Evening star., 1902-03-22
FLIRTAT FANS
so THE TINY DU BARRYS ARE
CALLED.
Only Five Inches Long, but Capable
of a Great Deal of
Mischief.
Written FOR The Evening Star.

Written FOR The Evening Star.
All the big fans of painted gauze. ostrich
plumes and spangled muslin can no" 90
way back and lie down in some obscure
corner Of the shops for a new, exceedingly
tiny fan, made of gathers. has come into
all their glory and popularity. This gay
usurper is called i'm Paris whence II very
naturally emanates, the Du Barry; by the
frivolous debutantes ii is considered cum
ming" and is privately known as the fir
tation fam"
It is matter of ancient history that the
great Madame du Barry collected fans. and
esteemed those made of feathers above all
others. A really smart and correct Dl
Barry is really no bigger than the hand Of
a woman OF average size when her fingers
are stretched apart to their fullest extent.
The sticks are of tortoise shell, gilded and
carved ebony, and also of horn. finely
polished and oiled that it is transparent
as amber Ten sticks and two guards is
the limit of these five-inch-long fans, and
the mounting is done in small, exquisitely
colored feathers.
Some of the favorites are junglecock,
White hack1e, brown argus, blue jay. merle,
golden pheasant gull and impeyan.
The most expensive and brilliant of these
feather mounts are done in Brazilian hum
ming bird plumage and in that of the
but few work people in Paris who are
capable of making these fans for every
tiny feather is plucked from the dried skin
Of the bird and applied to the foundation
in design that creates SNOWY patterns.
Another reason for their expense Is that
many of the birds whose feathers are used
are protected by the laws that forbid the
killing of songsters. On some of these fans
the feathers from the breasts of different
birds are combined in wonderful designs.
naft1 t1,nr ixar. b.
initials are usually inlaid in gold. and the
signature Of the maker of the fan is
scratched on the shell or horn.
How to Wear a Du Barry Fan.
With evening dress Du Barry fan Is
always worn suspended from the right
wrist by very long black velvet ribbon.
The ribbon is tied with a small bow at the
base of the hand, and streamers, long
enough to let the fan fall when not in use
almost to the dress hem, depend from this.
In this fashion with all the elbow-sleeved
afternoon muslins. the Du Barry fans Will
be worn throughout the summer, and Won
derful examples of feather work in black
have been imported for use with just such
gowns For these the sticks are thin black
horn having their surfaces traced in lines
of gilt or powdered with insect golden
spangles. Black cock, crow or raven
breast plumage is used. affording bril-
liancy of blackness that is seen on no other
surface.
OF course such artistic treasures are
meant for the use to which a fan is usually
put but they are also employed in graceful
posings. and it is the fashion when using
a Du Barry to raise the right elbow on
level with the head and fan oneself with
little, short, fiuttering motion that is in
finitely cOquettish, and that contrves to
display a well-turned arm and wrist to the
most peculiar advantage.
The only other fan that dares share even
modestly the vogue Of the Du Barry is an
equally small affair made of extremely
choice black ostrich tips: five only are used,
and these are grouped in Tyre shape: their
stems are caught by a handle Of rough
gold, In which baroque pearls and second
ary jewels are sunk in semi-barbarc fash.
lon.