Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-21
The Rage for Violet

From the New York World.
The violet still holds its own upon the heart
of the society woman, despite all that has been
done by that queer person who, finding the
real blossom too expensive for her purse has
taken to pinning dreadful purple muslin abom-
nations at her throat and on her muff. Even
she, with her vulgarization, cannot drive the
sweet purple flower from its throne. Every
girl who can afford it wears a cluster of the
Bonaparte's blossom thrust in between the
edges of her monkey-skin cape or pinned to
her muff, and when her friends drop in upon
her when afternoon church is done, for a
friendly cup of tea, they find her little silver
urn surrounded with half dozen tiny glasses.
in each of which is a small bunch of
the little purple flower. Go in to the Len
ten services, where she is confessing with
| sweet voiced penitence how many things
she had left undone that she should have done.
| and done those things which she ought not have
done; that there is no health in her. and that
she is a miserable little sinner; or into those
concerts of classical music, which she allows
herself during Lent, perhaps by way of ne
nance, and the air is heavy with the perfume of
! many violets. In all her closets and chiffoniers
are long silken sachets filed with orris root,
which leave the perfume of vioets upon her
gowns, her gloves and her laces. At the dainty
| little lunches which she serves up from the
Lenten sewing class, which are not supposed to
| be formal luncheons at all, but are almost as
| jolly as the functions that went by that name
| during the season, all her decorations are of
violet color, the shade of the dark single flower
| and of the pale double one from Parma COM
bned both in the bouquets, bonbons, the flowers
and the needle-wrought sc arr which passes down
| the center of the table. These two shades of
purple and all the tints i'll between will be the
| popular spring color, which does not mean n
revival of the grayish-purple shade known as
heliotrope, much in use three years ago.
They are clear tints of purple, all the way from
the royal color to the pale lavender, and they
| will be much used in the combination with
white. The new satines and China silks have
sprays of violet blossoms scattered over the
clear white grounds, and white India silks are
| being made up with lilac velvet A beautiful
| French gown just imported has under-skirt
| of white silk and an under bodice of the same;
| over this are Greek draperies of pale purple
! siIk-muslin. whose edges are hand wrought
with a broad band of dark purple violets set in
between two narrow lines of gold thread.
| Several of the empire dresses being made for
| debuntantes. summer wardrobes are of the
| pretty old-fashioned book muslin, with violets
embroidered upon their edges, and with wide,
soft lilac sashes tied around the waist high up
under the arms. and long lilac gloves reaching
| up to the pulled sleeves. With these go lilac
silk stockings and the pretty pointed satin
directoire slippers of the same shade, and the
directoire coats are being made of violet MORE.
overskirts Of sheer silk-muslin or lace
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