Omaha daily bee., 1891-11-15
1T HAS COME BACK AGAIN.
A Gorgeous Garment in Which to Woo
the DroNysy God.

tnC DrOWSN "Du. -
1t was only a soft little white garment OF
gossamer web with lacy finish, essentially
feminine and frail, says the New York Sun.
You could have slipped it through a wedding
ring, or folded it away in your vest peck OF
and forgotten 1t, but, like the drapery of the
fair Diana on the tower, it determines the
drift of public feeling on a most extremely
vital question. IL was a woman's chemise,
and the saleswoman said with triumphant as
s%urauce: Eyes, they are wearing them
again" To one not versed in economics the
subtle potency Of this fact may be obscurely
apparent.
The chemise has been additionally the one
distinct and discriminating woman's gar
ment. There was nothing in mans apparel
that could be classified with it. When woman
discarded it, heresy and schlsm slipped the
leash OF colventionality and prevailed. When
she converted it into a divided dual garment,
she put on the psychological pants. wrote her
name above senior wranglers, aud organized
herself into political clubs aud said mo"
to the momentous question. The fact that
she returned to it again of her own secret
will suggests that she is tired Of standing up
in the cars, tiguratively speaking, and Is
ready to 90 back to the good old way of coax
III III ICN bOlllCb gnu hi''SS Va
earning them by inventing steam iocomo-
tives or writing specials for the news
papers.
Now the chemise of the new regime is
more fanciful and artistic than It's prototype
of historical fame. 1t is made of the falrest
pink that ever tainted In the heart OF tho
rose, or the fairest lavender known to violets'
petals, or the sunset color reflected from a
Marechal n ell bud. The neck is very much
decollete and finished with frills, one above
the other, to the number of three, each
drawn up on Il ribbon of its own, in modest
tucker fashion. The lower friil falls over
the bust and draDes the shoulder, obviatlng
the necessity of sleeves. Sometimes 1T has
a daintily wrought insertion of n~eedlework
about tho waist in and out of which u rib Don
slips to tie couuettishly on one side. And
the Frenchiest touch is given to it by having
each one of the Vandyked frills wrought on
its edges with black, the ribbons black as
well.
Such is the chemise in it's edition de luxe
form. but it embraces as many types as the
woman who wears it, and is dainty and dear
in each, rs well as prophetic of the sovereign
ity of the old fashioned woman that knew
less of astronomical calculations than OF fine
hcmmlng and didn't belong to so many clubs
for advancement that she couldn't mother
her babies or comb her hair the way her hus-
band liked it.
bears about the same relation to the cotton
nocturnal garments worn by men that does
Il tulle ball dress to a pair of trousers. The
dress idea finds its apotheosis in the night
gown, and the wonder is how the fair god
dess who wears it can stop admiring herself
long enough to go to sleep at all. One OF the
gowns in a rousseau dozen recently tinlShod
for a southern bride deserves first place in
the list of these dreamland fantasies in
gauze and frills. In the first place, 1T was
cut in trailing princess style sweeping the
floor in the back with its lace edged tucked
tlounces which covered the hem. Then
the neck was cut away i'll a tiny
square encircled by deeply Vandyked ruffies
falling over plated lace frills. Sleeves, as
they say of men at social functions, were
cons picuous by their absence. Only full soft
frills enoircled the arm hole and fell upon
the fair arm that must have been fair and
shapely or it would not have thus been left
were all of fine French chiffon, a cotton stuff
r~ivalllng in exquisiteness of texture, trans
parency and clingingness the white samite of
~poetical love. The lace frllls were all of
real point de Paris. u new handmade lace
just now taking the place OF trechon or
Platte at about double the cost of either.
Fine thread lace and real valencicnnes, as
well as most elaborate French embroidery,
all are used to decorate this fine lingerie.
French batiste, nainsooS and lawn are, in
addition to the chiffon, the materials most IN
use, though in bridal trousseaus a few silk
pieces are usually ordered. Pink, pale blue
and lavender, with the brunette's favorite
yellow, are the approved colors. White gar
ments are invariably frightened with colored
ribbon of one inch in width, or, perhaps,
wider, in place of the bette ribbons so long
used.