The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-05-31
How eve" Dressed in We o1den Tim.

How s'We'' Dressed in Ye OIden Tim e
lido not think" says Gordon Bre,n-
ner, THAT tie girls of my youth
were prettier than girls are now, nor do
| give the preference to the fashions of
that earlier day. Much of our dress
was very absurd-the short waists, for
instance, measuring not more than hah-
a-fnger's length below the arm-hole.
AT one time somewhere between 1915,
and 1920, we wore white cambria
dresses, even in the streets, in winter,
while slippers and silk or cotton stock
ings were the style, no matter how cold
the weather. Many a time have
walked on Broadway when the pave
ment sent almost a death-chiIl to my
heart. After a time. pelisses became
fashionable garment of fine cloth, or
velvet, worn outside the dress and near
ly, or quite as long. The first winter,
the skirts were flying, but afterwards
they were closed with buttons up the
front. This was a step in the direction
of comfort and common sense. By ana
by moccasins appeared; they were
made of some soft leather and quilted
silk, and finished with a narrow edging
of fur about the top. Though very in
sufficient, they were a great advance on
that had been worn before. |
Unjust be remembered that merino or !
raw silk underwear, or anything resem-
bling it, had not yet been heard of
oh 80,
classic slenderness that those who wish |
ed to be elegant abhorred all clothing
that increased the size and preferred to
suffer from the cold rather than to look
clumsy. 1t is wonderful that delicate
people, or hardy ones, either, could sur
rive such exposure.
Bonnets.7 on the contrary, were of
more sensible fashion than has been
seen for the last thirty. or fe1t y years;
hey really shaded and screened the
ace. Chip and Leghorn were the favor
ties for summer wear; white chip al
ways seemed to me the most elegant,
md was really the most expensive, as
t soon lost its freshness, and could not ]
It that time, be "done up" like straw.
twenty dollars, or even more, were often ;
,aid for ariuntrimmed Leghorn bonnet; +
the difference in the'value /
# money, and the immense difference I
n the scale of expenditure everywhere, >
his was a great price. But then we
expected that nice thing, once bought. c
you'd last Us a long time; our bonnets
Tere done over and re-trimmed, and :
anne out again as good as new next :
if we were of frugal mind.
Or several seasons. Lined and suitably T
arnished outside. they also did duty
DR. winter wear. Our facilities for shop v
ing would probably seem limited at
resent, though the. stores contained t
lany very handsome articles. On this O
cad, | may quote from a-letter written II
4 1926: $
Dear -: You should have been t
lrnished with handsomer muslin for %
he promised frock than that which ac- /.
this letter, put mother shop b
ed for it, and the article of very fine
sxture being difficult to get, her t.
atience at last gave over. and she took b
MS. Your work deserves better, own, ii
nd If you have seen or heard of any h
ne -jaconet cambria in town to let me I
now, and it shall be exchanged" D
1t appears strange that there should il
e any difficulty about jacOnet in stores "
lat could furnish Indian null, the il
lost exquisite of cotton fabrics; but so t.
was. This was the age of white en- 81
robbery; We worked our dresses. our b
ollars and our capes, while the frock or ii
up for the baby was frequent offer
lg of friendship or family affection. al
a those days, caps were an integral la
Drtion OF the child A baby without a re
I'D, what a monstrosity would that A
ave beenl And, indeed, the innoya ID
on of having them wear only their IL
1n little naked heads, though it was pl
great saving of trouble, was not a II
IoYement in the interests of beauty. fo
fter married and left town, in 1928, be
lie letters from home would frequently Il
,ntain such passages as this: Eliza fir
,th is getting on nicely with your little 10
ock. and it will be beautiful piece of ST
nbroidery." Il have begun your little &C
ID; the shape is a clockmutch, and be
ink the pattern very handsome. pc
Catherine was here last week; she Is ia
Drking a dress and cap to match tor
tie Edmund; you know how elegant
r. work is. and it will be beautiful