Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-04-01

OF them are intelligent as well as modest. Thus
the announcement that flow neeked dresses
have entirely superseded high necked dresses
must be taken with many grains of allowance.
The proportion Of women who have bought. or
had dresses made low In the neck-that is. not
square or shaped, but leaving the shoulders
and back exposed,-to the whole number who
have purchased Or had dresses made, is less
than hve per cent exclusive of actresses; and Of
those who own these low necked dresses, the
number of times when they have been or can be
worn is exceedingly limited. These results are
based upon broad survey of the ground, and
take In others than the merely exclusive and
strictly fashionable or high priced dressmakers.
1t refers also to season during which more low
necked dresses have been worn than for many
seasons previously.
THE PRACTICAL AMERICAN DRESS
In fact there is too little individuality, too
little differentiation in the ordinary dress of
American women. Their dresses, cloaks and
jackets are as alike as peas or mould candles.
They are practical as their lives and made to
put to many uses. They are good in their way
sometimes, when not spoiled by ignorance
but essentially and necessarily common place.
They are made in dozens, or by the gross, and
stacked In piles Of different sizes. well known
house sold this spring nine hundred costumes
In these different styles. one silk. one combina-
ton, one plain wool. They were all medium"
I'm style and quality; they were all dark and
useful for general wear; and they went Off be-
tween seasons with the greatest rapidity, be-
cause certain amount Of thinking had been
done upon them because they were unobtru-
slve and could be worn any time and any where.
The range Of prices was from twenty-five to six
ty-fve dollars the first for plain wool suits, the
latter for Silks or silks combined with satin or
q small quantity Of plush. The "made-up"
dresses, which are sold in large quantities, are
necessarily MISUNDERSTANDING must follow
model and strike an average. If dress ia to
be made to suit the individual, it must be de-
signed by the individual, and made by some one
capable OF carrying out design which she has
not seen and that requires skill and this in
wolves still higher cost. The average American
woman therefore takes the best that she can find
within the limit of her means. and S'thankful it
Is not worse. There was time, not so long
ago, when dress ready for wear could not be
purchased for love or money. Now the regula-
ton article can be procured Of any description,
from the cheap and untidy cotton wrapper for
one or two dollars. to the trained and draped
and paniered and fringed and Overlaid party and
ball costume, at from one hundred and fifty to
five hundred dollars. What one cannot get is
anything out Of the regulation style.
EsTHETIC DRESS AND IDEAS.
We talk about esthetic dress, but in society
there is only the dimmest idea of what esthetic
dress means. The caricatures in 'Patience"
have furnished the only definite conception of
what 1t truly means-and Of these Mr.. Gilbert
(who supplied the desgns) has said that he had
never seen an "estheticn dress. and that these
were only his idea of the 'sOrt of thing" it ought
to be. In reality the dress of the rapturOus
maidens is an unwearable costume in every day
life, and no girl or woman who was sane would
think of adopting it. The classic dress as worn
by beautiful young harpist of New York, Miss
Maud Morgan, is on the contrary not only grace
ful, but wearabe. 1t consists of an under dress
with straight skirt, baby waist, with the
sleeves gathered lengthwise on the under part
OF the arm; the outer edge being clasped OF but
toned on the upper arm. Over this long tunic
Is held into the waist under box pleat, by a
belt which fastens under the tunic at the back
also. The shoulders are simply casped to-
gether, the length forming an open flowing
sleeve: The cut is exceedingly simple, but very
graceful on q tall. slender young girl with a
very beautiful figure. Cashmere is nearly al
ways selected for these costumes because it is
the most suitable for softly flowing drapery.
One exhibits an under dress of cream color, with
tunic OF old gold trimmed with gold embroid-
cry and fringe. Another was of salmon pink
over cream. and third of shrimp pink over
cream-the cashmere trimmed with silver bands
and the tunic with fringe. Buttons and clasps
were of silver. For an evening dress Miss Nor
gan wore recently tunic of white silk null
over an under dress of white satin. the under
dress richly embroidered, the tunic finished with
bands of fringe and gold.
There are two other genuine styles Of esthetic
dress. One is the full short waist, with wide
belt; short, straight, much ruffled, skirt; pulled
or small leg Of mutton sleeve The other is the
deep mOyenage bodice cut square; the skirt
slightly gOred in front and upon the sides, and
gathered to the edge of the bodice. The
sleeves are full and divided into two puffs by
wide bands, one at the top, the other over the
elbow, the lower part terminating in deep ruff
shaped to the arm. An esthetic looking costume
worn at recent evening reception consisted of
Rumchunder silk-a genuine artistic silk-cut
square and sleeveless, but trimmed as border
upon the square neck, round the arm holes and
round the bottom with swansdown.
Another handsome dress was also princesse
and was made of pure olive satin, the cool
shade, with train of MORE antique brocaded in
very large flower and leaf pattern. in cream
tints mixed with olive The satin front was cut
up to the knee In three different places and knife
pleated cores Ofcream satininserted; land the deep
low square at the neck was filed in with full silk
null, shirred and finished with ruche of the
same embroidered with gold on the edge. The
sleeves OF this dress were long and were edged
with gold embroidered silk null. At recent
festivity the young ladies wore 'early English"
or Patience" dresses-the early English mean
ing the straight ruffled skirt, the baby waist
and pulled or short sleeves; the Patience" a
very short striped or killed skirt, fish wife tu-
mic, and square pointed bodice, with long
full puff for sleeves and opera trimmed straw
bonnet faced with daisies or small sunflOWerS.
One Greek dress was pale blue, painted with
Jacques roses, and one dress represented the
"Byche" in cinderella" A lovely dress of pa e
silk was painted and trimmed with autumn
leaves, and one of black Saline, was almost COW
cred with poisoning wisteria.
Esthetic ideas are q boon for indoor dress, in
formal little parties, the summer dress of girls.
and such times and occasions as do not demand
formal or conventional dress. But one rule
ought to be rigidly observed and that is purity
Of material. No cotton velvet, or lnen-backed
satin. or mixed and linen, or silk and wool
should be used for dresses made in the esthetic
style. The material must be pure-cotton, wool,
or silk, no matter which, but not seeming to be
what it is not-for the very essence Of esthetic
dressing is its truthfulness.
FORTUNE IN PERSPECTIVE.
There is money in any Of our large cities for
any clever woman who could open an establish
ment, on q not too large a scale, and make
specially Of esthetic styles and certain other de-
scrptions of costume which do not change very
materially; that are not subject to such rigid
conventional laws as the conventional articles Of
attire, and therefore afford scope for individual
taste and skill-morning gowns, for example;
graduating dresses; lawn tennis dresses and
the like. At present no one knows where to go
or who to apply to for artistic material when an
artistic dress is required At least they do not
In New York, and 1t is safe to predict that it will