The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-12-01


the weight of the garments there is a
natural fold centre.
The points furnished by nature for
suspending the garments are the
shoulders and hips; therefore to attain
the maximum of beauty in its hang
ing the garment must have all its
parts depend, or appear to depend,
from these two sources, but prin-
cipally from the shoulders, as they,
from their position and form, offer
the principal resistance to gravity.
Bernhardt's dress hangs entirely
from the shoulders. Her gowns are
composed of a yoke. to which a skirt
is gathered, precisely like a child's
gown, and confined at the waist with
girdles.
When dress binders the free move
ment of ven one muscle it Injuries
beauty to that extent. This cannot
be otherwise. No part of Bernhardt's
dress is allowed to interfere with the
freest movement, and the waist mus
Giles are al much considered as any.
This makes possible a kind of beauty
which ordinary dress forbids. | mean
the beauty of grace. Grace is beauty
of motion. You may practice Delsarte
till doomsday and it will be OF small
oNoii II fOo POiSiGD 1h O olCo0 10
limits movement.
When will women understand that
complexion does not constitute the
whole of beauty? Hear what Madame
Sarah herself says on this point. She
is speaking of stage requisites, but
the reinark are as applicable to pri-
vate life.
Facial beauty" she says, sis un-
essential. The face needs absolutely
but two things-a lovely expression
and good teeth. Good teeth are
necessary to clear enunciation, and
the mouth should be slightly when
opened. The eyes must be expressive.
the look out of her face must be at
tractive, the smile have imagination;
in a word, the face must denote char
acter."
All this means that beauty is not an
attribute solely of the ace. 1t should
irradiate the whole body and dress
should aid its expression. But when
dress displays only the crude, vulgar
design of some ignorant dressInaker
it is a hindrance and disguise to
beauty. Moreover, character should
not be confined to the face. 1t NAV
be expressed in the whole body, If the
dress is such as to permit it.
In a desultory conversation Bern
hardt recently expressed herself as
follows
whatever you do. dress becoming
ly. That is my rnle. See that what
you wear suits you-your person,
your individuality. Make your cos
tune to suit you, not yourself to suit
your costume" All, madamel what a
blow at fashion!
1T is wise economy to have ones
clothes made by the very best mod
istes who are themselves artists in
their own special line But it is not
wise TO rely Upon the uniform judg-
ment OF one person, or to advocate
eternally the skill of a certain few"
Monsieur Worth and others, are you
meant there? Nov, talent is always
making itself felt, and from the indi-
viduality of some n who sees you for
the first time you may get valuable
hints and fresh suggestions.
ut does not take a good costumer
long to see and learn just what you
need, but if you cling to him monot-
onously you will always bear the same
stamp, like your goddess OH the Amer
lean dollar"
And yet, in spite of this advice,
madame designs her own costumes,
down to the smallest detail
1t is quite another aspect of Bern
hardt's skill in dress that presents il
self at the theatre. Wherever the his
torical exigencies of the piece permit
there her costume is recognized as an
expression of contemporaneous French
art. Just as surely as are the
of De Melville, Gerome and Bonnat.
The sublest art knowledge pervades it.
She is an artist always before she is
an actress, and herein lies much of her
power. Where others grasp merely
the technique of our profession, she
has taken every branch of aesthetics
to be her province.
Nine. Bernhardt's girdles are a char
acteristic feature of her dress and
should have a word ofscomment. She
wears two-one passing horizontally
around the waist, and the other loose
and dropping in front. 1t is not ca
price that is shown in these belts, but
a knowledge of beauty. The first belt
moulds itself to the cross action of the
body and shows all the subleties of
curvature it passes vel, and the
dropping n emphasizes the hips and
confines the garment to the body be-
low the waist line iii front. The first
carries the eye round, and the second
refers to the hips as points of support.
Beautiful as Bernhardt's dress is, it
would be as great mistake for us all to
copy it as it is for one painter to imi-
tate another. We should not copy
the masters, but study them and
learn how to express ourselves.
Could we predict the day when
every woman would be known by the
creation of her dress, as the painter is
known by his canvas; when she would
eschew fashion and with aesthetic
knowledge learn to express herself.
we might look to a future filled with
a beauty we have never yet seen-a
future in which an infinite amount of
energy now wasted will be diverted
and utilized. To realize this future
we need only to be convinced of it's
possibility, and this Nine. Bernhardt
has proved to us.-PhSlGdeiphia In
Qus7eg.
The Achievements of Women's Clubs.
1t is through this dominant thought
of doing something active for better
ing the condition of women. and con-
sequently the rest of mankind, that
after many years of struggle, first by
the women suffrage societies, then by