The Elbert County tribune., 1899-08-10
ROYAL ATTIRE.
QUEER IDEAS OF DRESS AMONG
QUEENS.
queen vie'oris of England the Fir.s To
eaten the Costume Reform Fever
Inc Empress OF Ru.sI. spend. Nor,
on Her Wardrobe Than In, o,h.

some years ago Queen Victoria
caught the dress reform fever and
JOINED an association. Although the
queen never astonIshed her court by
appearing in a reformed dress. she
'houshi the idea OF some not too radi-
eai reforms in dress a capital one-at
least Tor the other women. Through
the queens influence the princess of
wales and her daughters became inter
ested, and for a brief season Princess
victoria and the duchess OF Fife ap-
peared upon occasions In garbs that
were at least semi-reformed II can
not be said. however. that they ever
became violently enthusiastic upon the
subject, During the last fifteen years
the princess of Wales has scarcely
varied the fashion of her costumes at
AL Through the ages OF big, puffed
sleeves she clung to small ones. For
the make OF her gowns. the style
known as Princess has always been
adhered to. and no one has ever seen a
picture hat on her head. She wears
only those dainty little bonnets which
Dear her name. Tailor-made frocks
ana Jackets she dotes on. although be-
Tore going into mourning for her
mother she had blossomed out into
very stunning toilets. She does not
iaVor the fashion of high shoulder
Knots, and her ball dresses are made
with the old-fashioned court bodice.
the shoulder strap dropping on to the
arm. The Princess Beatrice's attire Is
apt to be of the simplest description
upon ordinary occasions. One tray-
eler on the continent who had a peep at
queen Victoria and the Princess Bea-
triee wrote home; Nothing could be
palmer than their gowns" The Ger
man empress has well defined ideas
about dress. and once organized a dress
reform order. The empress. however.
Is too fond of fine dressing to carry re-
forms very far. Twelve dressnakers
are kept constantly employed in the
empress tailoring department. as II is
called. under the superintendent of a
lady OF the court. The staff is in
creased to forty at certain seasons
when court festivities are going on or
the empress is preparing for a Journey.
Blue and white are, by the way, the
yearly 100 evening and state dresses.
twice as many carriage and visiting
costumes. and about 15O demi-toilettes
and house dresses-450 frocks all toldi
The sewing machine is an unknown
quantity in the empress tailor shop.
From s25 to $50 a yard is paid for the
silks and satins OF which her dresses
are made. The empress of Russia
spends more on her wardrobe than any
other lady In Europe. Until and for a
short time after her marriage. she
dressed with almost severe simplicity,
but the ladies of the Russian court took
no pains to conceal their disapproval of
the empress Indifference to splendor of
attire, and the result is that her mai
esty Is gorgeous now. Queen Mar
gherita has passion for dainty hand
kerchiefs. and the costllest lace hand
kerchief in the world belongs to her
1t Is valued at 5000. not exorbitant
sum when one considers that three art
lists worked at It for twenty years. It
is so fiimsy that 1t can be folded UP and
placed in gold sheath about the size
of lima bean. The favorite dress OF
queen Oiga OF Greece Is OF blue and
white striped or checked domestic silk,
these being the national colors. and
besides the makers of silk In her realm
have not learned to dye 1t any other
colors. The cast-off demi-toilettes of
royalty and carriage and house dresses
are the perquisites OF the head woman
OF the bedchamber who. after making
a selection for her own use. sells them.
They are not allowed to be resold as
they are received. but In all cases they
must be remodeled so as to obliterate
their special features. Actresses are
said to be among the principal pur-
chasers. The woman who has more
gowns than any other OF this or any
other age-2.0OO. It Is said, with 500
women to caro- for them-is the wife OF
Ii Hung Chang.