Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-09-07
Feminine FOOTWEAR,
e ALTON LADY DISCUSSES rms
INTERESTING SUBJECT.
KNOWLEDGE. OF sCARPoLoGY.
All About Shoes and the Proper
Kind to Notwithstanding Character
from Fcct-sisn. of plcbcinni.m-
weu-known People Discussed.

Our forenlots1ers had small feet II they
we're not born with them they made them,
Their fairy forms. and Vatican plaits
were balanced upon high heels no larger
at the base than a nickel, and these were
set well toward the instcp.
just what has modified the pedal evils
of that time TO the tolerably sensible
footgear of to-day it would be hard to
tell, but there has been a change. and
for the better.
Nowhere is the foot and its varied fash
ions of adornment more noticed than dur
ing the summer season at our large ho
tells.
"sCARPoLoGY."
About these there is such a mixture Of
indoor and outdoor life. with so MANY
people coming and going from divergent
points, that ones knowledge of scar
poioGS a modern bellies under
standinG-may often cover a wide range
Scarpology. you must know is a new
word. 1t means all about shoes-incident-
ally, OF course, about feet-and is derived
from scarpa cola. an Italian word mean
ing literally an old shoe.
Whatever may be the cause, certain it
is that the foot Of the summer girl this
year greatly exceeds in size that of her
grandmother.
The reason may not be difficult to find.
The girl of this period is addicted to ath-
}etic sports she takes long walks, and
climbs the hard mountain roads as II she
were to the manor born. You may find
her any pleasant afternoon upon the
breezy Blue Ridge hills yielding her golf
stick with enthusiasm, or on the long,
green courts playing tennis with the pine
scented air blowing in her face.
AT night she is the maid of fashion at
The balls, informal dances, and must
Gales.
a MULTIPLICITY OF SHOES.
All this requires multiplicity of shoes,
and it is not to be wondered at if the
woman away on an outing finds herself
with dozen pairs to choose from. and
wishing in her secret heart for others
Perhaps nothing more positively shows
the gentleWoman than her foot.
i N willing 10 wager a hundred dollars
that there is common blood in her veins"
said one society man to another as they
were discussing summer belle over their
cigars on the hotel piazza.
why are you SO positive Fred?" asked
his friend.
the story. No. not the size alone-the
shape l tell you. girl cannot fool me
on the blue-blood question. She may be
as beautiful as Venus, her manners and
gowns may partially intoxicate fellow
but / wait for view of her foot to know
the real woman
He might have added: "And upon what
she wears on that tell-tale member
do not know that ! go the extreme
of 1,;-
but
a MATRIMONIAL ESCAPADE.
One day year or so ago. the proprie-
tors wife Of a certain hotel not far from
here, said as 1 entered the wide vestibule:
Gomez We have a, real, live Baroness
here. Come with me to her cottage;
want to introduce you
We cross the green sward to the
''rock cottage and WIS duly presented.
Juno form. a complexion like pink
roses and white lilies. full lips, glistening
teeth
a broad, spatular hand with flashing
diamonds; q foot-two Of tllem-wide be-
low the fiat insteps, buIging at the toe
points-horrid And these stuffed in high
hceled shoes two sizes under measure,
This the Baroness X. became after
wards the heroine Of a matrimonial esca-
pade not a thousand miles from here, and
is now. believe. happily. for the country
standard somewhere in Paris But I
summed her up. Was she an English
barmaid, or a peasant girl from the
Rhine2
The veriest, lowly-born descendant of a
California miner. the daughter of an
American oil king. married to duke
dom, would have displayed better evil
dences of titled blood.
ROOTS TFI I, THE crnpv
Nothing in the line of wearing apparel
bespeaks the lady more than her boots.
The hat and gown may deceive; gloves,
sometimes. mislead; collars convey false
Impressions but the shoe or the boot
give an unfaltering verdict.
Already there are those who are ar
gling that the feet are as beautiful as
the hands, and as worthy of displaying
their beauty.
Well at any rate, they are in fair
way Tor doing SO. since the sandal is in
or on. And. Il mind me- what a thrill
OF horror arose, a decade ago. when the
yellow journal press reporters pictured
Amelle Rives in sandals, with pair of
pink and rosy feet adjusted on a silk
cushion at a morning reception.
Though this was ahead Of time-and
The facts--we may vet approach something
like it in our home functions and have
our Trilbys appear. clad in rings per
haps, and with silken sandal ribbon
crossing blue-veined instep lila Madame
Recanaier.
A HAPPY COMBINATION
The pedestrian high boot one sees so
much of IN the mountains now, is a
happy combination of the useful and the
ornamental. Nothing could be better for
The support Of the ankles in walking, and
the satin bow and buckle give ii a femih-
Inc finish.
The best result from the Cuban war
that know of is the Cuban-heeled shoe
IL that is where it came from.