, and q
Lady in our neighborhood had an old
piano cover dyed Git was colored bright
purple by means of maple bark) and cut
up into suit for her little boy, who ap-
peared quite in royL style, in his purple
garments, " buttony in front and baegy
In the reverse aspect"
A very prevalent fashion in COmeder-
ate days was what were called Garibaldi
bodies. These were gathered full on
the shoulders beneath band, and were
generally made Of white muslin and
worn with colored silk skirts. Some
times. however, they were made Of
bright-colored flannel or silk, with q
row of gilt buttons up the front and on
the shoulder straps. The italian hero,
Garibal6, i may remark in this connec-
ton, was highly esteemed in the Con-
federacy. Unfortunately the fashions
of those days called fer voluminous gar.
ments and bonnets. Cores were not
worn then, nor had it come into fashion
to combine two materials in o costume,
else we might have combined the frag-
ments OF two dresses into one and thus
been somewhat relieved of our straits
and perpleHties. The bonnets and hats
were large at one time the FORMER were
immense, prompting one to exclaim:
"No more on this head" Velvet bon
nets were mostly worn in winter, but in
summer straw hats and drawn muslin
hats (the latter very pretty and pict-
uresque) were worn. Toward the latter
part of the war hats made OF plated
shucks were very much worn in country
neighborhoods, trimming Cor the hat
being also made of shucks. The gen
tlemen and little boys of the family had
to resort to homemade or country hats
for common wear, and these hats, shaped
by the awkward, inexperienced fngerz
Of amateurs, displayed many curious
curves and grotesque indentations that
impaired rakish air to even the staidest
old gentleman or the most innocen.
little boy.
Feather flowers were much in vogue
thei:-not the fine, delicate, brilliant
ones made OF Brazilian feathers, but
coarse ones made of the feathers Of on,
barnyard fowls, while elder and swans
down were simulated by trimming
made of goose feathers. Trimming.
were, Of course, as scarce with us as ma
ter;al to be trimmed, and toward thu
close Of the war persons appeared quite
dressy If they could mu-.sr trimming
Of dress braid; quilting OF this at The
bottom of an alpaca or worsted skirt
onl &J,,,o,, pOvro re n obovo xvapo cOn