Evening star., 1902-09-02
FIRST DINNER COAT
KING INWARD CREATED TEE
USEFUL GARMENT FOR MEN.
Ctbe1 Customs q Modern Times Which
Ee Zntroduced-Sponsoy 5us
Five O'clock Tea,
From pcaraR'p Magazine.

FroW poarseRp Magazine.
When King Edward VII, then Prlao. Of
Wales, made his famous tour of Egvpt
and the Holy Land. some forty years ago,
he found the usual form Of dress coat too
warm for comfort. He thereupon I'M upon
n compromise in the shape OF a dark blue,
loose Jacket with silk faoings anG gold
buttons. All hIs suite adopted the snms 8t-
tire for informal dinners and when tho
royal tourist returned to Sandringhapa ha
did not give up this comfortable 81. .rInent.
II WAS from this beginning there sprans;
the dinner Jacket 10 today, which as ali lis
weaIers admit, is & great improvement npon
The ordinary swaIlow-taI
TO the kings sound common seuse IN
matters Of everyday life his subjects and,
inueeGs the woriu IL general owe more than
most Of us Iraf ne. The soft GumnurE
hat, when is sach a pleasant con;r:.s; Ia
the halrd felt, was brought so England
from Germany ~ lhe king. He noticed
hat Of this desCIIl tion IN HomburF NaDp.
bought IT and found II so comfortable and
becoming that = received the seal ut his
royal approval and he has seldom sin"a
then been seen ~ the Black bowler.
The present generation can hardy realize
&c mat lengths tte Jewelry craze %as ear
rled less than has century ago Mou
wore yards Of watch chain, huge BuG vsu-
spicuous tie pins and diamond studt Lord
Reaconsfeld, as "A young man, is said 10
have sometimes had 1i.OtN worth ~ EOlt
and precious stones displayed upon ~ pei-
son. The practice led young men juic cN~
travagances they could III AFFORD, and vas "a
direct incentive TO thieves. We owe tho
better ways OF today entirely TO the ring.
who always steTnly ClscoUutenanCta such
foolish Cxtravagances.
Shortened Dinners.
Another practice ot the middle of tho
nineteenth century was to sit over dinner
for at least two hours while the mer usli.,l-
ly remained IN the dining room 70; 8 stlll
longer period and frequently drank moro
port wine than was good for then. tho
king, though ne was always blesseG WIN
! an excellent appetite and enjoys a Foo'- din-
ner us well as any one else, showed h,s dis
| approval Of these ways as soon as Dc vas
settled at sandringham lie has always
liked TO smoke Immediately after oiunel,
and so the long sitting over the mea. soon
became a thing Of the past. Then, too ms
preference has always been Tor cttu"t "ho
light wines, so heavy ana uDwhoi's,oma
| port has been generally reduced rom o.
1 bottle to q glass head.
Speaking OF smoking, IL was the king
| who popularized cigarettes. he "as a.
most he first person TO smoke iheM reB-
ularlv He took to them in bgy1h. ana
| to this day smokes Egyptian ones oniy,
which are specially mace for MN by
| Rough tweed Norfo;ks and knicE erboclf-
| ers for shooting are among tho boohs ior
/ which we have 10 thank the king. a poi-
! trait was taken Of him In this costume,
| with rough worsted stockings and with
| gun in hand, about twenty-five years neo.
| SportsTDen were not SLOW 10 follow az eN-
| ample which combined fashion With COM
I fort.
/ If IS well known that his najesty would
| like to see a change in the fashion OF
| mems evening dress, but he shrauE from
! setting a new style, because the NeiNet
| coat and breeches and silk stockings wuiCn
| he prefers would probably sttrt an era OK
| rutnous extravaganza amCEg the young
| men Of the day. But one pretty ihnoN alton
| in mems evening attire we have TO thank
his majesty for, besides The dinner Jacket.
| THIS rs the embroidered or silk dress waist
| coat which is steadily gaining iaNoE Ia
| society.
| Other Inventions.
| Another sensible garment which the king
was the first to wear is the singie-bTeasted
| frock coat, in which his majesty FIRST ap-
| peared two summers ago. This coat, which
| is at least as smart as the USUAL aoUDie-
| breasted coat has the advantage Of belnS
| immensely lighter and cooler. The coat is
| cut tc Just meet across the chest and the
| silk facir.gs reach the extreme edge OF the
| iapels.
One can hardly imagine how people ex-
! isted IN the DAYS before @ clock tea 1t
is q dainty little break and refreshmeHJ III
the long afternoon which men are now
adays lust as fond of as women. Here
| again we have TO thank the monarch for
| the example set by him, and followed not
| ONLY ir England, but everywhere else IN tho
| civilized world. Sanoringham teas. with
i their wealth OF dainty sandwiches aud
cakes have effected this pleasant frnoya-
tion.