The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-19
CLOTHES AT THE HORSE SHOW
Display of Elegant American Gowns
Feather Buster Effects in Hats.
New YORK Evening sur.

Display of Elegant American Gowns
Feather Buster Effects i'm Hats.
New York Evening Sun.
Never was the array of gowns more beau
tiful and brilliant Thanks to the fog in
your throat. and for that matter in every
thing else, even in the arena of the Madi-
soE-square Garden, an English accent was
almost inevitable yesterday There was
nothing English about the clothes on ex-
hibition in that same garden, however. They
were daintily, richly, smartly, elegantly
American, than which no higher praise can
be given, and they demonstrated that in
| spite of superstitions as to unlucky num-
| bers the thirteenth show WILL like its
| predecessors, stand an oracle in matters
of dress. Dressmakers and milliners may
pin their faith to it as of yore. Country
| cousins, yes, and sisters and aunts and the
| Whole tribe will be we'll repaid by taking
| special trip in order to peep at the
| gorgeous display, and last. but not least,
| the metropolis, both the looked at and the
lockers at may feel they have not lived and
| gone to the horse show in vain The patron
saint of the show, by the way, has never
yet been named, but should the matter ever
come up, without doubt the honor will fall
| upon her to whom it is justly due, to her
who may be said to have instituted the
| der of dress and thus made the horse show
| possible-Mother Eve.
| One of the best dressed women in the
| place last evening was a slender brown
| haired girl wearing gown of dead black
velvet. There wasn't sign of lace or hint
| OF color to relieve the soft severity of the
| toilet, but upon the stock at one side flashed
big diamond brooch. This alone made the
girl remarkable. Most of the women wore
brooches by the dozen. Her hat big and
pluIny, was ali BLACK Ioo Her gloves were
"nlLe. pretty naXen-naired sIrI wore d
gown OF pane gray CASHMERE embroidered in
gray ana much tucked. There was an
elongated heart-shaped vest or pale yellow
SILK ninety tucked, and this yeIioW reap
peared at the wrists. The accompanying
nat was gray, with masses of white pIuines.
A tallor-maue girl was clad in a SLEEK back
cloth gown, the poolce OF which was in the
front ornamented with a succession of
reverS OF white MORE. These were edged
| with several rows OF silver braid and cnln-
| chllIa. Chinchilla, by the way, is the pelt
par excellence OF the horse show this year.
| IL is applied Unfortunately to everything
a ooo4ce OF violet clinton, tor instance,
mounted upon white satin and gay with
git appiiques was weighted with narrow
Strips OF Chlnchllla-doWn the front, across
| the epauIetS, round the simulated jacket
| and at the wrists and throat-whereVer
there was an available edge there was the
chlnchllla also. gown charming by rea-
| son OF its inconspicUousness, but which well
repaid scrutiny, was of dull tan color, in
| upon blue silk. Much of the bodice and the
| sleeves entire made use of an open-work
| embroidery of precisely the same tan tint
| as the canvas, but showing the blue founda-
| ton with more frankneSS A dainty little
| frock of silver gray silk made no attempt
| at decoration beyond the silver cording that
and the panels of it's skirt.
In the afternoon the full length ulster
| redlngote generally In biscuit color box
| cloth and guitless of any adornment save
| the row upon of print-like stitching
and the big pearl buttons down the front
| was a striking feature of the dress display.
| 1t looked eminently smart and sportsWom-
| ankle, and was especially becoming to the
| many tall girls in evidence. Both in the
| afternoon and evening were their several
| manifestations that the Paris fashion of
| women dressing in pairs has reached this
| city. some half-dozen braces of this sort
| We're to be SEEM and although to the I'M
tutored mind they We're strongly suggestive
| posted gazed upon them with an ardor that
| showed 1T was the proper thing. 1t was
| Significant that these dressed-in-p pair wom-
en- seemed to think one escort sufficient for
| the TWO of them. Freak toilets were not
| lacking. The show ran the gamut of every
sort OF dress. There We're plenty of women
| VINO looked as though they had dressed for
sea voyage, and lots more who were done
| up in WaterproofS in true rainy-day STYLE
ror the most part; OF course, such as these
| were confined to the crowd that circled the
/ arena. The boxes and best quality of re-
| served seats, however, did what they could
10 enllven the scene, so that, from what
| ever point of view, nobody could call the
show failrue. There were almost as many
| grotesque toilets on view as there were
stunning ones. Never, surely, have there
| been SO many different kinds of clothes at
a single session of the horse show Va
| rlety-that was the striking thing, and it
| was the spice of the occasion, just as it is
| or life. For example there was the woman
IN the military-looking cuirass of jet and
| the unmilitary-looking skirts of accordion
Killed black net. BY way of adding to the
| hilarity of the costume, her velvet sleeves
| were of cherry velvet, concert pitch in color
and much wrinkled from wrist to shoulder
| Several sunbursts adorned her stock also
| Of cherry-colored velvet, while a big hat
| cherry-colored velvet frills gave the finish
| ing touch. 1t was in Sthe headgear that
| eccentricity seemed to find the fullest play
You might have supposed that it was a
company Of club women. A pair of bon
0ets t to the right Of the orbit
| deprived every behoder of speech. The re-
spective owners of these bonnets occupied
separate boxes and had apparently nothing
millinery was unmistakable. One bonnet
had for its principal ingredient a twist of
arm This was festooned about the
wearers brow. 1t had no crown. A con-
glomeration Of pink roses dropped over one
| ear, while upon the other rose a handsome
| feather buster in pure white. The other
bonnet had an outspreading uprising decor
alton that spread its sails like the points of
| which, whatever it's actual material, looked
| as though it were made of fish scales and
| of brim and a cap. of gold beads by way
| of crown completed this millinery marvel.
| 1t was a wonder that the horses had the
face to show themselves at all with it in
the garden. Nothing but the greatest equine
| effrontery could have risked 1t. Feather
duster effects were noticeable in all the mil
linery-not modest, translucent aigrettes,
such as were worn last year, but out-and-
| out unitarian cockades measuring feet in
stead of inches in height and so Opaque
that it would be much easier to see through
a milestone. Setting hen effects were also
an entire fowl upon hat this year, more
looked like nothing so much as the old
fashioned China chickens in which boiled
eggs used to be served for breakfast. Muffs
ernoon and evening every woman with the
slightest pretension to smartness carried
one, and in spite of the excelsior-like mer-
curry. The muffS were mammoth in size.
The biggest one to be seen in the afternoon
was brandished by a girl wearing a wash
shirtwaist and who found 1t necessary to
remove her jacket. The woman who at
tracted most attention in the course of the
afternoons performance was one attired in
a short black topcoat and a big black hat,
while round her heels trailed flowing skirts
of pale gray lined with rose color TIE
woman didn't enter a box. She just strolled
around the circle several times. and most
of the time she held the silk-lined train in
one hand. Neither she nor her escort
seemed to think there was anything out Of
the way in her looking as though she had
inst steDped out of her bOudOir in a tea