The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-12-02

mond Tyre with fine, twisted gold strings
The cap is commonly called tbs mortar
board, y and has been the subject Of CAM
poems innumsrable, but Is suddenly discov-
cred to be very striking and picturesque, and
English milliners are employing it or a mod
ifcation of it extensively for misses and lit.
tie girls. The gown" is in effect the "sur-
ture is the high-set, rather full flowing
sleeve-the top Of which almost joins the col
lar and the seam Of which is on the outside,
where it is made slightly full as well as wide
and flowing instead of under the arms. The
rest of it is simply a long, straight sacque
shaped under the arms, on the shoulders,
and with a gathering or Vatican pleat in
and it is not fastened down. A word here
may not be out OF place in regard to the
adoption Of the English word
gown" instead Of "dress," as COM
monty used in this country.
Like much other adopted phraseology, it is
both well-used and mis-used. 1t is a great
mistake to suppose that it is used by all of
English don't you know3" 1t has the positive
merit OF correctness and good usage to justify
it. When a ''dress" is made all in ons piece
from neck to feet it is a gown" formerly,
when cut at the waist, it was a "frock." 1t
is wrestling dress from its original meaning,
which was generic and inclusive, to limit it
to the upper garment which completes a
woman's dress. The modern dress vocabulary
contains French words which have become
naturalized. Why not "English," which is
our mother tongue? We use costume and
toilet without u sheer and without referring
to where they came from. Why not gown,
which is needed to designate the long gar
ment for which We have no name except the
incorrect and inexpensive one Of dresss
1t would he a real advantage to the public.
and save much confusion as we'll as eternal
iteration and explanations, if the proper
word could be applied to the thing-in
woman's dress-as in garments worn by men
for example. We took the word toilette
ttwl-let) from the French, AMI now We call it
Unfortunately, toilette, or toilet. This last
word is not properly employed, it is forced
frem its correct usage when it Is made to
mean only a part of itself. A French
woman will speak of making her toilet for
the evening. but she uses the word in
its generic sense, her toilette, forming part Of
her toilet; and so well is this understood out
side of fashions and fashion writing that the
article Of furniture in a lady's dressing room
which contains the toilet accessories and ap-
purteranceS is Know as the toilet table
or toilet bureau. 1t is getting to be pref
ty well understood now that costume"
means all the outside parts of a walking out
fit composed Of a combination of materials;
while n "suit means the same composed Of
one material. Suit and costume are more or
less 'comp.ete" as they are made to include
jacket, bonnet, muf7 or their equivalents
Children are much more naturally, as we'll
as moro beautifully, dressed now than Of late
years, or any time since they were made tho
copies in miniature of the follies of their ell
ders. This change we owe partly to the
wider distribution Of knowledge Of physio-
logical law, partly to the advance all along
the line Of practical ethics, AMI partly to the
modern art and aesthetic element As applied
to the dress of children as we'll as women. A
costume in TWO shades, Or two c%olors, Of