The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-05-25
0LD-FASHIONED ESTHET-
les.

matter of high aesthetic dress is some
thing which is understood only by III
Americans and English OF the lates
days. Listen to a description of the
clothes worn by the Duchess O.
Queensbury at a royal entertainment
In the year 174O: "a white satin pet
ticoas, embroidered at the bottom
with brOIOn hills covered with al
sorts OF weeds. and every breadth
had en- old stump of tree that rur
sac up almost to the top of the pet.
tiooat, broken and ragged and worked
with brown chenille, round which
twlned nastersians sicI, ivy, honey.
sackles, periwinkles, oonvOlvuluses
and all sorts OF tWiniug flowers which
spread and covered the petticoaG
vines with the leaves variegsted as you
have seen them by the sun, all rather
smaller than nature. which made
them look very light: tho robings
and facings were lille green banks
with all sorts of weeds, and the
sleeves and the rest of the gown loose
twihing 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 piece of work 80 prettily fanoied,
and am quite angry with myself for
not having the same thought" How
is that for a costume2 1t seems to
equal those of Bunthorne's twenty
adorers. And the Duchess of Queens
bury was not the only lady of fashion
who could boast Of such q wonderful
garment. On another occasion the
Duchess of Bed tor6, a court dame of
the same period, wore ''petticoat of
green paduasoy; the pattern was fss-
toons of shells, coral corn, cornffow-
ers, and seaWeed; everything in
different works OF gold and silver,
except the flowers and coral. the
body OF the gown white satin. with a
mosaic pattern of gold iaoings, rob-
lngs and train the same as the petit
coat. One wonders who devised
thtse costumes, the ladies them
selves or some matchless mantua-
maker of their day. often question
il the time will ever arrive when
women's taste shall become so edu-
Gated that fashions despotic rule
shall cease. If only a minority should
become educated, the majority might
perhaps be Led by them; and then,
although the larger number were still
mere imitators, it would be good taste
that they. swere initiating, and so
taste, not fashion, would be supreme.
SO long as fashion is omnipotent a
true good taste is impossible. To
adopt a styls of dress simply and
solely because others do it. shows IN
intelligence, but to follow the sagges-
ton oil person OF coed taste because
We can see it is good taste, though we
may not have had originality enough
TO invent for ourselves, is sensible.
The essential bad taste of fashion,
follWers is in the fact that they are
quite indifferent to aesthetic consider
atoms, their aim being to dress IN the
latest mode, whatever it may be, and
their highest satisfaction to go little
beyond others. The leaders OF fash
ion are not those who wear the mo.t
beautiful or the most costly dresses,
but the newest invented ones. Ii Is
the fashion at present. at ltaG in
some circles, to ''dress eslhelicaIly, 2"
and the hideous results that follow
some OF the attempts to be aesthetic
prove that the desire OF being fashion
able, and not an educated taste. has
been the guide.
Mrs. Delany, whose description OF
the Duchess of Queensbury's gown
we have quoted, thought it very
prettly fancied; but was it 30, for a
dress2 The effect lady should pro-
duce is hardly that OF walking land
scape. The description reads good
deal like that OF one of Mr.. Tiffany
designs for the curtain at the Madi-
son Square Theatre, New York.
Many women seem to have no per-
ception of the artistic necessity Of fit
ness as an element of beauty. II q
color appears which they hear labeled
'@sthetic," and which they see used
in Wallpapers and hangings they
think it does equally we'll to dress
shemsel yes in. Tones which serve q
good purpose in house decoration
may be simply ugly on Woman's
person, for the reason that the color
is not in itself beautiful, but can be
made OF use when put in combina,
ton with other standings of the same
color Ct. 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 &C
quaintance INDUCED in, for she says
of certain "petticoat of black velvet
embroidered in chenille, the pattern
a large stone rase filled with ramping
flowers, and between each vase gold
shellG and foliage, with two or three
of the vases on the tail" that it was
a "labored piece of fnery much
pEoperer for q stucco staircase than
the apparel of q lady," Another
danes costume OF white satin. with
leaves and rosebuds and oonvolvuli
embroidered upon it, she justly ap
proves of, remarking that the lady
was in herself 80 far beyond this
masterpiece of art" in dress that
ono could hardly look at her clothes,