Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-25
A Garment More Popular in Fiction
Than Everyday Life.
CHARMING IF YOU ONLY THINK 50
In Dainty Fabrics, BiIIowy Lace and
Ribbons.
HINTS FOR Sell f CT ON S
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

NEW ibfh, november 1865.
How admirably arranged is the life Of the
English woman as we read of 1t and see IL
on the surface She has a house which
runs smoothly children with good manners
servants who appear respectful, a fund of
health and strength, which she Keeps up by
regular exercise (Which she somehow finds
time to take daily: she belongs to clubs
and all her social duties are kept up. And
with all this array Of various matters to
attend to-most of them which require her
to appear in taiior-made or gowns most
formal-she vet has time for that most de-
UghtfuI of all functions. afternoon tea, and
at that little repast, If she takes 1t at
home she can appear in that most alIur-
| ing of feminine garments, the tea gown.
Some women from a part of our country
which was settled by bitter enemies of a
certain English king, who one day lost his
head, still abhor the tea gown, looking
upon 1t in all its forms as a concession to
spirit of luxury which all should condemn
Indeed, | know one woman Of Puritan an
cestry who, in a conscientious effort TO
throw off the influence of those ages when
| a man might not kiss his wife on sunday,
used a marvellous tea gown as first step
| In what her forbears would have called
| the downward path leading to laziness and
| worldlness. Her first tea gown, she said
was very hard to wear She could not gel
herself into the spirit of ease and luxury
which made it seem right or proper to de-
liberately for an hour every afternoon do
nothing but wear dainty and flowing gar
ment, and pour tea and make ones self
agreeable to people who were actually
| idling during the hours set apart Tor LABOR
For Lazy Hour Wear.
| Fortunately, her nervous and highly
strung sisters do not, as d rule, have to
| struggle to enjoy an hours idling in the
| afternoon-provided they can get their af-
| fairs well enough regulated to give them
the tme-and year by year the number of
| houses where one can go and find bright
| and prettily dressed woman behind Il tea
| table are increasing Tea gowns for wear
! at this hour of the day, however, are very
| elaborate affairs, made of the richest ma
| terials, we'll fitted, well honed and Alto
| gether correct. Even then they are more
restful than heavy cloth frock and twice
as grateful to the watching eye.
| There is n romantic phase to this tea
gown question. The novels IN whlch the
| heroine pours tea in charming gown OF
| soft yellow pink silk always end we'll.
| The tea gown helps to captiyate the heart
of the hero. This is the only way IN Whlch
| a male novelist allows the truth of the old
| adage about the way to mans heart to
| leak out. he does intimate that hot tea and
| fragile crackers are served at the time ne
| first makes up his mind that the heroine
| is the only woman in the world for him
| If she accepts him. And in well-regula, ed
| novels where the tea table figures she al
| ways does say yes. Can you fancy a ro-
| nance in which a notwithstanding girl
| serves tea to a man who has just come in
out of the cold, warns his heart and en-
| snares it and then fails to marry him in
| the end. No, it could not be. We would
all feel she was cruel, and this the author
| does not wish us to do.
OF Ribbons and Lace.
Out of books and in books the tea gown
| is usually described as mass of ribbons
| and lace and, although there is often
much truth in this summing up, of course
| q tea gown is as scientific as any other
! garment and sometimes more expensive
| 1t just depends on the material and on the
! making-aS do all our frOckS. One can take
| the most innocent satin striped challie Of a
pale shade and by combining with it rib
| bons, lace and silk can have d dress
| makers bill which will make the recipient
| wonder and mourn. Or one can get the
! same satin striped challie, buy some rib
bon, which need not be double-faced satin,
and construct a modest little garment at
! home which will be most charming and
not cause any anxious moments over a
long strip of papers with figures on it
| itenniZed figures.
If the fancy of the season is princess
gowns even in cloth so much more is ii
the fashion in tea gowns. One of the most
magnificent models is yellow bengalne
a slip which fits the figure rather snugly;
over this is an oYerdfeSS or tunic of orange
velvet which hangs loose and opening down
the front shows the underdress Of silk
| This may be seen in the illustration. The
tunic is long, reaching almost to the hem
of the silk in front and sweeping down
! over the train in the back, for, of course
all tea gowns have trailing back breadths
be they made with without Watteau
plaits.
| Underdress Well Fitted.
| This underdress which is fitted and over
dress. which hangs rather full and is of a
different material may be carried out II
various fabrics and is always very hand
some provided there is no stint of either
under or overdress. There must be gen.
| erous look to a tea gown, as if one had MOI
skimped on material. There is one feature
! prevalent on the tea gowns Of the yeal
which is not artistic as it might be, anC
that is the addition of a Medici collar very
| high and very stiff, to a gown with W a t
teau plait. There is something incongruOu.
about 1t, and Yet one sees the combination
| constantly.
For the collar of a tea gown has much t.
do with its look of comfort. There i.
something ceremonious about those farms
collars, with their stiff lining. One canno
| associate them with informal functions
On the other hand, a lOw-necked tea gown
is incongruous. The best collars are shown