The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-05-12

the silk as on the cloth.
] don't think your season in society has
spoiled you. Still, of course, II all de-
ponds on how you have them made
The debutantes eyes flew wide open.
why, what or earth do you mean?" she
gasped.
Il do not see'' the blase girl went on.
gently, amy mystical greens or yellows,
or any half-mourning lavenders, conse-
quenty ] infer that you are still free
from any affair OF the heart. Nor have
you yet gone to the other extreme. You
don't wear white gowns which button
down the back, neither do you tuck a rose
in yonr hair. No, l should place you in
the ruffie stage
The debutante could only stare.
"Fn wager my best Paris hat" her
friend continued, that the blue dotted
muslin is to be made with six graduated
ruffies on the skirt and three on the
waist, and that the white Swiss is to
have one OF those new chiffon sashes and
fiounee Of
See herer' interrupted the debutante.
Are you a mind reader?'
NO, my child returned the blase girl,
with a superior air. But l am an OBJ
server OF nature, human nature, which
is much more interesting than sticks and
stones. and in the course of my valuable
experience 1 have always found that the
character fits the gown
Then my character is dotted muslin
and rufles?"
Yes, my dear; you are in what may
be called the first stage. Oh, its very in
teresting; it's almost like the seven ages
OF man"
The debutante elasped her hands ''Oh,
do tell uieI' she begged.
The blase girl cleared her throat like
a professor about to begin lecture In
the first place" she observed, there is
the preliminary stage, but l won't dwell
on that, because no woman of the world
looks back on il otherwise than with
pain. refer TO the age when she didn't
care what she had on, so long as il was
comtortable; the time when she wanted
pockets IN her best dresses and her
clothes so loose that she could turn
around seven times in them. This peculiar
condition belongs to the awkward age
! simply want to make this remark about
il. that the girls who are the most diff
ncult to dress at that trying age usually
dtyslOp into the most finished specimens
o. female vanity later on You can easily
account for this on the theory that wo-
men invariably rush from one extreme
TO the other.
so then We come to the ruffie period,
the power Of dress the girl fairly reVels
IN 1t. She has no definite conception of
color. Ornamentation is everything with
her, and she glor1es in ruchings. rulings
and frllls without number II she doesn't
succeed IN looking like her mother at this
llme 1t IS usually thanks to a prudent
ufessnlater, who insists on modifying her
eiaDorate notions. Then, too. besides her
lace, there is one other thing which pro-
claims her youth. the ordinary simple
haaues which she chooses, for her ideas
"A 4ra .
as her IDEAS Of life.
In the next stage we see a marked
change in this respect. Her gowns are
less elaborate, perhaps, but strange and
weird colorlnga make their appearance
1ellows and greens are usually attempted
and there Is a straining toward romantic
efect. Of course il is useless to tell YOU
the girl is having her first love affair
If this turns out satisfactorily and she
mariles, her dress career is practically
ended and she merges into the convent ion
al matron type.
But If she does not the next period is
usually one Of half mourning. Her heart
is broken, she tells you. Life is but an
amply dream. Bright scenes and colors
IRE distasteful to her. so she wears Sc
we're black tailor mades and affects soft.
cllnging sreys, heliotropes, and ashes of
roses. Her friends patiently endure this
lad. for they know IT can't last, and, sure
enough, the next period is one Of appaI-
ing gayety and coquetry.
II is easy enough to distinguish a girl
VINO Is IN this period. She has had expe-
renee, and she uses II for all IL is worth
Her gowns are usually models of chic and
aplomb, and they are distinctly made to
suit the masculine taste. The colorings
are most complex, too. For instance she
Duys white chiffon dotted with pale vel
low. In the ruftie period she would have
II made over the same color Of white bIt
In the experienced stage it goes over the
palest of pale blue taffeta and il is nro-
f'izeiY trimmed with wicked looking black
Insertion and bits Of pale blue; black and
yellow chiffon. If she marries AT this ne
NOD she usually weds a rich man and as
tonishes her friends by the artistic beauty
OF her gowns. If she still remains single
she poses as woman with history and
wears accent gowns and blacS spangied
princess effects"
MY goodness exclaimed the deb,-
tante- But then" she added, after a
pause, you can't fit everybody's life into
just such periods"
Perhaps not" drawled the base girl.
but you'd be surprised TO see how many
people do mt OF course, there are excep-
tons. Artists. for instance The first
thinS a successful artist or authorizes does
gu an esthetic tea gown, medieval
one II possible, and made of colors no
one else wears. II must have lots Of nop-
Ply eHects, too. and tags OF lace and rib
Don that don't mean anything Then
there Is usually an intense look in the
eyes which secs with that costume and a
BoLtlcelli arrangement Of the hair"
You spoke Of girls who wore roses sn
their hair aDG white gowns which bur
toner down the back. What do YOU
mean2' asked the debutante, anxiouslv
The biase girl fixed a pair of solemn
eyes upon her. f'BeRare of the girl who