The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-07-06
THE WIDOWS SEA WEEDS.
" SIZE rs EISHION-1BLE SHE MUST
T1KE HER PLUNGE IN BLACK.

Mrs. O'DonneIl, of Baltimore, Invented
the Fad Pointers on Real Sweet
Gowns-UnsynametrIcal Facial Devel-
opment-Januarv and Nav Reversed.
1t is rigidly exacted of fashionable
widows that they shall battle in
mourning. This is a little hard on
them, because it is almost an impos-
sibility to find a black that will not
''crock" in salt water, and many are
their tribulations in consequence. II
the dear departed is o recent loss they
must mourn from head to foot, and
have not a touch of any color, not
even white, about them; if time has
somewhat assuaged the anguish OF
widowhood, the bathing dress may be
embroidered in white, or have collar
and revers of the same, and if ayear and
a half has elapsed since her husband
became an angel, even the most rigid
consider her justified in having her
bathing dress made either of gray,
white or violet serge. This fashion
was started by the pretty widow OF
O'Donnell, of Baltimore, who was
called upon to mourn a rich young
husband who died after a very brief
union. This occurred in the spring,
and when summer came the doctors
insisted that sea bathing was neces-
sary as a cure for her ervou relaXa-
ton brought on by mental suffering,
and she appeared, Shrouded in crepe,
at the fashionable watering place.
Then the question arose concerning
the bathing dresses, and the afflicted
utterly refused to appear anywhere.
even in the sea, except in garments OF
the deepest sable. There was a visi-
BILE sensation when she came down
the beach one morning all IN
black from top to toe, with
her very white arms and shoulders
bare and a little black silk handker-
chief tied coquettishly over her golden
hair. Before a week was yer every
man in the place was occupied in Sc
curing an Introduction to that pa
thetic little black figure, and the
cheerful women in their light-colored
gowns were nowhere at all. Since
that time widows all over the country
have adopted the fashion and regu-
lated it by fixed laws. Miss Hargous
brings back from Europe with her a
bathing suit that is all Of scarlet. There
is not much bathing as a rule among
the fashionable people at Newport,
but an effort was made last summer to
revive the custom, and it had sufd-
cient popularity to justify those
who intend spending the summer
there in preparing themselves with
a swimming toilet. The
let bathing dresses are very fashion
able in France with the brunettes,
leaving white and pale blue for the
blondes. One of the fashionable
dressmakers of this city has improved
some bathing dresses of light green
serge in reply to this years demand
for all things verdant in tint. They
are embroidered and braided in white
and have been specially treated with
chemicals SO that the colors may
stand the action of sea water, and she
assures those who buy them that they
will fade no more quickly than the
dark blue serge which is usually worn
for this purpose. With most of the
bathing stockings sold this season is a
pair of slippers of either canvas o.
some sort OF heavy cloth, the foot of
the stocking being carefully fastened
into the slipper in such a way that
the latter cannot be washed off, which
has heretofore always been the diff
Guilty about wearing bathing slip
pers.-ETchQnQe.