The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-02
W0MAS'S DAINTY NOTIONS.
ONE MANS oHRIsTMAS QUEsT OF
A sILk P~ETTICO4T.
Tho newest Use of Delicate Prrn,me-FashiO

" No"u w AEts- ~ "Nuu NV ha''N
silver Sponge Hoiaers-Care Of Velvet.
Great difficulty is always experienced Mt
Christmas and New Years in bestowing gifts.
Tho receiver never imugines what Thought,
what mental struggle, and. in many eases, what
physical effort the giver has undergone In
making a choice and buying n present. Es.
pccially is this truo in cases whore mon bcstow
Rifts on their women friends or relatives.
Everybody knows that the average man would
rather spend n whole day with his dentist,
oven IL his teeth arc sensitive. than
u quarter G. an hour in q big dry goods store.
But the spirit Of giving gets into man around
the holidays. and he is willing to do anything TO
please tho one he loves tho best of all, even IL
that neccssitatos n round Of tho shops. This
Christmas it was quito a fad to give silk petti.
coats. Indeed. they are made so fine these days
that they nre a luxury instead of q necessary,
as formerly, and not only did women buy or
make thcm for women, but men gave them to
women, too.
81 was particularly anxious to get n Christ.
mas present for my wife this year that would
please her" snid one man. land l began about
n week before Christmas to try to find out
just what she wantod. I sounded her on rings,
pins, a lorgnon. a gold purse, and n dozen other
things that / could step into II jewelry
store and got in ten minutes without risk
to life or limb. But no, sho didn't want
any jewclry. because she didn't think we could
afford 1t. in tho first place. and again
sho didn't care much for such jilncracks, but
she would like n handsome silk pctticoGt. OF
course she said. even The richest women
nowadays admit that the silk unlerskirt is y
luxury, but a woman can't 20 without a petit
coat. and that fact will ease my conscience; and
I do so want n real elegant one she ended,
pathctically.
~ made up my mind then and there that she
should not only have ono, but two; and that l
would go TO Swell s. Bears that very day and
get them. Tho more I thought about it the
harder it was for mt to make up my mind to do
it. l felt as il I'd rather buck up against Kid
Mccoy in tho ring than go to the silk petit
coat department and ask to see skirts. I kept
putting it off until the day before Christmas
came round. and I braced up with three cock.
tails and made my way to Swell s. Bears. l
was trembling all over when I asked to DO
directed to silk petticoats. and when l
got to that department l knew I'd rather meet
the Kid than to be there. There were Mt least
5O0-what do you think-5OO men around that
counter buying silk skirts for their wives,
daughters. and sisters. They were brandishing
the skirts in the air. and yelling like half
drunken cowboys. and the rustic that resulted
would have satisfied even Sorosis. | fought my
wanted and Joined in tho brandishing and yell.
ing. held on to my skirts but It was an honr
fsei;ns | F ns TP''ff@ FL on be e@a e eyyoa dnat iI"f in | T ihs
silk petticoat business, 1 knew all about plat.
ings aud frills and pinking. and about the silk
and that which wore forever but wouldn't rustic:
Was I paid for my pains! Well. il you could
have seen my pretty little brown.eyed wife sit.
the other and a pretty little dressing sacquc. You
dr.ss skirt for dinner"
Every man WHO gave a woman a silk skirt for
Christmas should feel himself repaid for his
pains in getting it. There is something about
this garment that every woman loves. No mat.
ter how poor she is, even il she is so poor that
| she has only one petticoat to her back. IL it is n
silk ono with a lot of rustic to it she has II feel
dons it.
Some people say that it is vulgar 10 have any
perfume whatever, no matter how sweet, about
the person or clothing. Others contend that n
delicate perfume is a mark OF daintincss. Be
that as 1t may. nearly every woman likes to
have her undertaking, gowns, gloves. hand
kerchief, and stationery emit n faint breath OF
| sweetness of some kind, and men like ii in wo-
men too. Once let n man associate n certain
alluring perfume with n certain woman and no
| never separates the two in his mind. II
it is violet he always thinks of her when
he gets a Whit of the scent of violcts; if
rose. she comes to him whenever he smells that
flower. even IL many years and thousands of
miles are between them. Those who go in for
occultism say thai perfumes have just as much
occult power as gems. Perhaps this is so, per-
haps it isn't: but one thing is certain, and that
is that women are always learning some new
daintier and sweeter than ever before. The
latest fad is for scented clothes hooks. An or
used. Each end is slipped into n long bag made
Of fancy silk and lined with cotton batting
ends OF the bag are SHRED full around the
shank of tho cHtender. or are tied with ribbons
necessity for renewing the powder. Boaiccs
hung on these scented offenders get just enough
wearer wish That It was a little stronger Sp4 And
that is the secret OF using perfumes properly.
Styles change frequently in mems visiting
cards as well as in womcn's, and there has been
a marked change lately. Not one married man
ont of ten buys his own cards. and SO wives have
to keep up with the new wrinkles for men as
well as with their own.
For n long time. said an acknowledged au.
| thority on correct stationery, lit has been con-
sidered very bad form for a man not to have
Mr. on tho cards he used in his social life.
Plain business men who always hated the idea
of sticking this title before their names will be
relieved to know that this is not so now. The
newest ards for men arc of tho size known rs
No. 10 or II. They are larger than any used for
say a man named Aigornon Rhinelander Astor.
niit wants HnSrn !Hs ce eFfSsr t .aIger in c' Rhino TIC an1 has "s
Mr. 4. Thin eIander Astorbilt.' The tiilei never
used with tle. Iull name. ana u ard sent
with n present should never have IA title on II.
but the name of the sender in full. Cards for
men and women are a little thicker, than they
were last year. About u two-ply card is most in
demand. The very thin ones did not take as
dealers thought they would; they got out of
shape TOO easily. Men ana women show n lot of
character in the style Of the cards they select.
but that is another story. and 1t is a long one"
Word comes from Paris that the newest orna-
mcnt Tor feminine wear is n tiny 1.-Two turtle.
The turtle is dressed up in gold orsilvcr harness
md attached % the wearer by u long chain and
pin. This gives the pet considerable liberty.
and he crawls about over the neck. shoulders,
and arms of his owner nj win. Tho Partisan
women say that ~ wcll.hrcd turtle is most com
puninnab!o. Turtles have al advantage over
| The rharnclcons that caught tho fancy Of NO
mankind several winters ugo, for their tails are
not so cnsily hrokOn md they can stand any
amount of dissipation on tho p'rt of their
wcarors, without injury to their physical we'll