Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-10-05
Modern Dress
FoFfnIghHy Rerieit

Inc progress OF CINllIZatlOn has deYel-
Oped the decorative tendencies in every
direction, but the original impulses are
found in all countries and in all times
The savage who shows a curious taste in
nose pieces and body paint is as much a
V0tary OF fashion as the PariSienne whose
whole soul is concentrated upon the eff
fectiveness of her dress. Both sexes have
been equally weak at times in their slavish
surrender to this tyrannical despOtism
But the males have in measure enamel
pated themselves. The garb of our mod.
ern bucks and blOods compares favOrably
with that of the dandies and macarOnis
of the past. Their attire has some man.
illness in it; they are sensibly shOd; the
stutts they wear are serviceable and suit
ed to our changeable seasons. 1t is no
longer the custom to swallow uD whole
patrimOny in tailors' bills. The lavish
employment Of the most costly materials
has also disappeared. Silk and satins,
except as regards gorgeous socks or deco
rative neckties, are LETT to women. The
use of frills and jabots of rare Nalenci-
ennes has gone with full-bOttomed wigs
/ and small clothes of gold brocade. Men
do not wear shirts which cost f10 or f2C
apiece, as they did when that sum meant
six or seven times its present value; nor
do they fix priceless jewels in their shoe
/ laceS or carry muffs of rare furs on then
hands. The present fashions are dis
( tinct improvement upon those of even a
more recent period. The tight-fitting
high-cOllared mOnstrOsities of the GeOr.
glan epoch went out with the King who
/ permitted seam but called a crease in
tolerable. No one, not the most fatuous
and emDty-headed deyOtee of high collars
and single-studd2d shirts, would give a
1.-THE of the time Beau Brummell devoted tC
his YOlumlnOuS and largely unsuccessful
ties. But with the weaker sex the reverse is
still the case. While men have in mea-
sure shaken themselves free, women are
now, as ever, completely under the do
minion of dress. The passion is as old
as the hills. Hebrew wives and maidens
laced tightly and added fringes Of gay
colOrs to their snOw-whte robes. For
them a sister discovered in SOlomOn's
reign the special uses of the silk worm
See yer rampant qui habile PhOmme de
feuilles d'arbres elabOrees dams son sein. y
Egyptian beauties, sitting under the
shadow OF the pyramids in the days of the
PharaOhs, sleeked and preened themselves
before their brightly FURNISHED brazen
mirrors, frightening their charms with
cOllyrium and henna, and trying new eff
fects on costume. Artifice was resOrted
to by the ladies of Greece to increase Their
beauty; they, too, wore body bands and
belts to improve their figures, and it is
more than probable that the celebrated
girdle Of Venus was the germ and protO-
type of the modern stays. The Roman
matrOns carried the rage for dress to eX-
travagant excess. The beauty who would
preserve her complexion slept with a flour
pOultice on her face; she bathed in asses
milk and spent long hours at her toilet
braiding, dyeing and dressing her beauti-
full hair, of which all the ladies of Rome
were especially proud. Her garments
were rich and varied in color. if not in
shape, but the cOquettish taste of the
wearer could give endless changes to the
draping Of the palla or stole Later civ.
ilIZatiOn has proved as fanciful in matters
of dress as the old. The sex through
countless generations has maintained the
traditions handed down from classical
times. SOyereigns set the fashions to the
ladies Of their court; the crowd followed
suit and set sumptuary laws at defiance
One Queen introduced the bonnet canon.
another the ''sugar-lOaf" head tie Cattle.
rine de Medici ruled French fashion with
the most impeTiOus sway. She laid down
limits which waists should not exceed,
and pOpulariZed a cruel steel corset in
tended to compass these dimensions. Our
own Queen Bess was a woman to the fin
ger-tips as regarded matters of dress
She was fond Of the most gorgeous appa-
rel ard at her death her wardrobe was
found to contain 5000 costumes. Her loyal
female subjects freely initiated her eX.
ample, and their fOndnesS for colossal
rufus stiff with the newly introduced
starch for long-waisted gowns made OF
silk velvet, satin, tatfeta or grOs grain
brought down upon them much caustic
satire at the Time