The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-04-12
QUEENS TASTE In DRESS
FOR THE MOST PART ROYAL GARB
LEAVES MUCH TO BE DESIRED.
WiIhelmina Shows Little Regard for
Seasons and OccasiOns-Fancies
of Other Royal Ladies'.

Correspondence Of TIE indianapolis Journal
PARIS, April 1.-The young Queen Of the
Netherlands. the best-looking among con-
tinental royalty. would hardly pass for
good dresser in New York or Boston, so
persistently unmindful Of seasons and &C.
casions is her little Majesty.
Passing through The Hague some time
ago 1 saw her in a closed carriage, all
dressed in white, the train of her skirt
resting on the vacant seat. 1t was raining
terribly, and / asked whether a drawing
room or something of the sort was on.
"Oh, no. replied an acquaintance among
the courtiers, the Queen is driving over
to Rotterdam to inspect the man-of-war
Holland. The day was set two weeks in
advance and she does not want to disap-
point the officers and crew.
Very kind of her Majesty, to be sure.
but white is hardly rainy-weather color
and a three-yard train on a man-of-war is
not quite suitable. The trouble is. Will
helminas mother, born Princess of Wal
deck. halls from the very tiniest Of courts;
Dame Fashion. If she ever went to Arolsen,
would hide her head. And again, the Queen
became her own mistress at very early
she must domineer in the spiritual realms
of the mode as well as in her matter-of-
fact kingdom.
Sometimes husbands prove good counsel
ors and reformers in matters of toilet, but
Henry has no more idea Of what is fit to
wear than a cannibal island king. Horse
and dog trappngs his limit Yet his
poor little Queen tries hard to be in the
fashion or a little in advance of II, spend
ing nearly all her unoccupied time in devils
ing ways and means for making herself at
tractive One of her women tells me that
her cloakroom looks like a haberdashery
in distress, even after she gets through
dressing for the carriage. On the floor
and chairs near the big pier glass heaps
of wells, a dozen or more hats, attractively
displayed on racks when Wilhelmina en-
tered, hang on their beam ends by crum-
pied steamers or lie on the floor. If you
promise not to tell, her Majesty sometimes
kicks over the whole array. Gloves by the
dozen In all shades and colors and lengths.
turned inside out or placed on stretchers;
truly Wilhelmina must have changed her
mind more than once. And cloaks, wraps?
Il should have to copy a manufacturers
catalogue to name them. Yet 1t Is ten to
one that the Queens style when she does
emerge from her sanctum would cause con-
siderable remark nay, even mild amuse-
ment on Broadway or the Champs Elysee,
for she is as likely to wear a mans round,
soft, gray felt hat trimmed with green rib
bon and cocks feather, with a trained
velvet gown, as a plumed picture hat with
sporting toys.
All. yes. sporting" Her Majesty is
often seen wearing untrimmed felt and
straw hats without bit of trimming, and
the good Dutchmen smack their lips and
say: What a sport 'Ons Wilhelminche' ISL
AS general thing her Majesty prefers
the tailor-made style. unless. indeed. she
overdoes another. Tailor-made gowns set
off her figure to perfection. for her chief
care is to procure the best fitting corsets
ever turned out in Paris.
While Wilhelmina's street dresses are
naturally of the best material and exqui-
site fit Cat least above the waisD, their
color seldom impresses one agreeably. AL
ways undecided, despite the wearer's COM
plexion of milk and roses, dirty yellow,
ditto brown gray, blue or red predominant.
The wife of a subaltern official, whose
dress material consists of the made-over
worse.
If Wihelmina were not a Queen she
might be cured of the habit but who cares
to tell a Majesty of her pronounced tenn
per that her taste needs looking after? On
state occasions wilhelmina always wears
white, plain or watered silk, or satin. rich
ly garnished with pearls from her Indian
possessions. These pearls are let into the
dress material. which makes 1t necessary
for an officer Of the exchequer to examine
the dress and count the jewels the moment
1t is taken off.
The Queen looks her best In national
costume-short wooden skirt. white or green
stockings and gold and silvered embroid-
cred red jacket. buttoned to the neck. This
she wears on her daily bicycle exercises
in the park when anybody may see that
Ons Wilhelminche is a dapper native girl,
despite the peculiarities of her toilet.
QUEEN AND EMPRESS.
The coronation and recent drawing
rooms furnished the reading world with
such an abundance of facts regarding
Queen Alexandra's reign in the world of
fashion that her taste and foibles are pub
lie property. Suffice 1t to say that Alex
andra continues the most fashionable wom-
an among crowned heads since the passing
of Empress Eugene.
And small wonder. Nature endowed her
with a style of beauty that the ravages Of
time may lessen but not change. Even to-
day the Queen wears dresses and hats that
properly belong to the girl of twenty or
twenty-five with the most natural effect.
For outdoors she prefers light skirts and
Jackets, setting off her graceful and pliable
figure to the best advantage.
/ have never seen Alexandra with a ca
pote hat-that venerable resort of the ell
-derly person. She usually wears round
hats, ''matelots," with little ribbon orna-
mentation, or broad-brimmed styles, with
ostrich plumes. Certainly 95 per cent. of
her hats are white. Like her sister, the
| dowager Empress of Russia, she always
wears her hair high. innumerable small
| curls covering the front of the head.
The German Empress spends about $780,
| 900 a year on her toilet, for a foolish ira
dition of the Prussian court forbids her to
| appear in the same dress twice. This in
| convenient and rather ridiculous order is.
| however circumvented by strategem