The Jersey City news., 1892-02-09
DRESS AS AN ART.
Great Possibilities for
Beauty in Materials
Which Fold Easily.
HID Gus SII.F PANELS CONDEMNED
Gowns Should Fall From the Shoul-
ders and BE Confined by
Betting.


it is not yet born. For art, of wha
sort, must draw its inspiration from ma
ture, but the women who devote them
selves to dress are wasting their time in
the study of fashion books. An art OF
dress cannot be created in this way. II a
painter, wanting to produce landscape,
should copy tree from one chrome and
sky from another, aud so on until his
canvas is covered, he could not be called
an artist. The women say that it is
necessary to follow the fashion. But ac-
cidents of cut are not fashion.
All that is important to know of fash
ion is the general tendency of essen
tials. There is fashion in painting, too.
Tn Q artists of today do not paint like
those of years ago. but no painter would
think of initiating another mans work
in order to put himself in sympathy
with his time. He submits himself to
the influences about him, but his study
| is nature and his expression Is Origl nal.
This same thing we must do In dress II
we are to produce artistic results. we
must study forms, textures. colorS and
| the conditions under which the garment
| is to be worn. not fashion plates, anil We
must do it with minds informed of the
| laws of beauty.
When we understand this we shall per-
| haps see the birth of the art of dress.
| But do not let us make any mistake 1t
| is not sufficient to look back with admir-
| ing eyes at the dress of the Greeks. We
must ask what causes It's beauty, and
| with the knowledge gained, produce
something original in harmony with our
modern life. The hiudrance to doing it
lies, fancy, just here. Causes are alb
| = ,ay.oli " f,FN N Snn nr
not students. Those that are, are occu-
pied with other subjects. This may ex
plain why a subject of such lively interest
| to half the world is as yet without any
aesthetic development
ARTISTIC MATERIALS.
Immense possibilities for beauty lie
waiting in materials till we learn how to
develop them. The single proposition
that folds should obey the laws which
control their texture opens up rich field.
When we have learned to work 1t we
shall cease constraining textures into
forms unnatural to Them, oy lnings. ana
Writings, and seamings, and shall permit
them to fall so as to exhibit their own
nature, When we know a little more we
shall cease sewing upon our gowns ugly
machine ade trimmings. whose only
effect is just such a display OF itself as
the shop counters afford, and learn to de-
velop from the cloth its ornamental quail
tiles. We know very little about the
beauty there is in wrinkled drapery
when the texture leads itself-accordlon
pIaits pressed indiscriminately into every
kind of fabric mean nothing, except that
we have looked at the Niobe and learned
no lesson. In knots and in folds drawn
into soft ropes to bind the drapery TO the
figure; in such ends that fall and overlap,
like wings folded down, and give in
subtle lines a varied surface of light ana
shade. Iu these there is an inhn1ty OF
beauty all untouched.
Are these things not of more pleasure
to the eyes than idiotic panels and passe-
menteries, even though arranged by II
Worth? The great Partisan dressmakers,
il one may judge by this work seen in
New York, owe this eminence not to art,
but to skill in dressing novelties. A well
known New York woman recently
received from Felix an evening
gown which had band Of passementer-
les sewed down the middle of the gored
front breadth. The rest of the dress cor
responded with this imbecility. There is
no art here; there is only imbecility.
When women begin to study beauty
for the sake of dress, the results are
likely to show first in evening garments,
which are freer than any other from con-
ditions OF utility. Also the women who
wear them have wealth. which gives ad-
vantages of knowledge, as well as choice
of mpterial
EVENING DRESS
Concerning evening dress, it ought to
refer its weight to the shoulders. This is
especially required for a dress of leisure.
so that it will be in harmony with its sur
roundings. The painters, ii they have
done little for dress, have at least shown
US this. Such dress should have in it no
suggestion of effort, and it is at the
shoulders that gravity Is resisted most
easily. The bodice that clings round the
waist, with only incidental assistance
from the shoulder-resisbing gravity by
lightness-is manifestation OF effort,
and out of place in the drawing room. Its
prototype is the peasants waist. 1t
peaks Of labor.
A yoke or fillet about the shoulders
should be the source of all the lines and
the centre OF strength OF the evening
gown, thus IL will have unity and repose.
Aud this can be done without departing
from fashionable lines. There is no sign
that fashion understands this source of
| beauty, but yet one sees 1t here and there
stumbled ON by accident. in modish
gowns.
In place of the usual gathered lace or
other soft yielding outline which de-
stroys the character of the garment by
making weakness where strength Is
needed, there should be collar of gems
| in substantial setting, or a binding OF
| strong texture, as of velvet, or u fillet OF
| intel wined strands, to uphold the dra-
| perfe6 or lace or OUn6r uellcnCe him. InlS
| fillet must not be so low but that it
is we'll supported upon the shoul-
ders. A strong texture is some
| times as effective as u stronger texture
| as rose pink, or brown, TO pale pink
| draperies; but the deep color must be re-
served for the fillet alone, as If used else
where on the garment all its meaning
| will be lost.
| The garment may be in one, piece or
| two. but its confinement to the waist
| should appear to be by betting and not
| by curved in seams.
An artistic gown is made of crepe de
| chine The tillet about the neck is made
| of intertwined and knotted sashes, and
from it the garment. finely plated, ap-
pears 10 hang in one piece, bound about
| the waist by soft ropes of the same ma
| terial, knotted for strength.
| Not all fabrics can be used in this way,
| but only those whose nature is to lie in
! wrinkled folds. Cloths with tendency
| to smoothness, that springs out of folds
| as soon as constraint is removed. such as
| cashmere, for instance, are uns suitable tc
| this treatinent.-Ada BCche- Cone In the
Philadelphia Inquirer.
| Some Curious Truths.
| There are number of societies Ia the
| world that bear strange Names but
\