The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-04-12
On How Women Should Dress.
The Artist Tells Them OF Their Sins o
Omission and Commission,
Pointing Out the Narrow Road OF
Art and Beauty.
The New Hats and Bonnets for Spring
wear-Noveltfes I'm Materials
How Spring Gowns are
Made.


NEw YORK, April 9.-Mr. Edmund P.
Russell, the rising young artist who has
excited much interest of late by his lectures
on ant as Ii relates to dress and every day
life, says tnzt the dress of women is con-
trolisd by the word stylish" which means
one thing to-day and another tomorrow
whereas ii ought to be governed by express
sion. which is the outward evidence of in
terrier taste and character. He declares .nat
art is not drawing. but that it underlies ell
of life and brings us into harmonious reis-
tons with all the forces about US. He dep
recatsd the wearing OF tighthtting dresses
by large women. declaring that while it de.
prived them OF majesty it vulgsrized them
and gave them an appearance OF bulk, OF
meat bullying out in every direction. He
thought large women should be proud of
their size and rather increase than diminish
the grandeur of the effect. There is no res-
son why all women should be reduced to the
painful degree of sienderness.
he thought the figure should not be re-
vealed, but suggested by the motion OF grace.
full clothing; that it should not be fitted like
warmth and for harmonious relationship
with Itself and with its environment. He
deprecated the use OF detached figures In
stuffs. such designs as said, looking out from
a contrasting surface: Look at mel am
wsterlily, or rose, or a tulip, or strawberry
or q bunch of grapes. l am prettler-at
least more attractive than the real thing
ITSELF" Designs OF distinctive character may
be used where the object Is large enough and
the folds of a SIZE to conceal and suggest
rather than to display, bat womsn's dress
should Sing" not talk, Its lines should
yield to every motion Of the plant 6gursand
should suggest every possibility of beauty
and grace without ssying by DESTINATIONS dis
play. 81 am beautiful. am graceful"
He cited Ellen Terry as an example of
gracefuluess ard perfect harmony of color
and design in dress, but said that generally
the dress of women was like the furnisure in
our honse-a mere collection of unrelated
parts
ILLUSTRATED By EXAMPLE.
Some of the stuffs designed and msnufac.
tured by the Associated Artists Mrs Wheel
ef's) were exhibited as models OF beauty and
Of skill In manufacture. The majority are
designed for upholstery purposes, but after
much close examination he found nothing
suitable for artistic dressing The reverss
"
dress purposes because on these the colors
were blending 10 shimmering beauty through
which the designs were outlined and sug
gested like the landscape in lake. Some
looked like cloth OF gold on the under side
and in oil IL was quite subject for discus
sion which was the prettier.
The soft silk and silk of light nature he
recommends for the slender and willowy wo-
men-the more massive texture for q large
women. who should wear Vatican, princesse
dresses from the shoulder, but no tiny lace
ruffies. or small ribbon bows or coquettish
little hippefy of that sort.
He was very severe upon corsets and
buetles, upon whatever tended to check tue
natural growth AID development OF the body,
to prevent full and deep breathing or to al
ter the pure outline of tho human form. An
error OF this kind he considered more SERIOUS
than We could imagine because the mis-
chief did not end with the misplacement-
the loes of vital power of any one organ. It
changed the relation of the human being TO
the whole human race and made him q dis
cord instead of a note OF harmony.
But he had nothing to say 20 those who
wanted direct instruction as TO how they
should dress-what colors aud textures they
should employ. The only suggestion he had
to make was that the hair furnished the KEY
note 10 becoming color, and that no dress
could precisely be devised that would suit
all. cress.reformers TO the contrary, notwith-
standing. The ultimate dress would be partly
the result OF the general intelligeucs OF the
race: partly OF the taste and cultivation OF
the wearer. He thought an ugly thing-a
thing that does not belong where 1t is placed
"A SIN and an affection, though often we are
not aware of 1t; and he said the world has
suffered, or rather had not begun to feel the
10Y IL would experience In a knowledge and
adaptation to the true relation of beauty and
harmony to activity snd growth. II had
been, he thought. an infinite pity that rslig
ions had discouraged art, because true art
holds all goodness In loving embrace and
is n religion in itself.
THE NEW HATS AND BoNNETs.
There Is little that is new in shape in bon.
Eefs. but much that ia new in trimminR.
The snail capote still fingers, but $40 -
many varieties of brim: some are curves 10
at the TOD and hare like little outsprsst
wings Others copy the Maria front OF th~
Maria head dress. Stall Others snow mod
ded poke. All have brim Of some kind,
and are not msre GRO wns fitted 10 the head
The hats are the most aggressive in appear
ance. The majority are so unlike what one
would naturally select Tor q modest girl g.
wear that il Is surprising how they could
have been manufactured for such use. To-
crowns are enormously high end are still
more exaggerated by the arrangement of tn
trimming. she whole etfscti is bold and verv
pronounced, and for such customers as will
not tolerate styles OF this description ths
millfneis are using all their ingenuity TO
tone dcwn and q odify by simple arraaga
ment Of quiet materials sid softly olendsd
tints and coloIs The general impression ii
the bonnet fer sprirg and between" wesr
IL not very different from that of the a
tump. Indeed the styles might very well b /,
intercbargs able; the same Melted gold and
embroidered crowns; the same gold Nheat
and balls aud pins and other ornaments; the
same gold lace; and the same dark
shades OF color. There Is an entire
absence &c whole Of the freshness
that che welcomes and Graves the spring
AT II is only q critical examin alton ia d.
tail that reveals here and there q0sint liz.
tie bonnet OF pale ecru straw or transparent
lace. the former trimmed with a new vide
ibbon IN soft colors aud medieval des.ELs