Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-08-04
styles In Dress from IN Partisan Point
OF View.

styles I'm Dress from IN Parisian Point
OF View.
PARIS REAL AND ROMANTIC DEcADEScE IN ARTISTIC
PKODUcTIoN-PARIsIANP PRESTIGE DEPENDENT UPON
ToEgIGN sURPoKT-FEKSCH SUPERIORITY TASTE
AND EcoSoXT-ExTRAvAGANT AMERICANS.
IFrUrn Our Own Correspondent
PARIS, July %, 1888.
There IS no more extraordinary sight In the
world than that presented by one OF the great
Shops OF Paris. II Is small world, which In the
morning Is neat and orderly. The departments
regularly laid out, stocked, and the goods ar
ranged TO attract customers. Gradually II begins
T. I'll; morning customers saunter ieisurely
through look, examine, buy al their ease and with
elaboration After u oclock-the hour for de-
5sener, or midday breakfast-the crowd increases,
the rush begins. II It Is an occasion" or day
when prices are marked down In special depart
nents, and nearly always 70 Is an occasion OF some
kind or aer the excitement Is doubled. English,
French and Americans JOstte each other, the jar
gon OF tongues IS lndescrtbaole, the attempts TO
secure a coveted prize frantic, and attempts TO
discriminate between the desirable and the unde-
srable abortive. Sometimes dry goods house
will have an outdoor occasion. Passing one the
other day. about In the afternoon, crowd OF
women which extended the entire length of the
'front.' OF the establlshment-aOout a New York
b.Ock-attracted attention 1t was composed
mainly Of the poorer, la0Oring classes OF women
Ing violently and eagerly pulling apart masses OF
dress goods, underwear, made-up SacQues, blouse
waists and the ike, which were exposed outside
for sale and marked In plain ngureS. The under
wear was handmade, tucked neatly and button
hole stitched upon the edge OF the scant rufes IL
was not nne anu IL was not very clean and IL was
done up In bundles OF three garments each; but II
was Well made and well cut, the drawers open
upon the sides and drawn Ia with tapes and casing
u the waist. II would wash into very good APP
pearance and be durable. a great point with the
poor The 'pantalons" were francs. p confines
aall ThavN we d mi ph hat
surrey TO make, and The chemiseS and night
dresses were from = francs. 80 confines 80 cents
To francs, % centlmes 80 cents.
THE DRESS MATERIALS
were OF Irregular lengths and excellent quality,
but varied In Kind. There were coIored dress fan
nels. SOFT finished serges, fine crepe cloths and
nuns veilings, narrOw-striped and spotted woods
In black and elegant shades of coiOr-gray and
peacock blue bronze brown, dark bottle and olive
greens and Others. They were wide, and the
prices ranged from % confines per meter-seyeral
inches more than yard-tO L franc 90 centimeS
the meter; the nrsL being 10 cents, the second 30
cents; andother prices intermediate between the
two. They were a class OF goods that range all
the way from 30 cents To sl..5 yard IN New York ;
but they were remnants, and might therefore be
subject 10 some reduction STILL materials OF such
quality rarely sold in remnants with US; and
II must Dc remembered that the price for the
meter. which Is considerably more than our yard,
and that IN many OF these remnants was album
daIt stuff for u dress one could have picked out
hundred pieces every way desirable, If they could
have been utillzsd; ana We quite sympathized
whom had children hanging 10 their skirts. and
who. while carefully reckoning the cost, were test
Ing the sOitness and talking loudly, after the man.
ncr Oi their class.
PARIS REAL AND ROMANTIC.
