Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-04-27
WASHINGTON GOWNS.
Colors and Costumes That Delight the
Leaders of Society.
BIG AND LITTLE-FOOTED LADIES,
Wives Who Use Titles in Addressing Their
Statesmen Husbands.
THE BUSTLE AND DIVIDED SKIRT
CORRESPONDENCE OF THE DISPATCH !

CORRESPONDENCE OF THE DIsPATcB.I
WASHINGTON, April 26.-Every one Of
our noted Washington ladies shows an indi-
viduality of taste in her dresses. Mrs. Pres
ldent Harrison likes all the shades of mauve
and heliotrope, although she looks prettier
in white than in anything else. The richest
toilet in her wardrobe is of heliotrope vel
vet. its heavy gorgeousness relieved by a
front of white silk covered with pearl
strands and outlined against the velvet with
closely curled ostrich feathers. The front of
the bodice is wonderfully pretty with its
folds of velvet brought from the right
shoulder, meeting similar folds of faille from
the left which have garniture of ostrich
tips, two of which are intertwined on the
left shoulder into French knot. On the
right shoulder is knot of velvet, for the
mode demands two shoulder knots of entire
ly different material. The gown is made
with half sleeves and is SO arranged in the
front that it can be worn either for after
noon or evening. For the afternoon Mrs.
Harrison puts in masses of white silk tulle,
while for dinner and evening she wears it
semi-decollette.
Few people guess the effect that one even
ing's wearing has on a handsome toilet.
They see the mistress of the White House
standing in line for an hour or two, her rich
dress fresh and elegant, and never dream
that when she takes it off her maid will
raise her hands in horror at the ruin of that
one short evening. From hem fully half
yard up the back dirt is ingrained so that
the train has either to be turned or sent to
the cleaners, whence it comes spotless, but
with soft fuzz on its surface that makes it
all the more susceptible to dust.
HAVOC OF A STATE DINNER.
State dinners are the most rulnous on
clothes, for in spite of every precaution the
floors in the East Room are literally loaded
with dust from the plants which fill the
room at that time. As there is only day
and half given to the work of decoration,
the dust has no time to settle before the last
sweeping, and it certainly is a sight to see
the handsome dresses after they trail through
the big parlor down the corridor to the
dining room. Many woman has shed a
barrel of tears over the havoc wrought BY
her first state dinner.
Mrs. Harrison's maid, Josephine, takes
up to undress her mistress after any enter
tainment, and if it is apt to be very late lies
down and takes nap with her clothes on,
being ready for her duties IS soon as her
mistress appears. She hangs the gowns in
the press tor the night, and about the first
sight one sees in the morning is Josephine
bustling through the rooms with the dress
slung over her arm lamenting its ruin. She
takes it to her little room, goes over the
ground with the skill of a veteran, and al
ways does one of three things. IF not past
hope she gives it dry cleaning. If that is
futile she shows it to Mrs. Harrison, and
asks her advice about sending it to the
cleaner, and if it has already been to that
worthy she sits down at once and turns the
train, which is usually the only part the
least bit soiled. Fortunately she is nee
dle-woman, and before the mistress of the
White House took her for a maid she sewed
in the Harrison family in indianapolis for
dozen years.
MRS. MORTON AND MRS. wANAMAKER
That glorious color, Venetian red, seems
to please Mrs Morton's eye above all other
shades in the spectrum and she wears it in
dinner and reception gowns. One sees it in
her parlor carpets, in her buffers "westcut'
and in the wheels of her cabriolet, her Ian
dau and her daughters cart. That she has
always fancied it is shown BY the Bonnat
portrait of her which hangs in her library
and which was painted several years ago
when she was in Paris. She is here repre-
sented in robe of this same color and the
texture Of the velvet, which is the material
OF the gown, is warmly reproduced against
the white skin. That her taste for
dress is as permanent as her love for a GER
tain color is proved by the fact that the
gown in the picture is almost exactly of the
style worn this winter, cut rounded from
shoulder to shoulder, the narrow sleeves
falling below the shoulder points, very lit
tie trimming being used, the whole thing
depending for its peculiarly elegant effect
on the richness of the color and the material.
It il hard to say which is the prettiest gown
in her wardrobe, although toilet of luster-
less white silk heavily garnished with pearl
embroidery has received highest praise.
Mrs. Wanamaker likes the Quaker
shades, while her winsome daughter Minnie
has leaning toward the fairly tintIess
art shades of blue and pink. The toilet
which is the sweetest in her whole wardrobe
is also the least expensive. Any girl in the
land could have it although her whole in
come might not be equal to Miss Wana-
makers pin money. 1t is white French
foulard with little sprigs of pale blue for
A NOTED TOILET IN BLACK.
The quaintest frock of this whole winter
of gaieties was worn by Mrs. John King, of
Philadelphia, who was a guest of Mrs.
Eugene Hale for q month. She is a
widow and perhaps people admired
her the more because her life
covered most touching tragedy.
Six years ago she was one OF the Quaker
City's most admired young married women.
She lived with her husband and three lovely
little daughters in fashionable hotel, the
destruction of which by fire startled the
world few years ago. Her apartments
were in the fourth story, and when she was
awakened her room had already filed with
smoke. Calling her husband TO follow, she
snatched her baby from Its cradle, ran to the
window and leaped to the ground. When
she recovered she found that her husband
and two children had been burned to death
and that all that was let to her was the
child whom she had so heroicallysaved.
This was the first winter since that terrible
event that she has appeared in society, and
she still wore half-mourDing. The gown
which attracted everyone's attention was of
dead black Canton crepe, made demi-train,
with fan-shaped panel at the right OF
white null. The bodice was quite low, but
it had an old-fashioned tucker that made one
admire the sweet modesty of our grandmas.
tor it was exactly like they wore. 1t was
of white null, about two inches wide and
shirred close to the lovely throat, and not a
bit of jewelry or lace was worn. The woman
was so lovely and her attire SO modest that
one involuntarily recalled her pathetic his
tory.
ONE OF MRS. LoGAN's GOWNS.
Another lovely widows dress was worn by
Mrs. John A. Logan at the first dinner at
the White House. It was her first appear
ance in any but her own drawing room since
General Logan's death. The dress was of