Rocky Ford enterprise., 1899-08-10
IN ROYAL ATTIRE.
QUEER IDEAS OF DRESS AMONG
QUEENS.
Queen Victoria of England the First to
Catch the C"stum. Reform fsvrr-
TIL. Empress Of Russia spends More
oa Her Wardrobe Than the Others.


Some years ago Queen Victoria
caught the dress reform fever and
Joined an association. Although the
queen never astonished her court by
appearing In II reformed dress, she
thought the idea OF some not too radI-
cal reforms In dress a capital one-at
least for 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. 1t can
not be said. however. that they ever
became violently enthusiastic upon the
subject. During the last fifteen years
he princess OF Wales has scarcely
varied the fashion OF her costumes at
all. Through the ages OF big. pufied
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 bonncts which
bear her name. Tailor-made frockS
and Jackets she dotes on, although be-
fore going into mourning for her
mother she had blossomed ou, Into
very stunning toilets. She docs not
favor the fashion OF high shoulder
knots. and her ball dresses are made
with the oldsfashIoncd cour, bodice.
the shoulder strap dropping on to the
arm. The Princess BcatrIcc's attire Is
apt 10 b. OF the simplest description
upon ordinary occasions. One tray-
"lcr on th. continent VINO had n peep ai
Queen Victoria and the Princess Bca-
irle" wrote home: Nothing could b.
palmer than their gowns" The Ger
man empress has well defined ideas
about dress. and once organized n dress
reform order. The empress. however.
Ia too fond Of nne dressing to carry re-
forma very far. Twelve dFcSsmakers
are KEEP, constantly employed In the
rmpFssE' tailoring department. as IL ls
called. under the superinirndcnce O! a
lady Of the court. The stan 10 In.
creased to forty NJ certain seasons
when rnur, festivities ere going on or
the cmpr"at IL preparing for journey.
Blue and whit. are. by the way. tho
faNoi.ic eoloTE. The empress buys
yearly 100 evening and state dresses
twice as many carriage and visiting
costumes. and about 100 dcmi- -iolic;tcs
and house dresses -iS0 frocEs all told
The sewing machine IL an unknown
quantity In the empress tailor shop.
From SO to $50 a yard iS paid for the
silks and HaIina 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 tinc after her marriage. she
dressed with almost severe simplicity.
but the ladies Of the Russian court took
no pains 10 conceal their dIHapproyai of
the empress Indifference To apicndur of
attire. and tho result l. that her mai.
es;y IL gorgeous now. Queen Mar
shcriia has 4 passion for dainty hand
kcrthicfs. and the coSilIcat lace hand.
koTchie! in the world belongs to her.
II IL valued at $4,000. a not -xorbi,ant
sum when one considers that three art
isia worked At It for twenty years. II
10 go nimsY ihsI Il can be folded up and
placed in . gold sheath about the s!Ec
OF lima bean. The faVoriic dress of
Queen Olga Of Greece IL of blu. and
Ntitc striped or checked domestic silk.
tlNsc being the national coiors. and
besides the makers Of silk in her realm
have not learned to dye It any other
ooioTz. The cast.oI dcmi- -toiIett.s Of
royalty and carriage and house drcsscs
arc the pcrquisi;cs of the head woman
Of the bcdchambcr. who. after making
a selection for her own use. sells them.
They are not allowed to be rcsuld as
they arc received. but in all cases they
must be rcmodclcd so as to obIi;cra,c
their special features. Actresses arc
said to be among the principal pur-
cbnsCra. The woman who, has more
gowns than any other Of this or any
other aEC-2.0Oo. II Is said. with 500
women to care for thcm-Is the wife of
Ii Hung Chang.