The morning call., 1891-07-05
COSTUMES IN FICTION.
The GOWNS in Which Authors Dressed FaY0lit0
HerOlRGS.

With few firm light touches the masters
OF fiction know how TO put before US pic
ture, fixing it for all time as indelibly with
their pens as Sir Joshua did the beautiful
Duchess of Gain borough with his brush
And to make the heroine's portrait clear, one
must see her costume; for to woman her
clothes are only second in Importance to her
souls salvation and not always to that. Eve n
Milton tells Us of Ey as clothed ''n tile
flowing gold of her loose tresseS"; but II
has been some time since this simple cos
tune has been altogether convenabe, and
later writers have had 10 go somewhat more
into detail.
Each generation OF romancers has paid a
little more attention to this important ques-
ton. The heroine of the last century was
rather apt to despise the meretricious aid Of
dress and adorninent and rely solely upon
her own surprising loneliness to awaken, as
Lord Mortimer in tie Children Of the Abbey
happily puts II, mot alone the gaze OF adml-
ration, but the throb of sensibility." In that
classic work the material of Amanda's Spen-
Ger is entirely subordinate to her intellectual
qualities and her virtuous character. As d
rule, these irresistible ladies were attirad in a
! simple "book-musliD," whatever that was,
| and their only ornament was apt to be either
blue sash or cluster of natural flowers,
| though l remember reading Of one fascinat-
| ing ingenue who wore "a blush rose i'll her
reddish hair" But the display of this hOr-
! ticutural phenomenon was daring inno-
| walton on the custom of the trad tienal
heroine, who needed no such gaudy chaplet
| having no difficulty when arrayed In the
| aforementioned chaste costume in far
eclipsing her naughty rivals. who were in
| yariably attired in silks and satins."
| Ciarissa Harlowe prattles along through
! hundreds of pages with an immense amount
| of tine sentiment upon various elevated sub
| iectS, with many discriminating remarks
upon the events of her time from the stand
| point of a genteel young lady, and with 4
| lavish pro1uSiou OF Italics, but without once
abiding to what she wore ON any Of the oc-
| casionS she mentions. 1t is true the V lear
| of Wakefield describes his wife gorgeous
. in her crimson paduaSoy," and bis daush-
tiers with their hair plastered with poma-
tuin, their faces patched to taste, their trains
bundled up in heap behind, and rustling
! at every motion" but they are mentioned
only TO be condemned Tor their love OF lnery.
Miss Austen, among all the muitifarious
details of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and
| Sensibllity," and the other alliterauve TO-
mauces which our ancestors had time to
read, dwells very little upon the attire OF her
| Eiizabeths and Caroliues. The face, figure
and carriage of these young ladies' is
minutely portrayed; indeed, they go so
| far as to have ''depoItment'-a quality
quite unknown TO the modern heroine.
The amount of fortune they may expect
! from their parents are usually Stated also
with gratifying precision, but the author
| ScOfnS Sucn lllNOliueS as ciOlueS, except LOT
| the most casual mention. The curious
reader may, however, usually obtain an idea
| of the heruine's appearance by glance at
the frontispiece, where she is usually por-
| trayed in a line steel engraving wearing a
| white muslin frock with low-neeked
bodice, long sleeves extremely full, full
| skirt cut short enough TO display slippers OF
O Superhuman narTowneSS and pointedDess
laced intricately over the white stockings
with narrow black ribbon, and with her
hair tucked up with high comb behind,
and falling in front IN a carefully cluster
| of ringets on each cheek.
But times have changed for the heroine
, since these rOmanceS were written. The
day has gone by when the poor but vIrtuous
maiden in her white muslin carried all be-
fore her, or the plain but intellectual gov
eruess yanQulshed the fastdious Rochester
in the ordinary black silk frock with which
she had replaced her black stuff one. SIM
plieity is often indicated, it is true, but il i
apt to be the costly simplicity that has
Redeem ticket rampant on the lining.
Authors nowadays dress their heroines with
a lavish extravaganza that can only be just
fed by the fact that this more than Solo
monian glory does not cost its originator
cent more TO print than the book-muSiI
did. Whether the occasion requires thu
dainty and piquant in costume or the sump-
tuos and elegant, the heroine always has IT.
regardless of expense Harper's Bazaar.