Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-12-28
A Lady of the Old School Talks of Old.
time Fashions for ntlemen-Hats
and Neckcloihana.

NC peSaasS Tue lciuiulue pCTtlOu OF the
| world is lost in admiration of this special
head covering, inasmuch as. to my certain
knowledge. sundry of US have made a
| point of avoiding the sight of one for
| months, nay, years past, endeavoring al.
ways 10 center our attentions upon what
| was beneath its rim, when compelled
| through accidental circumstances to hold
colloquy with is wearer, or, in cases W here
no acquaintance made this necessary,
| turning aside to gaze into some convenient
| shop window. We may not always go out
of our way to avoid meeting derby, for,
| unhappily, it is still too frequently en-
countered. | say still, for, somehow of
late have fancied that The derby seems
slightly on the wane.
But why has this hat been for so long
| the fashionable everyday masculine head
piece? And what did man wear for bus
mess hat before ii came into vogue? To
| the first query l know of but one answer,
and that is la Mother Bunch:
''Ssys Aaron to Moses
Let's cut off our noses.
Says Moses to Aaron
It's the fashion to wear 'em.
To my secord inquiry l received a reply
| upon the evening referred to, from highly
| cultivated elderly lady present at the
Before n en- wore derbys they wore hats ln
Alas, long suffered derby, where is your
chance after that? After such quenchers
no man who heard it will patronize you
again, to be sure. Much amused, we de.
| manded to know something of the hats
madam mentioned so emphatically.
why" replied the interesting lady of
| the old school, "for many years before the
| derby became fashionable for everyday
| wear there were two or three styles of
plain hats worn, which were less harsh in
| character. OF course, the tall silk hat held
| first place as dress hat, and although q
stiff construction, requiring to be taken up
gently and handled with care. yet its pedi-
gree is superior to that of the derby, for il
has always been associated with gentlemen
| from its first advent, and did not find birth
| among horse jockeys. Then its polished
surface certainly suggests that fastidious
neatness which is supposed to characterize
the dress toilet of a gentleman. Along
about 1925 and 1880 the silk hat was worn
| in various shapes. Some were high and
straight, resembling those of the present
! time, others retained some resemblance to
| the bell-crowns of earlier days, and others
still more low-crowned, with brims that
| curved deeply back and front in such man.
Der as to beetle over the eyes. There was
SO much travelling in stage coaches about
| this period that the soft slouched hat was
| commonly worn, a large brimmed hat,
which has been associated by Dickens and
other romancers very frequently with the
mysterious or sinister individual who was
usually introduced seated in the darkest
| corner of the tavern barroom. and who, be-
1 tween this hat and his black muffier, en-.
deavored to battle observation as to his
| identity.
About 1857 the soft crown of the low
hat became flat and round, the brim slight
ly stiffened and fiat, the whole about the
size and shape of our present straw sailor
hat. Young men wore a soft crown of 9
half-globe shape, with narrow, curling
brim, which was quite becoming. During
the war time many men, both young and
old, affected the cavalry hat, a big, soft felt
Nearly all of the common hats within the
range of my memory, had soft, easy
comfortable touch about them, and they
did not show shinyness and wear, al
quickly as the derby. However, the soft
felt, with turned-up brim and peaked
crown, which many middle aged gentle
men have lately adopted, also a certain
light colored, little, lightweight, youthful
sort of hat, worn by the fraternity o
literary Bohemiams in New York, show
assert itself among cur busy gentlemen a:
well as among our leisurely ladies'
my dear madam, how delightful it is Il
have you tell ue all this. And while W,
are on the subject of masculine fashions,
wish you would tell Us what you think o
the gentlemen's present style of neck
T scarfs as compared with the neck. cloth O
earlier days"
why, the silk and satin scarf of to.da,
is, like the silk hat, pretty and neat b.
reason OF its material and sheen. But
: | alx he
well. For this reason it is great expens
to gentlemen, for 1t is made over q sii
foundation, and fiat, hard surface Of an,
fabric very soon shows soil or threadbar
glossiness. When the tie was worn tn
. single strip of silk might be shaken out
! sm oothed and folded when removed, an.
in this way lasted longer than the mad
, scarf
II was reading about Beau Brummell tn
other day." remarked, land it seems tina
| he used to say, give me fine linen an,
country washing l suppose that was be
! | cause the neck cloth about which the Bea,
| was SO particular had to be so CAREFUL,
laundried.
There is no doubt that the neck -clotl
in Beau Brummelrs days, when all th
fashion of London were votaries of Al
mscks, gave those cavaliers much concern
A pamphlet containing instructions an,
illustrations as to the manner of foldin,
the stsrched cambria, etc, was found upol
E many a gentleman's dressing table. /
was called 'Neckclothiana' The collars q
that time were standing, with high poin:e,
corners. The fashion in its extreme, was
Of course, somewhat absurd one, for j
the collar CHANGED to thrust its corner abov
the chin by reason of the freshly starche,
'choker,' 1t gave the masculine vissge
. somewhat farce aspect, unsuited to tn
dandy. But there was this good festur
, about these ties and collars: They wer
capable of wrinkling and shaping them
selves TO the throat, no matter how rigidl
they were first applied. AS the fash
: ion relaxed the collars became lower. an,
Byron's open collar csst over 'Neckcloih
ana its peculiar poetic relation. a frien
, of my husband knew BIummell very well
{ and be declared that he was anything bu
a dandy for the reason that be eschewe,
all ornament. of all my acquaintance
he declared, he was the quistest. PLANES
and most unpreteDding dresser BFum
!, nell was very fondcf turning into ridicul
any excess OF fashion, and on one occasion
at club in London, illustrated the absurd
: ity Of the high neok-cloth by drinking +
, the health OF his friend. Lord Worcester
after this fashion: This friend sat within
! two seats of him. but. calling the waite,
nc eoiu, "AtuOui tuiuins LIS utdu, Is LOl
, Worcester here?'
"'Yes, SIR
TEL his Lordship 1 shall be happy t
drink glass of wine with him.
Yes, sir.
".Ahem.'-after intervals his Lord
, ship ready? All! Then tell him drinI
, health
Byron said: i like the dandies-the
were always civil to me-; and for my part,
added, II think the expansive whit
neckcloth. with the way in which the hal
was brought forward on each side of th
face, the small side whiskers, and tn
Byron curl on the forehead gave gentle
mans face picturesqueness. and, to th
: good-looking, certain artistic finish whic
q the best appearing end best dressed gentl,
y man in stereotyped evening earb lacks t.
Z day. Wearing his hair little longer give
: a gentleman the chance to groom b
4 h I'D -Anv>