The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-03
BRILLIANT MOCK GEMS.
0oRGEo US JE Wells ron M EN- At
A sEIGHT EXPENSE,

paste, Is rsmark that one hears - thar
nowadays. a woman enters the street cara and
adjusts . glittering pin in her gown or be, with
echar" Steristic pull or two and her neiahbor
oppo ptc whispers. Pastel" She poes TO church
s"'. The woman In tho pew behind nudges her
" 'so@nu ana nodding to the gorgeous jewelled
'omb In front Of her whispers, "Pnste. and in
church too" forgetting that the buckle at her
own waist Is OF the same quality. Finally she
enters her box Mt the opera and the men think
tnat her diamond or pearl tiara or the strings
OF pearls about her neck make her look quite
!taVishing, but the women around tho horseshoe
IAuHh IN their sleeves and say to themselves
WI" WV" a shrug OF their pretty bare shoulders,
"Ah. ha! more pastel"
Ana they are right nine times out of ten. Less
thhh ten years ago It was considered a great
srror or taste for n woman to wear mock gems:
1owl IL Is considered bad taste not TO wear them,
Even nve years ago II one woman detected an
'other with n string OF pearls which were really
only pearl beads, or n hairpin studded with
gems which were not genuine. she generally
said. "Oh, how vulgar Mrs. Oldrlch Isl! Would
you b'l!eve IL, she wears imitation jew.lry ~
l"-oay II she sees Mrs. Oldrich without a few
uo' On mock gcmseh he exclaims in disgust, "How
DC hind the times she isl"
1t all began about a year ago, this craze for
paste jewels said a woman in charge of the
department of a dry goods store famous among
'S"oii NUInen Tor SuCn things. These thinRg
are oil made in France. and when the French
people began to become really very skilled In
their art three or four years ago, and to send
over specimens that could scarcely be distin-
Rulshed from genuine gems by experts, the
women commenced to hang over the jewelry
counters in the dry goods stores. for they and
'he small importing hou ses are the only
ones that carry this line OF goods.
ono can readily see how jewellers could
nOt afford tn In on First tbpv pp1N aIr mi
Ard declared that it would be- impossible for
rhem TO wear cheap Jewels. | am really amused
when | think of then and now. Then a woman
came in. caught sight of the beautiful brooches,
hairpins, combs, slipper buckles, and other
'articles. and after looking them over carefully
wouid say. hesitatinglv:
I bcse nro not real, of course
W. they arc not real the clerk generally
ansv cred.
" Why, who in the world would wear them p
1 ) the customers next question.
oh. the ladies viii all take to them sooner
or later. for such things are the rage in Paris
indifrerently from the clerk.
They certainly are clever limitations and the
designs are the very best. wonder IL anybody
could tell them from genuine stones2 Any wav
i think I'll take this turquoise brooch set in
pearls home to my cook. She would be i'm
mensely pleased. You know, and 1t is a beauty
o she would trot with the brooch. Give II
to the cook? Not much. She would begin by
wearing it at home in the evenings; then she
would venture out 10 the theatre with It nest
ling in among laccs ard ribbons, and as her
friends one by one stopped to admire IL she
grew bOldcr and wore the ornament on the
street. Now n woman comes in, saws openlv.
Let me see paste buckles or buttons or pins or
mar ornaments selects what she wants, and
wears them without the slightest feeling of nm.
ens ness FOR she knows that it is the correct
thing TO do.
THE first mock gems that tie women took
to were set in jewelry. Abo at twelve months
ago came the jewelled bn tons, At first the
women said no. and for >. few months they went
begging. Then somebody discovered that they |
really added very zach to evening waists made |
OF 'hinon' ch"nr, cable or Dresden silk. and now
IT'S reauy mar I to supply the demand for jew
elIea oCt'onI They are sold by the pieces. just
As le"e'r' is and vary in price from 81 cents
e"ch - $3.50 and So each. Some are
no '<Grr than ear screws and look very
M" n like them, while others are almost as large
IA silver dollar. The enamelle buttons set
IN rhinestones were the most popular for a
while. hut now comes an openwork enamelled
button. something on the fleur-de-lis design.
that is all the rage. II Is studded with mock
GEM OF different colors, and those set In oil
vines. anethysts, Rarnrts. sapphires, and rhine
Dresden silks. They cost So 10 each.
Buttons ornamented with miniatures set in
favor. They are very laTgs. and a sto9, woman
decorates a chiffon waist with six Of the con-
very Frenchy" while a thin woman namen
Lne sleeves; collar, and yoke of n gown with six
s am "eo 1p ,a asy' vs How sf efrect Gns'"n' set In pearls
THE solid rhinestone buttons come in all
aud some OF them have a huge pearl in
fhe centre or small ones scattered here, and
hut the paste gems are made up especially for
that purpose and are of a little better quality.
were so in love with their brilliant ornaments
that they wanted more. and now the more COR
more stylish it is. They not only fasten their
waist belts with teweiled buckles, but also use
ana At the waist and also on skirts. Sometimes
dozen small rhinestone buckles are used on
and come in all shapes and designs. some are
.sSSt in single md others in double rows.
:Icesdi1ely dark ,oIidjSed silver, so dark. in
truth, that 1t looks like wrought iron. They
ing. gowns until the Oriental buckles made
their appearance. These are enamelled and
think OF. They are massive. and appear To great
advantage on tnrlor-made or at-home gowns.
finest and most clever limitations are used in
1%ewelry, the next in hat ornaments and buckles;
buckles used In millinery are as gorgeous as the
hats Themselves this season. For q long while
on oni h % o Now '" ONE ssss a al" big RR%f rSpti GgHf Seetic,
studded with red, white, blue, pink; yellow, and
iiSsto1 or I tSrSs coiors in other ' hat ernament Z.
These are frequently used in the centre
of %Iosettes on gowns, or slippers. and on collars
and neck ribbons. What could be ~prettier than
this tropical flower ehameled in delicate shades
of green. and with tho point Of each tiny petal
set with Il different COlored stone2 IL looks like
a double star, and II n rich woman wore IL at
her throat every, one would talk about the mag
nifcence OF II. But let II poor woman put IL on
and see every one view IL with skepticism.
And that reminds me, Ono day n very
pretty eustomer . young lady, came IN here
with II married sister. They were anything but
rich, but they had an account here, and we're
charming. refined people. 1t was Christmas
eve. and they caught sight of the paste jewels
and stopped to admire them. The girl went
into ecstasios over an opal heart set IN rhine
stones. Really IL WAS ono of the most perfect
limitations | ever saw, and nothing in one of our
finest jcwelrY houses ever looked more beRutl-
full than that heart did az II g~listened in the
Raslight. The young woman seemed rs II she
must have il, and her sister said: