St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-24
GENIUS OF FASHION.
The Architect of Tailor-Made
Girls Selects Spring Pat
terms.
A Few Of the Most Becoming
Fully and Felicitously
Described.
Monsieur lie Baron Attempts
to Pump Redfern for In
formation.
Stripes Will Be Quite Often
Seen Fitting in the Mad
ding Crowd.


NEW YORK, Jan. 22.-Redfern, az I
think have remarked before, is not as
fluent on dress matters as ladies would
like him to be. He now and then drops
stray prophetic remark or two about
the length of coats, the width of shout
derS in the dim and semi-distant future
OF next summer, but his remarks are
often ambiguous. and, although he has
a nonchalent, knowing sort of air as he
sits in his stately Fifth avenue salon,
surrounded by distinguished com nit
tee of saleswomen and filters, it is ex-
tremely difficult to get at the accum ula-
ton of knowledge which lies behind it.
saw this rare botanical specimen (the
blue roses of life are rare, why should
not red-fern be considered FRA "a
avis?'') last week discontentedly finger
ing wonderful assortment of rare fab
RIGS, and dropping words Of wisdom as
he tossed the dainty assortment to right
and left.
'Stripes," he murmured, caressing a
zebra-lke pattern. Stripes will be
seen pretty Often" and he unused long
and lovingly over some startling bits of
brown and pink cloth-the stripes of
these were about five inches broad with
intervals of quite eight inches. Ladies,
be fashionable by all means, be daring,
be original; take Redfern's word for it
that stripes will be the thing, but be
prudent with your stripes. You should
be a daughter of the gods" ''divinely
tall and most divinely, broad" to wear
g rir Of Foe hi ~
Spots the great man pushed from him
with an air Of inetfable disgust. 'tNo
more spots; take them away" and they
took them away
His highest praise was given to an I'M
pretentious coarsely woven material
like sackcloth, and another like gentle
mems shooting coats, sort of smooth,
plant, qulet-looking fabric christened
Immediately "Redfern's knock-about,"
which he predicts will be used largely
for tailor-built gowns in the spring. Gre.
pons plain, crinkied, and as coarse as croc
Odile skin, also with delicate old-world--
like patterns on them, seemed to be the
patterns which he liked for evening
gowns. There was notwithstanding
grenadine with Withholding feather
stripes sewn on. which he said would be
seen in spite of its ugly eccentricity at
many balls this season. Plaids he did
not encourage much, but large, sprawl
ing patterns like SPIDERS webs. leafless
vines. and large, single leaves, in black,
on gray, or biscuit ground, he recon-
mended as s'StyliSh."'
Broadway beauties are already order.
ing chic costumes ON which a winter
breeze appears to have waited two or
three samples of gigantic oak leaves or
stalk of wilted daisy. OF course the
choice of patterns being stubborn
fact" which saw with my eyes, the
description here given of future mate
rails may be depended on. but as to the
manner in which they are to be fash
Toned. that is not SO easy to get at.
In the course of long and rambling
conversation, in which, with diplomatic
warineSs, [ Steered towards future
shapes ana styles, the great man re-
marked that history is apt to repeat
itself, and fashion likewise. Feeling
that his conversational powers were de-
veloping under the genial influence of
my remarks. l waited breathlessly to
hear what this not exactly original state
ment paved the way to. 1t came at last,
after the preparatory ''er-er" with
which an Englishman always leads up
to his subject. The revival of Empire
style and Vatican pleats. These, he
oolu, Win d olSH WHICH, Cdlllc lTClu Tue
heart, or the pocket, were not really
styles which would be welcomed cor
daily by the ladies' talors; but they
would be introduced into all styles of
gowns. With the just appreciativenes
of true genius. he admitted that more
becoming styles never adorned woman's
form, but that the picturesque grace of
these two fashions could not be easily
translated to dollars by man who
builds solid gowns. He then became
suddenly reserved and distant. and con-
versation languished. 1t is the way
with these trade geniuses: they hate to
give themselves away, even to a men,
Der of the fraternity