Evening star., 1901-09-14
BANE OF FINERY
A Deserved Scoring is Given the
Modern Dress Demand.
ARTISTS GOWNS AHEAD OF HER ART
Many ActressesgSet the Fashions
Each Season.
SOME COSTLY WARDROBEs
Copyright. 1901. by s. S. Mcclure co.,

Copyright, 1901. by s. S. Mcclure co.,
Written for The Evening Star by Clara Morris.
Under the protection of pretty seals
stamped in various tints of wax l hnd
one question appearing in many slightly
dinerent forms. large number OF writ
ers ask: What is the greatest difncuity
a young actress has to surmount? In
another pile Of notes the question appears
in this guise: What is the principal OBJ
stacle in the way of the young actress!
While two motherly bodies ask: What
one thing worries an actress most?" Al
ter due thought 1 have cast them all to-
gether. boiled them down, and reduced
them to this: What is the bane of a
young actress life?" Which question !
can answer without going into training.
with one hand tied behind me and both
eyes bandaged-answer in one word
dress Ever since that far away season,
when Eve the beautiful, inquiring, let
ee-for-myself Eve, made fig leaves
popular in Eden and invented the apron
to fill a newly felt want-dress has been
at once the comfort and the torment Of
woman
Acting is a matter of pretense, and she
VINO can best pretend a splendid passion,
a tender love. or a murderous hate, is
admittedly the finest actress. Time was
when stage wardrobe was pretense, too.
An actress was expected to please the
eye, she was expected to be historically
correct as to the shape and style of her
costume, but her queenly robes were not
required to be of silk or velvet, or her
lmperfa! ermine to be anything rarer
was humber still, being constructed of
the very democratic white Canton fan
mel turned wrong side out; while the err
mines characteristic little black tails
lni hNy e1<~< I. - ~I<,
lacing. The only advantage 1 can hon
estly claim for this domestic ermine is
Its freedom from the moths, who dearly
love imported garments of soft, fine cloth
and rare fur lining. / have had and have
seen others have, in the old days, really
gorgeous brocades made by cutting out
great punches of flowers from chintz and
applying them to plain silk or even to a
cheaper background, and then picking out
the high lights with embroidered silk, the
effect being not only beautiful, but rich
All these make believes were necessary
then, on a $50 or $35 week salary-for a
leading lady drew no more.
But times are changed-stage lighting Is
better, stronger. The opera glass is al
most universally used. deceptions would be
more easily discovered; land more, oh! SO
much more, Is expected from the ac-
tress of today. Formerly she was re
quired first of all to sink her own indi-
viduality in that of the woman she pre-
tended to be; and next if it was a dra-
mat1zed novel she was acting in, she was
TO make herself look as nearly like the
described heroine as possible; otherwise
She mad simply to make herself as pretty
as she knew how, in her own way-that
was all. But now the actresses of a great
city are supposed to set the fashions for
the coming season. They almost literally
dress in the style of tomorrow; thus the
cut Of clothes becomes harmful to the ac-
tress. Precious time that should be given
to the minute study, the final polishing of
0ift1cult in a
Gliding on the PITCH of a skirt, the width of
collar or upon sleeve, strap or no sleeve
at all. ~ - 1''.-
Some ladies Of my acquaintance who had
been to the theater three times, ayowedly
to study as models the costumes. when
questioned as to the play, looked at one
another and then answered vaguely: ."rhe
performance? Oh, nothing remarkable! 1t
was fair enough-but the dresses! They
are really beyond anything in town. and
must have cost mint of moneyI" So
we have got around to the opposite Of the
old-tfme aim-when the answer might pos
sihly have been: 1.-The acting was beyond
anything in town. The dresses? Oh. moth
ing remarkable! Oh, WELL fair enough 7
have often been told by famous women NJ
the past that the beautiful Mrs Russell.
then Of Wallack's Theater, was the orfei
nator In this country of richly elegant real
ism In stage costumng; when it was known
that the mere Innings OF her gowns cost
more than the outside of others dresses.
that all her velvet was silk velvet; all her
lace to the last inch was real lace. that
no wired nor spliced feathers curled about
her splendid leghorns, only magnificent sin
gle plumes. each worth weeks of salary.
This handsome woman superbly clad
created sensation, but alas! at the same
time she unconsciously scattered seed he
hind her that sprang up into fine cron
of dragons teeth for following young
actresses to gather. Qui donne lie menu,
dcnne la faim! Right here let me saw. I
am not OF those who believe the past holds
a monopoly Of all good things I have
much satisfaction in the present and a
strong and abiding faith in the future.
and even in this matter OF dress, which
has become such anxiety to the youne
actress I would not ask to go back to
those days Of primitive costuming.
The First Plays.
In Shakespeare's day there appeared over
a drop curtain Of green a legend platn,v
stating: There is street In Verona. and
every man with an imagination straight
way saw the Veronese street to his com
plete satisfaction, but there were thos.
who had no imagination, and to hold their
attention and to keep their patronage
scenes had to be painted for them. One
would not like to see woman draped in
plain gray with an attached placard saw
ing: '"This is a ball gown" or this is a
coronation robe;" the ina agination would
balk at it, But there is far cry between
that and the real coronation robe of vel
vet, fur and jewels. What l would ask
for is moderation and above all freedom
for the actress from the burden of sense
less extravaganza which Is being bound
upon her shoulders-not by the public not
even by the manager. but by the mis-
chievous small hands of sister actresses
who have private means outside Of their
salaries How generous they would be If
they could be content to dress with grace
and elegance while emitting the mad ex-
travagance that Those who are dependent
upon their salariess alone, will surely try
to emulate. and sometimes at what price
dear heaven. oh What "a pricel Let us
say an actress plays the part Of a woman
of fashion-of rank. n5As she makes her
first appearance she IS supposed to return
from the opera Therefore. aas though she
| may wear them brt one moment. hood
win help out the tfiaston. Suppose then,
she wears a long cibak Of velvet or cloth
with a lining of delicate tinted quilted
I3