The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1902-01-03
.FOLLIEs OF FASHION.
eAa1oRIAL vAeARIEs OF THE CEN
TUNES THAT ARE GONE.

@
arotesaue styies That Reigned In
ahe rise ~ cbaacer = Raiment
That Rivaled the Rainbow and
nlea wAo sthEched Their Boards.
1t is q little gratifying to reflect that,
/ however the man of today may COM
pare with his ancestors of bygone CEN
( turies In physique and morals. his
\ dress Is much more moderate and In
oxpensiye, even IL it is less pictur-
. esque. than theirs.
II is true that here and there one
may find some foolish young man
whose taste In dress is as extrayagant
4 n that Of any ..buck" of the days OF
j the Georges. There is, for instance,
son OF a well known peer who has the
reputation OF never wearing suit
twice. He has wardrobe of waist
coats Of all the colors of the rainbow,
ranging from a light blue spangled
with silver stars to deep green satin
with buttons Of eighteen carat gold.
each OF which Is adorned with the
painted face Of a beautiful woman.
Another wealthy aristocrat is credit
I ed with having as many suits and uni
forms as there are days in the year
and with spending on his tailor's bill
4 sum which would pay the yearly
salary of minor cabinet minister.
But such men are modestly arrayed
: compared with the handles OF many a
mast century. The earl Of Northum-
berland who lived in the latter part of
the fourteenth century boosted no few
Or than sixty suits Of cloth of gold
alone, and the bishop Of Ely of that
lime had CHI De raiment for ,ev-
cry day Of TT
Much later. ID 96een NIary's time,
the wardrobe Of b bishop might have
neen the envy % Solomon for the va
riety and costlfness of Its contents. and
even q simple village priest. according
to Fullerswore "a vestment Of crimson
satin, yestment Of crimson velvet, a
stole and fanon set with pearl. gowns
. faced with taffetas, ETC."
In the days of Chaucer fashionable
men wore clothes as many colored as
Joseph's coat, SO that while one leg
would be a blaze of crimson the other
would be tricked out in green or blue
y or yellow, without any regard TO har-
mony or contrast"
Even MS late as the middle Of the
eighteenth century a dandy would deck
himself in "a vivid green coat, waist
coat of scarlet, yellow brceches anu
blue stockings" and the gentleman OF
. few years later wore. among SINH
i lar sartorial vagaries, "a coat Of light
green, with sleeves too small for the
arms and buttons too big for the
sleeves; pair of Manchester fine stuff
brooches, without money In their peck
4 cts; clouded silk stockings. club OF
hair behind larger than the head that
carries 1t, a hat of the size of six
pence on block not worth a far
thin
Sls Al one fashionable epoch our ances-
h tors; 10 quote the words of a quaint
Shf0nlcleE would weare clothes so
L Ssghfe g ye skin that it might well be
4 neefyed they wore no clothes at all"
Il md at another they would wear them
Z go yolumnous that single suite
night well have afforded Payment for
81 whole famllie. and SO stuffed out
with feathers that. of verify, their
\ Syearers rcsembled nothing SO much as
walking sackes."
At another period 1t was the gro
fesaue fashion to combine on one per-
SON the dress of all the countries Of
Europe-the hat would be Spanish, the
coat French. the trousers Turkish, anu
10 on-so that the wcarer was walk
! ing epitomc of the dress of CONT
nent."
At one time shoes would be worn
with square toes of such width that
royal proclamation was issued limiting
the width to six inches, and these
shoes were succeeded by others which
came to. the finest Of points at the toes.
In Henry Ills time shoes with points
two feet long were worn by the fash
ionables. aud In the reign Of Henry
NV. these points had grown TO such an
inortinate length that in order to be
able tic walk at all it was necessary 70
attach the tips TO the knees by chains.
which were of gold or silver, while the
tops of ,the shoes were carved with all
kinds Of fantastic designs.
In the early part of the eighteenth
centnry It was common thing for 4
man OF fashion to spend several hours
a day with his valet, among the m2py
quaint operations being tile starchinG
a. the beard and the proper pertaining
Of garments. the painting Of the face
and amounting with oils. tinctures. duin-
] fessences and pomatums." 1t is even
said that some of the handles OF the
time bathed In wine and milk for the
preservation OF their compilations and
J the rejuvenat don Of their energies, =
I4ondon Tit-Bits. ...s.
work. Like q Charn.