81 never was so disappointed In my life as In the
working women OF Paris" remarked one lady, an
American, OF course. ~ had heard so much about
the Taste OF Paris that / thought even the shop
girls AMI women In The streets would show II In
superior neatness and style In their clothes, but
they don't look as nice rs the working women we
see at home" Another lady said: II am so dis
appointed; always thought or Paris a sort of
g.ortned city, where eyery thing would be found
that was most beautiful / have only been here
two days II Is true, but i have been to the Bon
Marche and the shops OF the Louvre, and
was not tempted TO buy in the least" Naturally
twodays was not much In which 10 discover the
beauty Of Paris, nor are the shops or the Bon
Marche and the Louvre the places ia which to ind
tie costly novelties that confer the prestige OF
supreme fashion and taste upon city. There is,
however, an immense difference between the
Paris Of to-day and the Paris OF even ten or nr-
, resn n ysss ago linen the working women had
had a neat and practical dress OF their own, not
the peasant dress. but simple IN construction and
Tree from cheap trimming and attempts at
"crapery." Now their dress is cut after paper
pattern modes, Is cheaply furbeowed and soon
looks shabby. The trim neatness and accuracy OF
cut has gwen place 10 attempts at nnery. which
cannot be renewed often enough for Cleanliness
and which marks the decline in taste which has
direction
CUT AND PATIENCE.
There Is now little or originality for there Is no
one TO stimulate, or pay for experimental efforts,
such as are needed for the development OF original
ard beautiful ideas. even In dress The Mt of the
french dressmaker Is still the best In the world:
out IL would cease TO DC so II IL were not for her
Russian American, English and German custo-
merS. The EpgliSh however, are fast acquiring a
prestige OF their own. II their knowledge or form
and delicacy OF touch were equal TO their sugges-
Inverness, Their courage and their originality they
would quickly obtain supremacy; but the French
have two sources OF continued control; one is a
the head or the body, which does not press
or disturb, yet fits Ike a glove, shapes the
nne outlines OF beautiful form and cOnceals,
more or less the defects OF poor one. The other
Is patience In detail, quantity, and thoroughness
OF workmanship, aud command OF labor at prices
that defy competition such work as Is put in
Paris upon ordinary garments Is with us out OF th.
power Oh the majority, ana Is u perpetual source
or comfort and satisfaction. We have been ac-
cuStomed TO think that could beat the world
In cotton goods and garments, and 50 we can in
the raw material But We fail in the case OF It's
preparation, and when We attempt cheap work it
Is brutal We only achieve good cut. fhe finisb'
and duraDinty oy paying enormous prices. short
underskirts OF white cotton are marked here az
from s francs, 10 cenJineS, 10 francs c25 81 and
s. eents)- For similar prices one may md very
common, short White skirts at home. But these
are a little longer, more practical length for
grown women They made OF a serylceable
narrow-striped long cloth, and finished with
rune, cut out upon the edge, and worked
piece has several rows OF embroidered dots or
sp1Ss above the outton-hole stitch. admire the
me, put they are soft, absorbent, honey-comb
pattern, such as we buy In America for "a ner
dozen But they are each outlined with 'Iarve
initial In red. or red anu blue, and admire nv
landiadyS Industry and hOuSewiIery care IN
AIDING this ornamental and protective letter 10
every towel used In her great esta bllShment Rut
when j go 10 the Bon Marche md these same
towels In bundles OF dozen each einbroidered
with every letter in the alphabet and for sale an
SIX francs. ninety-nye confines the dozen (sI ROY
II only Lad them II home, think Not so much
BECAUSE OF the difference in prfce-because where
pnceS are low somebody sufieTs-buJ because OF
nc texture ana the effective lettering.
ExrRAyAGAST AMERICANS
On the other hand rich women and actresses
Gene here from all over the world with orders for
toe most extrayagant toilets A wedding dress
made recently for an American bride cost 10000
HAacs-SsOOO for the dress alone 1t was made
AID designed by a modlste who has had the honor
OF making some garments for Mrs Cleveland who
i, however, lot ~ all SO extrayacapt. and She ~
now mallRS some beautiful costumes-oue OF f,e
Eo9 red SIX 1Of young lady OF BROOKLYN n Y
ala pellsses OF chanseaOle SILK which 70 20 Cleye
Ianc, one The red silk gown has vest and wide
slsh 'front.' OF Iul pink crepe de chine and a SASH
Vi tht saule Is knOtted on The side over ne sCtrf
which II simply draped upon the front NanS
cause the skirts OF the dresses shown by Ihe hss,
mOdistes are 20 nearly straight, and bscause thev
nave seen before nearly all there Is OF DESIGN a.
applied 10 gov rs and garments. I've exne,Ied >;
Trey say, something entirely new Z,
Paris let they would NOT wear ~
prectolre coat or the short-waisted draaS
OF the empire upon any Consideration,