The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-08
DRESSES OUT OF FASHION.
What Becomes of Them When They
Are No Longer Fresh and Now.


From the Nelg York Star.
Can you tell what bee oues of all the pinsl
has long been considered an unanswerable
conundrum. What becomes of my lady's
gowns when she has done with them! is a
tar more interesting one. 1t is easy enough
TO have new gowns, provided one has the
money TO pay for them, and, If
one Is suddenly called into mourn
ing. 1t IS customary to sell ones new
Paris gowns to relatives and friends, as was
done by one Of the leaders Of society not
long since. Some people cried out al what
they called her meanness, but what was she
TO cot There are some women who will not
take present Of even new gown, so proud
are they, 50 there Is nothing to do but to
sell them. Yes, it is easy enough to sell
ones new gowns, particularly il one is
leader of fashion, for all tue world would
like to say, II bought this of Mrs
So-and-So, when she went into mourning
don't you knowg" But what shall be done
with them when they are shabby and out of
fashion! And fashions change so rapidly
that gowns are out ofsstyle long before they
nave had an opportunity to become worn
out or even ever SO slightly solled. Our
at-graudmotherS sent to England for
their brocades, laces and lowered lawns
and wore them contentedly until they were
grown threadbare; saving one or two--a
wedding dress or one that was a favorite
an instance of which is Martha Washing
tons fayorite brown satin gown" that we
all hau the opportunity of seeing a few
weeks ago at the centennial loan exhibition.
To day the fashionable women send to
England and France for their gowns. but,
unlike their ancestors, they do not wear
them until they are shabby; they have such
quantity that it would take more than
one lifetime to do that They are worn
few times, and then what becomes of them 7.
What does the young lady who has thirteen
new gowns for this season do with those
she had last year. And what does the fash
lonable woman do with their Paris gowns
that she wears only onces 1t all depends
upon the woman, whether she is economical
or extravagant, rich or poor, generous or
stingy, mGtter-of-fact or romantic.
Generally speaking a wedding gown is
carefully preserved, and often worn with
out any alterations, though, indeed, some
women have them made over to suit the
prevailing fashion. There are other gowns,
too, that arc favorites with their fair own
ers, which are laid away, presumably in
lavender, TO be taken out and looked at
years hence. A debutante will sometimes
Keep the dress in which she appeared at her
first ball, and a woman will carefully pre-
serve the gown that she wore at the we'd
ding of her son and daughter; and gowns
that were made for any great occasion,
such as a grand private ball given
by one Of the leaders of fashion
| able society, or for the costume ball that
took place during the winter or for the
recent centennial ball. will undoubtedly be
| carefully folded and labeled and laid away
Ot course there are many gowns, especially
ball gowns. that are of so perishable a
nature as TO render them unfit for any
| thing but the ragbag after having been
worn few times. This fashion for even
ing gowns of tulle, gauze and net, so APP
proprlate for balls and necessitating so
| many during a season, does not, strange to
say, meet with favor among the dressmak-
ers, who prefer to make up and sell more
expensive materials.
Not very many years ago fashionable
women were content to wear a handsome
expensive gown a second and third sea
| son; but times have changed. Costly furs
| and laces are now about the only articles of
dress that woman wears more than one
season. Doubtless women with young
daughters lay carefully away some of their
handsomest dresses, which ten or fifteen
years hence will figure in the young ladies'
wardrobes when they are debutantes, or in
their bridal trousseaux. The fashionable
woman in this city who is noted for her
handsome gowns, lays them all away III
trunks and closets built expressly for the
purpose on the top floor of her house.
What do do with my gowns when
have done with them myself asked a
dark-eyed little woman, who gets every
thing from Paris. "Well, l don't go to
balls, you know am not very strong
but | go to dinners and receptions, and all
my gowns for the evening are of heavy ma
terials. They are not made low necked and
| never wear an evening gown more than
once. Ny street dresses | wear only one
season, and then | send them to my cousins
In Brooklyn and in other cities, so the girls
always have few handsome dressesn
Another fashionable woman who never
buys any but the best goods, and whose
means are not inexhaustlble, saws that she
saves all her gowns and has them made
over, sometimes by her maid and sometimes
by her dressnaker who will do so much
work in the dull season. She finds the
fashion of having dress made of more
than one material, with trimmings of yet a
third, of the greatest help to those VINO
utilize last seasons gowns as she does. Fit
ting about from New York to Newport, Bar
Harbor, Lenox, Tuxedo, Washington and
Florida, only a few weeks in each place, she
finds that she does not require very many
gowns, but they must be of the right kind
A trained velvet skirt that she wore in
Washington and New York during last
winter will be made into walking dress
with new cloth overdress, for the autumn
at LanoX and Tuxedo. A crimson brocade.
with pale pink front, will be remade with
white satin and black lace. long velvet
coat that has been carefully worn two sea
SONS will be curtailed to walking jacket,
and the remainder will make bodice TO be
worn in the evening with tulle skirts. Two
gowns, one of silk and one of cloth, will be
made into one and trimmed with embroid-
cred bands of cloth or passementerie that
perhaps did duty season before last; for a
woman who can afford to tuy expensive
embroideries and passementeries knows
their value and takes care of them. How
many of us are thankful for the cashmere
borders we are wearing now on our gowns
and that we should not have had had not
our mothers and grandmothers saved them
for US.
Silk gowns that have become shabby Or
soiled are worn under gauze draperies in
summer and present handsome appear
anca. Frequently silk or satin ball dresses
are cleaned and made over into stylish tea
gowns, with the addition of few yards of
cashmere and lace. Other silk or satin
gowns are used as Innings for dresses CORE
spending in color-the fashion of lin
ing all gowns with silk being now
SO universal and so expensive that
many ladies save all their old silk dresses
for this purpose. Thus it may be seen that
thrifty woman who has good taste and a
clever mind is able to utilize her last years
gowns and still present fresh and fashion
able appearance to the world. 1t requires