The Washington times., 1902-08-17
Flowers and Shell.

Another fad of the moment, one, how.
ever. that has existed and will continue
to exist in one form or other, is that Of
wearing tortoise shell combs. Every
woman displays set of these pretty and
useful ornaments, and so attached have
we all become to them that it would
seem impossible to dress the hair with
out their aid.
Never less than three are worn, and
for the day time plain polished shell is
best liked, while for evening fancifully
decorated rims are quite the thing.
limitations are rife, of course; that is
always the case with popular fashions.
but even these are quite expensive, so it
is advisable to Invest in the real she'll,
partly for the satisfaction of knowing
that you are wearing the genuine arti-
Gle. but chiefly because it is the cheap
est in the long run for the reason that
tortoise she'll is amenable to repair
| The full set of combs consists of a
back and two sides. The former will,
| this autumn. be much smaller than what
! we are now wearing. That is, the comb
I will not reach SO far across the head,
/ though the teeth will remain as long as
ever. AS for the side pieces, very little
change is possible in these yet design
ers have recently made a pattern that
appears to be exactly suited to the
modish style of dressing the hair. The
rim of the comb is rounded down in the
center to fit about the knot, and the,en-
tire length OF the comb is somewhat less
than it used TO be. The point seems to be-
to secure the greatest possible assist
ance in the way of keeping the coiffure
in place, and at tie same time make the
head look less like an advertisement
for tortoise shell goods.
Tortoise-Shell Combs Costly. f
Even the plainest of these combs are
expensive, the price for the back one
being about 81, while the pair Of side
ones cost not less than $3.50.
Pretty pieces of shell are not easy to
find, and to match up set is far more
difficult than you would imagine. When
in the hair all of it looks about the
same, but even SO, a woman who is GO
ing to spend IS or SO on hair orna- +
ments doesn't want to have some Of
her combs the black and yellow shades
while the others are rich reddish tint.
I went all over New York the other
day on this same quest and finally gave
up in despair, deciding to wait until
the autumn novelties appear. When I
found a comb that suited me in color
ing then the shape wasn't satisfactory
and vice versa.
The jeweled pieces are really beauti-
full. and for $12 may be bought as love-
ly a one as you could wish for. When
1 say jeweled I don't really mean that
all of them are ornamented with prec-
ious stones. Some of the prettiest are
edged with dull or fancifully carved gold,
and against hair that has in it a CLINT
of the same yellow hue the effect is in
deed charming.
A Pretty Design.
A comb that has beautifully polished
rim at least half an inch wide is sur
mounted by tiny finish of yellow satin
finished gold. while another displays a
beaded edgiug.
Some time ago it was considered the
correct thing to wear combs elaborately
ornamented with turquoise or fresh
water pearls but now such affairs are
seldom seen. In the evening they are
permissible II the combs are in good
taste. and nothing could be more appro-
pirate and charming than a set of these
hair ornaments trimmed with row of
small pearls or sparkling rhinestones
set in dull gold. These represent the
very acme of elegance and it is need
less to say that combs OF this style are
extremely costly.
Occasionally one sees handsomely
bit OF tortoise shell but for some
reason this lacks the dainty air so sure
to be found In the other varieties. Be-
sides, carved she'll is apt to look trile
heavy and when the knot of hair on the
top of the head is literally surrounded
by rims of this material IL is advisable
to choose combs that are as delicate
as 1t is possible 20 find.
Those fancy pin and buckle effects
that had certain vogue not long ago
have gone out entirely and the only
thing now to keep up those aggravating
'scolding locks'N is some sort of an ar
that possesses long teeth and
an inccnspicuous rim-in fact. regular