Los Angeles herald., 1891-04-26
FASHIONS FOR SUMMER.
THE GOWNS MUST BE SIMPLE, DEL
ICATE AND GIRLISH.
Wriggly Patterns-The Oculsts Rejoice.
Street Jewelry-Sarah the Eccen-
tric.

DAN EhANCictOs hPili AO.-bitulbN 10
the demurest, daintiest and most maid
enly of material. 1t is all the rage for
summer gowns this year. In fact the
summer fancy is to be anything that's
delicate, simple and girlish.
Mulls, muslins, organdies, batistes,
everything that is soft and sheer. Flow
ers, birds, even moss and twigs, every
thing that breathes of nature and of
sweet simplicity, are the favorite designs
for the pretty summer toilets.
There must be nothing stiff, nothing
formal, about this seasons gowns. And
starch, that arch enemy to grace, is
banished in disgrace.
Polka dots are stylish. Wriggly pat
terms that make you think of pretty
snakes, are fashionable; outgrowth of
the Cleopatra craze, probably. They're
striking, but just bit repulsive.
Parasols and hats are cool looking and
very ingenue.
Oculists ought to rejoice. Spangled
wells have come in. They are war
ranted to ruin the best pair of eyes in
four weeks. But are they pretty and
becoming? Well, yes; in way. A
bit tinsly and Amazon Marchist, though,
to my humble mind.
"Yibbins," as the babies say, are
coming in very gaily. Ii you want to
brighten up plain argandie, just flut-
ter it with bright ''yibbins," in two or
three blending colors, and you'll be
quite in the fashion.
Shoes in scarlet, shoes in vermilion,
and shoes in skyblue have dawned upon
our Mortified vision. They're enameled,
too, you please, and they have delight
full way OF making ones feet look just
precisely three times their natural size.
Nice idea, isn't it? From what wierd
quarter came these fantastic shoes
Far be it from me to conjecture, but
there is something a little English
about them, it seems to me. No French
woman would be guilty of such sin
against coquetry.
One chain bracelet on the left arm, one
dear little butterfly pin, and one quaint
bit of a jewelled hat pin. There's all
the jewelry you're allowed in the street.
OF course it's no ones affair but your
own if there's sparkling solitaire on
the third finger of your left hand.
That's under your glove, and besides -.
Before my next letter reaches you,
Sarah, the eccentric, will have stepped
upon our shore.
Those indefatigable sensation shock
ers, the press correspondents, have tele-
graphed all over the country that Mile.
has grown stouter.
The city waits with bated breath to
learn if this be indeed true; but mean
while the weather-wise maiden will see
the signs OF the times, and do accord
in'."
The more Egyptianesque, to coin
word, she looks, the more surely she
will be in Fashions Vanguard.
Girdles of fiat stones that look sur
prisingly antique are worn. Quaintly
braided hair, queer bracelets and seduc-
tive sandals, all these things are here
with Cleopatra.
1t will be wonder if some enterpris-
ing gentleman doesn't start an asp
farm.
This is all very charming for the 1.-the,
long -limbed beauty, with strange, un-
fathomed eyes, but for the plump, rosy
checked damsel, alas the dayl Let her
remember clearly that a dairy-maid
Cleopatra is gracesome thing.
The Partisan world will ever rave over
the resplendent bernhardt, in her gor-
geous Cleopatra dresses-dresses which
are the admiration of men, the envy of
and the despair of modistes.
These dresses are not made, they are
1raped.
Madame Bernhardt wears soft cling
ing gown form, and over this is wrap
-litterally wrapped-yarda after yard
Of beautiful material. She simply
swaths herselfin splendid supple band
ages. Now this looks very beautiful and
sounds very easy.
Try it, and see if you don't look like
an absurdly awkward and immensely
big cocoon--a cocoon without grace or
beauty.
Mime. Bernhardt is sgenius in more
ways than one, but trust me she never
wraps those swathes about her extreme
ly slender waist with the engaging care
lessness which the newspaper cores
pondent has tried to lead trusting
public to believe. Not she. She is far
too wise. She has studied form and
color. She has worked for many weary
hours and thought many puzzling
thoughts before she succeeded in teach
ing her maid the tricks of "swathing."
It is usually the rule of life that what
ever looks easiest is really hardest. The
simple gowns of this season are the most
difficult to make. They must fit per-
Iectly and be draped artistically, or they
are horrors.
An awkward woman sometimes tries
to look like a picture, and succeeds in
being caricature.
grotesque gown is not picturesque
one. This is fact dearly to be remem-
bered by ambitiously gowned women.