Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-10-06
GOWNS seen ON THE STAGE
The Tastes in Dress of Popu-
lar Actresses.
LILLIAN RUSSELL AT HER BEST
Difference Between Stage
and Street Costumes.
Some Actresses Dress Well on the Stage
and Poorly for tho Street--"Jane's"
Gorgeous Gowns--Opinions of Nine New
York Tailors--some Oddities of tho
Stage.

Special Cnrrespondenceot Gazette and journal
NEW YORK, Sept. 30,-One would not
be woman if there wasn't time when
one wanted to talk about clothes. And
one wouldn't be very much of a man if
one didn't appreciate Il we'll dressed
woman. The latest fashion suits me to
perfcction-it is the storming of the
town by red-not the dark red, nor dull
red; but warm, glowing, burning red.
1t is fashion TO be encouraged, because
the color is healthy to look at, and be-
cause it throws q good glow on the face
of the wearer 1t may possibly induce
women who are fools enough to put
color on their faces, to present to the
world at large their original selves un-
tainted by the rouge pot and its Access
sories.
THE RAGE FOR RED.
have heard of people worshipping
the sun. | never felt any inclination to
do that, though a man know was nice
enough to say wherever lived was on
the sunny side of Easy street. between
Velvet and Plush avenues; yet as that
was after dinner, it may be taken as u
| compliment to the cook. But can fall
down and worship beautiful piece of
red material. 1t has charm, an indie
Unable one, and am happy to say that
the greatman dressmaker agrees with me
in this. Men like red, babies like red
| and dogs like red; it is true that bulls
don't like red but then you scarcely
would care to spend an evening in the
society of bull.
CREATORS OF THE FASHIONS.
You go to dressmakor and you ask
her something about her clothes-that
is, those she has for sale, for l never saw
. good dressmaker who wore anything
decent herself; and when you talk to her
about well-dressed women, she will
simply speak of the women of the stage.
asked an intelligent one the reason for
this, and she said:
Wen, any tailor or dressmaker will
lay herself out to make their costumes
successes in every sense of the word, for,
though the conservative people NAV
deny it, though the fashionable women
may laugh at it, it is the women of the
stage who make fashions. 1t began
when Worth created all those 1.-THE,
cllnging draperies for Sarah Berhhardt.
lie understood her figure and plays, saw
her possibilities and he dressed her as he
never dressed any other woman before
or since. All the world-that is, all the
slender women of the world-had frocks
made after this style, wore them for tea
gowns and looked charming in them;
but did he make the mistake by putting
such dresses on Jaue Hading or Mrs
Langtry? Certainly not. He realized
that they were women of their time.
and he made them the most magnificent
gowns of their time. For Hading's
brown hair, steel-blue eyes and French
face he used wonderful shades of blue.
odd tones Of pink and soft browns that
delighted. For Langtry's perfect COM
plexion, bronze hair and eyes, never of
the same color, he used dead white, pure
yellows, clear pinks, blues as pure as the
skies, and all the clear tones; both
women having their costumes after the
manner of to-day. Each one has a
beautiful neck and arms, and so they
were revealed, and not suggestion in
the tit was given of the looseness that
pervaded the frocks of the divine Sarah"
JAMES" GORGEOUS DRESSES.
The handsomest dresses in New Yorl,
to-day are worn by tombstone Bennett
m Jane. one is magnificent heavy
silk, bright red, that has coat bodice
with high, tancitul sleeves, and a broad
belt oil red velvet, through which is
stuck diamond dagger. The perfect
fit OF this frock, the lines of the figure
so modestly yet so perfectly displayed,
are lesson to any dressmaker. The
other one which l particularly admire
Is white dotted muslin made up over
white silk, with low bodice of white
and gold brocade laced with gold strings
just in front. BY the by, l want to tell
you something about them. A French
dressmaker always believes in showing
as much as possible of the neck and
bust. And this bodice was cut accord
ingly, but tombstone Bennett refused to
wear it, although her neck is white and
lovely, until modest little tucker of
chiffon had been inserted here in New
York. 1t wasn't anything so ridiculous
as prudishness, it was simple modesty;
she wouldn't expose that much of her
neck to her own friends, and she didn't
propose to do it on the stage. And
tombstone Bennett is one of the best
dressed women on the street in New
York, because she is SO quietly gotten
up that the highest compliment possible
is paid her-nobody seeing her off the
stage would ever think She was an
actress.
ACTRESSES AS GOOD DREssERs.
George Drew Barrymore is another
woman who knows how to dress, and
her clothes fit her Immediately. She
| doesn't make the dire mistake of wear
ing her jewels to breakfast, as is so
| often done by actreSscs-I mean on the
stagc-nor does she come on in walk.
ing suit with satin slippers. Mrs. Barry
more oil the stage is good dresser
that is, she dresses like lady, and she
is one of the most delightful women
that anybody ever spent half an hour
with.
George Cayyan dresses we'll both on
and off the stage, and 50 does Maud
Harrison. Neither Of them make mis-
takes about the characters they are to
assume, and they don't gown country
gentleman's daughter in an elaborate
dinner costume, such as the Princess of
Wales wouldn't wear at family dinner.
sadie Martinez is exquisite in her choice
Of clothes. Looking like bitof old ORES
den china,she affects, properly enough, a
rather elaborate style, and as | don't
think it has ever entered anybody's head
that dainty Sadie Martinez walked, so
one always thinks of her as gotten up
most gorgeously, and reclining in a
Victoria. Virginia Harmed is a good
dresser at times, but in the part she is
playing at present she overdresses and
Is rather too matronly. | have never
seen her but once off the stage, and then
had the same impression-she was too
much dressed. 4 good dresser of the
day time on the streets is the woman
whose clothes are Dprfartlv fittinp ntiipt