St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-10-28
a TALK WITH FELIX.
What the Autocrat Has to Say OF
the Coming Styles-Sweet Sim
plicity to Be the Rule-The Louis
XIV. Coat in High Favor,


the Coming Styles-Sweet Sim
piicity to Be the Rule-The Louis
XIV. Coat in High Favor.
st. Louis Post-Dispateh Paris Letter.
| had lengthy chat with the great
G.sFelix himself one pleasant day last
week. And these are some of the little
things the autocrat said:
"The present style of woman's garb
is infinitely more graceful and more ar
tistic in every way than ever before. I
am proud to think, too, that l have
done so much toward bringing it into
vogue.
Every inch of superintendent dra-
perry is mistake in my eyes. and all
trimmings which have not, as it were,
their rajsOn d'etre are to be tabooed.
Indeed, | would rather see a woman
clothed i'll the plaineSt gown run up by
her maid than clad in the complicated
arrangements in fashion q few years
ago."
In answer to my query as to what he
thought of the much-discussed train for
street wear, he said:
lit Is very graceful fashion. and |
admire it on these women who know
how to wear it. With lady of delicate
taste 1t matters not whether her skirts
train or barely touch; she will lift them
IN either case. for skirts of any length
will become defiled on unelean pave
ments unless lifted a bit, and when a
woman knows how to do it gracefully
there is no prettier action"
Among hundreds Of other things, he
said:
1.-THE Louis XIV. coat l still hold in
htcrh II
my finest effects through it. 1t has SO
many variations, and can be changed so
often, and yet in embryo remain the
same. There is no form of bodice so
highly becoming to slight figures, and
none which can be used tastefully i'll so
many different fabrics. 1t is worn in
ball and reception and street gowns,
changing only in the material and the
trimming.
For the coming winter season crepes
are to be used extensively, both in wool
and silk, and there is no prettier ma
terlal; 1t hangs so gracefully and
adapts itself to the figure SO exauis-
itely.
''Jet hold above all other garnitures
tor beauty and richness. l use it on
every kind of fabric, from gauze to
broadcloth." And he showed ME an
exquisite creation in rose-petal pink
gauze. made with full skirt over a
fourreau slip of pink tatfeta. 1t had a
powdering of tiny cabochons or jet COW
ering the twelve-inch hem and a fiounce
OF the most delicate lace slightly yelling
their brilliancy in cOquetish hide-and-
seek fashion.
The full gathered bodice was decollete
and finished with a jetted Swiss belt,
from which hung deep fringe of jet
gobules.
One of his broadcloth gowns, garnished
with jet, was of dark beliotrope and
made IN the oldest way Imaginable.
The coat was long and curved oddly
over the hips at the bottom, ending in
points at the front and coat-tails at the
back. The high collar rolled away beau
tifully from the throat and was edged
with whirl of black ostrich feathers.
The jet covered the coat in point to
the waist, both back and front, and
running UP over the collar. The skirt
was bell-shaped and perfectly fourreau.
an unusual department i'll skirts of
present Paris gowns. The hat, which
accompanied this lovely gown. was in
turban shape, with jetted brim and
soft velvet crown of heliotrope, with a
mass OF nodding black ostrich tips
tumbling over the back.
Another one of his latest gowns, and
which, by the way, is intended for a
well-known New York belle, is of Bed
ford cord, in dull green, embroidered
III delicate braids OF pale blue and
black. 1t has very long coat bodice,
which fits over the hip without side
seams and fastens inyisibly down
the front. The sleeves are full on
the shoulder and fit snugIy about
the wrist, with little embroidered
cuffs. The throat is finished by roll
ing collar, the skirt is trained. and is
trimmed with the blue and black braid.
The nat to accompany it is of dull-green
felt, with pouff of pale-blue crepe and
a stiff aigrette of black quilts trimming
the back. Altogether it was about as
Frenchy an affair rs have yet seen in
this place of wOndrouS feminine "trip
peries.
After showing me these modern frocks
Felix went on to speak of the fashion
able celors.
MENTION" lie said. NEARLY everything
in the way of colors goes this season,
although browns and dull green's and
the heliotrOpeS are IN the front ranks of
popularity just now, and threaten to
hold their own into the winter. Wide
stripes and tartan plaids are growing in
favor, and they please me, especially
the tartans, for there is nothing brighter
or more cheerful than one of them on a
winters day trimmed with bands of
bear fur, with braided frogs fastening
the coat.
Embroidered velveteen gowns in
dark rich colors are coming into vogue,
and are exceedingly elegant when
trimmed with sealskin or any of the
short dark furs.
Everything that savors OF the mill
tary in street toilettes is considered very
smart Just now, and | have large num-
Der of orders for very daring scarlet
coats with black and gold embroidery.
Little hussar hats with smart cockades
are worn with them, and they are very
stunning. When worn for driving they
do not seem as loud as one might be led
to suspect from the description.