St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-02-25
THE FASHION OF FUR.
Solution of the Problem of How
to BE Pretty Though Cold.

Solution of the Problem of How
to Be Pretty Though Cold.
There are still few problems which
to the average woman remain I'M
solved and unsolvable. Year after year
they force themselves upon the atten-
ton of the feminine population in
turns, and the aspect of collective
womanhood proves that the riddle is
still unread. Each season has it's own
peculiar Tantalus, and in this midwin-
ter the question which clamors for an
answer with especial insistence is how
to be pretty though cold. To be fas-
cinating when your teeth are chatter
ing, and the milk and roses of your
checks are siclzlied DER with a pale
tinge Of blue, would tax the charms OF
a Ninon de PEnclos, and as for the
women whose powers of pleasing evap-
crate under adverse conditions, they
SILVER through the winter festivities,
depressed by the painful consciousness
that the good impression theysucceeded
in producing in the time OF roses will
have faded before the thermometer gets
anywhere near zero. In spite OF the
pretty pictures in the Christmas num-
bers of dainty damsels and robin red
breasts smiling through snowstorms
beauty. By no stretch of the magma
ton can one picture a chilly Venus or
dream of fair women within the Arc
tic circle. The feminine flower, like
the others Of the worlds garden, only
blossoms in the sun.
There are many strangely hideouS
garments that claim to be specifics
against cold, but in most cases the
remedy is infinitely worse than the dis
ease. 1t is better. from the artistic
point of view, to SILVER in cambria and
lace than to snatch ignoble warmth
from such atrocities as natural WOOL
and the like. It is possible, however,
to procure garments in which every
principle of beauty is not ruthlessly
sacrificed to what is popularity called
hygiene. Of these, the first and the
most beautiful is fur; for not only does
it feel warm, but it looks warm, and is
universally becoming. All women DO
look we'll in fur. 1t makes rich, soft,
tender frame for their faces, besides
celebrating any irregularities Of form,
while it also takes the discredit of any
overopulence. should such exist. In
the winter, decidedly fur is the gar
ment of garments for me.
Winters may come and winters may
go, but sealskin in various forms goes
on forever, regardless of fashions va
carries and Independent of it's laws.
Sealskin is, in fact, one of the very
few materials that is always Ia
mode, never relegated like it's fellows
to the limbo of lost faVoriteS; and, al
though coat of good quality is rather
an expensive investment, the fact that
it can be worn at any time and on any
occasion during the greater part Of the
year more than justifies the initial
outlay. My own dear sealskin rejoiceS
this year in bishop sleeves Of caracule,
a fur which is at the zenith of it's pop
ularity just now. Being comparatively
cheap and very effective, L cannot
prophesy for it anything but a short
life and a merry one. 1t does not,
moreover, possess that desirable, if I'M
interesting, quality of durability; but
as a trimming, combined either with
sealskin or chinchilla, or in the form
of a short cape lined with rich bro
cade, it is worthy of at least moment
airy patronage. Chinchilla is also en-
joying the SURFACES of the smart, and
for those happy women who can wear
grey there is nothing softer or pref
tier than it's silvery tones. 1t is at its
best when used as revers to a cloth or
fur coat so that the beautiful mark
ings of the animal can be seen. But
in spite Of all rivals, sables and mink
hold their own with tenacity, and the
shop windows are still decorated with
dozens CT limp little beasts that have
been butchered to make our modish
holiday. Some sentimental people take
exception to the presence of the head
in their sable ties. They call it an inhu-
man ornament, and instead affix Il
tail where no tail ought to be. L fear,
however, the poor little sable does not
feel any better for being decapitated.
1t has died for beauty in a very lit
eral sense, and there's an end ont: I'M
less, indeed, one adds flowers, lace,
and other irrelevances, which, from the
animals point of view, must be like
adding insult to injury.