The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-02-16
wAsH1NGroN,s PRETTY WOMEN.
Awful Revelation of the Way the sMost
BeautifuI" Makes Herself Up.

We have heard it mentioned that Washington
is famous for pretty women. There is a great
difference of opinion among gentlemen as to what
constitutes q pretty woman, but every gentle
men has an ideal in flesh and blood and will
boldly and unhesitatingly name her off-hand.
But the difference CT opinion on the question OF
female beauty among ladies is expressed In quite
a different way. / asked my wife this morn
ing the name Of the ~prettiest woman in the
city. She had not yet made up her mind. Now
she could have named half a dozen handsome
gentlemen, but wasn't quite certain on the sub
ject of pretty women. / mentioned several, but
she disagreed with me in every case. One had
too dig a nose, another was round shouldered,
another painted and ''made-up," another's brows
were straight and too heavy, mother cheeks
were too red. In order not to give her away"
l asked her if she knew any other society lacy
who knew any other society lady who knew any
other society lady who was a really and truly
pretty woman. She didn't know any such lady,
t put was tas.e W are ple ! q e Of pretty " women in Wash
ington, and plenty of ladies who had positive
opinions on female beauty. Speaking in a gen
eral way, the surest test of feminine opinion is
the feminine tongue.
Now the feminine tongue of Washington is
just now busy with the name of a lady who has
been a very prominent subject of gossip in this
connection for several years. l have known her
by sight and reputation for the past ten or fiji
teen years, during which time she has beer al
luGed to in the public print as the ~prettiest
girl in the national capital. During the present
winter | have seen the most gushing photographs
sent out by the society correspondents about the
same lady, extolling her personal beauty. From
all the local reports l learn that she was the
belle of the charity ball, very much admired at
this hop and the center of admiration at that re-
ception. The women look seriously on while
the pet is surrounded by a swarm of society
swells wherever she goes. l saw her the other
evening at a hotel hop. / sat next to her, heard
her talk, listened to the inanities of
the gentlemanly mob who Individually clam
--z1 e. l4a ~ I---s--
programme, and was forced to conclude that this
must be the social ideal. So 1 carefully noted
her points for the benefit of my lady readers.
The first glance conveys the idea of a regal
figure, bearing q Greek head. we'll poised on a
swan-like neck, a pair of well shaped arms. not
fat: a rare pigeon breast, much displayed, and a
| generally striking appearance. The face is oval,
the small mouth an outlined bow of cupid, the
eyes a soft hazel, dropping dark lashes, the
brows magnifcently arched, the hair abundant
and blonde.
At the first glance you would willingly accord
the palm of distinguished beauty to this fair
creature, and go away feeling that you had seen
| one so far removed in personality from the rest
of her sex as to merit the compliment of the
best. This is the way opinion is manufactured
in a ballroom or on the street. But on such an
important point as this a more than cursory
glance is necessary. l will give you the actual
results OF my investigation, and leave you to
make up your mind whether this society idol is
also your ideal. Conceive a slender lady of
about five feet four inches in height. weigh
ing about l20 pounds. On this basis is our
beauty built. If | should say she is of uncer-
tain age it would be to use a much-abused
phrase, yet nothing is more uncertain than the
age of a lady of from twenty-five to thirty. I
have seen women at twenty five looking like
they might be eighteen or nineteen, and others
at twenty-five looking every year of thirty. l
have heard this lady called twenty to twenty
five, but my recollection Of her as a girl dates
back twelve years. and l am forced to place her
at about twenty-elght. She does not look it.
In fact, she conveys about the same idea of age
! that the waxen ladies which adorn the
| swell milliners' windows indicate. I am re-
minded of them as | see her in full ball cos
tune. She doesn't look like she was alive,
and Won instinctively feel like calling her .sit.h
IL she were in a show-window you'd never know
the difference, so mechanical, so artistically
made up, so artificial does she appear. She is
dressed in black-the SWEETEST costume of the
swell society of Washington-black tulIe, / be-
lieve. Her dress is short at the bottom and dis
plays a trim ankle. and awfully short at the top,
revealing a reckless expanse of bust and an
amount of backbone which, compared with that
part concealed, Is in a decided majority. The arms
are bare to the pits. They are well shaped with
out being feshy, and the dimples in her elbows
would make holes in a bed. | would call them
rather fine arms without conveying the idea that
the compliment was to go further than to save
them from condemnation. All this display of
flesh is more marked by the black, which is worn
for the contrast. The waist is round, and is OBJ
scured in front by a corsage bouquet of yellow
flowers. the only color. There is a narrow black
collar about the slender throat, which makes
that neck still more slender and swan-like. The
diamond brooch glistenS and flashes on you in a
dazzling way, and might serve to confuse the
eye of anybody not in my line of investi
cation. The collar is also the connecting
link with the false breast For this chicken
breast and neck are artificial. Otherwise it would
astonish the anatomist, who would scarcely be
able to reconcile it with the general contour of
the figure.
A sectional view shows that the fair shoulders
are rather round, and the artificial chest gives q
depth of lungs equal to that of a basso or hotel
porter. The artificial chest is modelled on Mrs.
Langtry's. which has been pronounced by the
critics of female beauty to be the proper thing.
and is a very artistic conception. Tn false neck
i. one of the cleverest of the many triumphs of
modern art. l am satisfied this would deceive
anybody who had never seen the wearer with
out It. The skin-tight fineness of the rubber, or
whatever material it is made of, rivals nature
itself. In fact, it is a great improvement on
nature, who carelessly leaves moles, freckles
and pimp.es around loose to spoil. feminine fair
ness. You can have one made with a mole or
two on it, if desired, as false sets of teeth are
filled with gold to make the deception perfect.
and terminates below the bosoms, which are
also made to order where necessary to
complete the lovely outlines. This
artistic bosom heaves and vibrates with the
ndbufdi Ured5llHS y L oACltculenb OF the Wearer
because it fits so closely as to become part and
parcel of the wearers form. There is one great
advantage-it can be painted and powdered to
any extent without the injury which follows that
abuse of the genuine, home made cuticle. The
oval face of our beauty is as perfect as a COM
bination of nature and art can render the human
countenance. The lips are slightly parted, and
are dyed a rich red, which shows a good set of
teeth and the outlines of ''Cupid's bow" to good
advantage. The delicate color in the pretty
cheeks is most artistically done-not overdone. |
as is too often the case. The hazel eyes are
rather too small, but are helped out at the cor
ners with the same skilful brush. You wouldn't
notice it unless you were making a study Of
your subject. There is a tendency To get too
much color in the long but rather thin eyelashes
and brows, bat these would pass the general eve
without omment This arching of the brows is
now done very easily. by putting in a touch
above and bringing, down the corners