The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1897-01-30

There is one trunk of which she never
loses sight in all her wanderings. She
has it brought to her stateroom on
board ship and keeps an eye out for it
ct stations where baggage is trans
ferred. In this she carries at least one
gown of each Of the three classes, and is
ready on the shortest notice to receive
or be received by anybody at any sort
Of function-on q pinchI But far be il
from this chronicler to imply that she
could exist with only one elementary
representative Of each class!
Woman is nothing if not revolutionary
In matters of dress. and, once given a
genus, she Immediately sets to work
developing species and families and
classes until it is almost as difficult to
trace it back to the original as it is for
scientists to discover the missing link.
Take the indoor costume, for exam-
pie. Nothing could be more ambiguous
tq the highly-developed modiste than
this term.
IDS You want your robe for recep-
tiOns, or for your boudoir? To receive
ladies' or gentlemen? For morning.
noon or night?' are a few of the u
tiOns which she asks in the same tone
that the salesgirl assumes when you ask
ito see her ribbons and she responds,
with a look Of resignation: what
color?" and "How wide ?"
Among the dresses for indoor wear
there are gowns which man, outside the
family, never sees. They are the soft,
howingrobes what Bernhardt and Meth
ersole wear in their favorite plays, but
which the woma in real life of the
present period limits to the confines of
her boudoir-the more's the pity, since
nothing SO nearly approaches the ar
tistic simplicity of the Grecian maid.
# the flowing robes are made of bro
caded silk Of a sufficiently heavy
texture to stand u away from the
figure, they are admissible as receiving
gowns or teagowns for a married lady.
Even military personages are received
by the ladies of the garrison in such
robes as these. A tea gown of lavender
silk with cascades of white lace down
the front was a great contrast to the red
coats and brass buttons of the British
soldiers at the garrison, but it gave
them a glimpse of home life which
must have set their hearts yearning for
their sisters and their cousins and their
aunts, and It was very evident that
this dark-haired hostess of 40 was G
greater favorite with the lonely, home
less soldier than the colonel's pretty
daughter of IS
A pretty five-o'clock tea gown for a
married hostess is a princess robe of
glace silk. The gown fits the figure at
the back and sides, but is draped loose
~ and gracefully across the front, leav-
ing only a suggested outline Of the fig
ure, and fastens at the left side with a
large chou of wide ribbon from which
hangs a cascade Of guipure lace. Epau-
let's of the same guipure are gathered
over the puffs of the sleeves. The yoke
and collar are formed of velvet ribbon
radiating from neck to shoulders, and
the sleeves have a finish of lace at the
wrist. All tea gowns should be stiffened
up the back of the skirt, as it is quite
as necessary that they hang properly
as any street or ball gown.
Indoor gowns for young ladies are
simple dresses in which the material of
the waist may be the same as the skirt,
and an afternoon dress usually is-orit
may be a light silk of mousseline with
p dark skirt, a costume which is always
appropriate for the reception of gentle
men in the evening. To avoid the APP
pearance of e~laborateness some young
ladies prefer q dark waist with light
ribbons to brighten il up. The colonel's
daughter at the garrison wore accor-
deon plated founces of stiff null on
the shoulders of her dark blue brocade
waist. There were three founces over
each shoulder, with dark blue ribbons
running across the front and back OF
the bodice, forming a yoke.
The lady Of Che eve trunks came