Waterbury Democrat., 1902-04-24
| FOREIGN WoMAN's FREEDOM


 2sNo where in the world do women claim and enjoy more real liberty than here in America" said keenly obser- want man, just home from Paris, but there is q freedom from certain con- ventional restraints indulged in by the fair foreigners that our women have really not got the courage to practice. This was impressed upon me by what I saw this spring on the Riviera, where all the great ladies of Europe are just now collected.
 Even to man the costumes seen at Nice and Monaco are matters for mar vel and he can pick out the American born from the foreign woman every time, at least I could and did. The Americans wore rich and lovely gowns but it took the Russian princesses to make our pretty women look like mod est violets beside their bold and origi- nal gorgeousness.
 'One princess wore what-the ladies of my party explained was a lowered muslin gown, trimmed with sable tails, and though her head was crowned with straw hat and flowers, her hands were thrust in a huge huff Of the finest Russian fur. I can only tell you that she looked q perfect beauty, and to my eyes wonderfully distin- guished, but my compatriots shook their heads when I suggested their fol- lowing the fashion as set by the Rus sian lady.
 Not for worlds they said; they had been to see costumes made by the fam ous Sara, and while her things were marvels of artistic beauty, they were never, so Sara confessed herself, bought by Americans. Such wondrous toilets as hers would make q woman so conspicuous at the Metropolitan opera house, so uncomfortably notice able in a New York restaurant and so stared at by Newport that in a week her name and picture would be in the paper.
 Sara dresses Austrian archduchess- es, French duchesses, English countess ses and Russian princesses, but the American women go elsewhere, and my feminine friends candidly admit ted that in matters of dress the foreign women enjoys 2 for greater measure of liberty, and, furthermore, can wear striking frock with an easy grace and lack of self-cOnsciousnesS that our country women have not yet at their command
 .sThen I noticed other little liberties French women especially take, that with all their freedom our women nev- CT dare assume I can best illustrate my point by telling you what saw in an exceedingly fashionable Partisan, restaurant. Not far from the table at which my party dined sat 3 handsome Parisienne with her husband and son. She was in full evening toilet of no small degree of splendor, and there was no mistaking the fact that she was q grande dame, holding success fully to her youthful beauty.
 "The dinner of this group was chos- en with French taste, and I could hear that they were going off to the opera. After the liqueurs madame drew q charming reticule before her, took from it a tiny mirror and surveyed her pretty face; extracting bit of il pow der puff from her reticule she touched her nose and chin daintily, and then calmly lifting out long, silky, brown curl, she pinned it to her back hair, at that point where it's shining length would fall gracefully over her bare white shoulder.
 When everything was to her satis- faction she rose, her husband put her into q luxurious long coat and away she went, leaving my party the only astonished observers. No other man or woman in the room seemed to think her action in the least outre or worthy even a thought; but. you see, we were thinking all the while of the sensation that simple and not only inoffensive but distinctly pretty little side show would have created in one of our high class restaurants.
 Why, the other diners would have been paralyzed with amazement and promptly set her down as no lady and the next time she came to dine the head waiter would have been care full to discover that all the tables were engaged. So, even i'll effete Paris, you see" laughed the clever and ob- servant man, there are some privi- leges enjoyed that our code of liberty does not allow.''