New-York tribune., 1898-12-10

|
woman's most important and valuable pos
session. and was looked upon as noble thng
| to transmit to posterity. AS the Empire endeo
| shawls grew less popular. and the caped drlV-
| ing and a hooded and ungraceful garment
| OF fur took their place. Women now covered
themselves thickly to the chin The fan'as'c
| episode Of classic nudity was over
With the restoration CT the Bourbons came a
craze for white attire. Billows OF enowy mushn'
white pumes and wrsaths OF lilies were seen
| everywhere Not many jewels were worn' Out
| the very long and very expensive gloves cost
| almost as much, for quantities OF fresh ones
were necessary for the fire lady Great atten-
! ton was paid TO hairdressing many little curis
| pressed close to the head being fashionanle.
| The sbapes Of hats and bonnets were innumer-
| able and each was more astounding and horri-
bic than the others The waist of the gown re-
| turned 70 its natural place and has never sue
cessfully tried to get under the arms since The
waist grew very small. too and the shoulders
were widened by the big sleeves into the style
which I'm later davs we have revived with I'M
rrovements) as 1880" AS for manners. they
altered in the direction of more formal polite
ness even prudishness. Quiet dignity and DE-
uherate simplicity replaced extravagant show
and bold freedom Of speech; woman demanded
respect as well as adrnirati Brains even ne
came fashionable, for now appeared thdt
Romantic movement which was TO work such
wondrous changes il literature and arr. so
oiety was again broken UP into district classes
as before the Revolution. The mobiles OF the
ancen regime hocked together; so did the mem
hers OF the world Of finance; and artists ana
authors and musicians. more or less wilo-naireu
and explosive waged war against convention.
stiff card parties engaged the leisure or most
elderly people. and there arose In their juniors
a new taste for athleti, exercises The emlgres
had brought back many English customs, ana
horse back riding in the British style pecame
notable fashion. All public entertainers hecafhe
more decent in their utterances. the thea'rica'
censor much stricter The fair farisiah no"
took a most sentimental pose. She longed for
rural retirement, talked of her martyrdoin 10
worldly duties. 10 commonplace routine Dur-
ing her calls upon her friends she discussed not
only pretty clothes and the theatre. but music.
painting and points Of doctrine. She began 10
be ethereal and to hold that the height of good
breeding was to hall starve one self. Her de-
sire for lodge in some vast wilderness with
one kindred soul was combined with passion
for gambling on the Bourse and an equally
strong liking for the excitements Of the theatre
for new religions even for the political speecnes
in the Chamber Of Deputies. In short. What she
wanted was as usual sensation The court palIs'
as refined as they were magnificent, set the pace
for mos. hostesscs. The opera balls In the carry
days Of Louis Philippe's reign were patronizeu p'
the hest society but il was not long before they
deteriorated. The lively young Duchess de
Berry led most of the gayety of the capital.
The "Lionne" the woman Of most perfect
fashion, rose to the surface in lSio-everypou'
used geological terms just then. NJ. Uzanne
notes that Alfred de Musset was the real god
father ard George Sand the true godmotner Oh
this race Of amazons whose audacity and &C.
centricity knew no restraint The Liohne
claimed no end Of independence while stlll Keep
ing her taste for feminine luxury and elegance
She rode. fenced, handled oars ana pistols
equally well. drank punch and SMOKED cigars
She ate hearty meals and gosslpeo mostly ."
sporting subjects The ways of smart" society
were nothing more, it is said. than an eHas-
eerated parody of a certain class Of English
habits
After ls4s the "Lionne" disappeared. and
| there was a season In which Snowy scnooi
drew attention by bold manner and audacous
dress while the danes Of the mysterious
school put on an air of dignifed reserve were
persistently artistic. and dressed themselves ar
ter famous pictures Very full skirts appeared
hut there was as yet no suggestion o: the Iear-
full and horrible crinoline That came IN Win
the Second Empire and inaugurated reign "l
the most unbecoming. unshapey ana taste!ess
fashions that have ever afflicted TINS earuh'
Every law If beauty was disregarded. and Man
has never since ceased to wonder how Woman
could have so completely obliterated her taste
for the graceful and lovely. Cut. colors. trim
ming. everything was ugly, even sweet. fresh
youth was disfgured by its garments and us
ragbag Of rats and curls and 'chlgnons II
is hard 10 realize. as one turns from one plate
TO another. that the Empress Eugene was con
sidered q pretty and wen-dressed woman and,
for that matter. her taste was always ridlcu-
lousv overrated both by her fatterers at home
and by the English and Americans who copied
her dressmaking absurdites In the train or
ugliness came unspeakaple vulgarity and vice
ard tawdriness and artificiality. Dyed hair and
massive iewelry Of hdeous design went with
the appalling garments and the manners or the
time were as bad as its fashions in clothes
With the fall Of the Empire there came another
change ard since that period Of suffering there
has been sure II slow struggle toward real
beauty in dress at least. The artist VIII plead
no doubt that there are many Improvements
yet to be made; but he vii! agree ina, the lines
Of dress that daintily and modestly follow those
Of beautiful figure. the furry collars ana luii'
soft laces and gauzes that ruae round a far
neck ard set off charming face as rose Is set
of by its leaves. steps in the right direction
To assist and embe,iish womans own lovehness
and to conceal the unlovely-to reach the per-
feet finish embodied in the word "chc"-this ap-
pears 10 he the effort OF fashion in these days,
and phiosophic Man must acknowledge that
the result If sometimes only half successful is
encouraging.
AS for feminine habit and feeling in France
for the last twenty years. we VIII leave the
reader to turn IN person 10 NJ. Czanne's pages
He has many severe things TO say and calls
a spade spade, in the usual Gallo way. But