The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-07-13

The thin white dress seems always as- soclated with the idea of summer. The heroine who inspires love at first sight invariably makes her first appearance in a white muslin gown. These draperies of filmy white suggest to the imagina- ton youth, innocence, garden parties, leghorn hats and love stories-yet they are becoming even to the gray-haired. Made as they are this season, with full skirts. many rufffes and low shoulders they make the modern girl look like a picture of her own grandmother, so that if her grandfather were to see her suddenly on a summer day he might easily think that he looked upon some bewitching ghost out of his own youth.
 Never were the thin white materials to be had in such a bewileding assortment of materials, in varying degrees of white ness, from the simple lawn or 15-cent null to the costliest of lace and chiffon.
 To the ultra practical woman these gowns may seem an unwise investment for anything save a ball or dinner gown as they become easily soled, especially when made long skirts; something of the first bloom disappers after the visit to the cleaners, and the process of washing IS either supposed to be impossible, or is thought of as reducing the gown to lower place In the social scale.
 This, however, is not the case. If the washing Is properly done, the material need not suffer in the least. Then, the short skirts, which are now worn with all save ball and dinner gowns, remove one potent cause of soil-every woman has discovered the impossibility of hold ing up all of a long full skirt at once. And even the heavy lace gowns, which are so rich in effect in ecru and deep cream, will wash beautifully In borax water with some good white soap Wom- en who expect to have their gowns last over into the next season, will find 1t an excellent idea to have the lace ripped and washed at the end of the season before putting 1t away or having 1t remodeied in the fall fashion, as the case may be.
 This heavy lace should be washed in boiling water that contains four table spoonsful of borax to tub of water. Soap should not be rubbed upon it, but used in the form of suds. The first rins- ing water should contain one tablespoon ful of borax to one tub of warm water. The water must not be wrung out from the thin materials or lace; they should be squeezed and shaken. The heavy lace can cltner De pressed oll lHt WiphS oiNc with hot iron (taking care not to pull or stretch it out of shape) or it can be pinned down on top of a sheet and stretched upon the floor
 Almost all the thin lawns, muslins and organdies if washed in this way. with out much rubbing. will not suffer from landerng. indeed. they seem to come out with an added daintiness. Care must be taken, of course in the choice or the lace that is to go on the washable dress, for some lace is very perishable. It is not likely that the process need be gone through more than once or at most twice in season. but white dresses of this description do not readily go out of style unless made in some very ephemeral fashion and they are capable of surviving many considerate washings. II is the rubbing that wears out and destroys deli cate fabrics. and a method of cleaning without friction will make the wearing of nice white frocks a more unmixed blessing.
 Even chiffon may be washed. although the pressing of it is a delicate opera tion If the material is not scant and has a hem at the bottom it is possible to turn chiffon dress into one of delicious crepy material by washing it without pressing.
 The woman who expects to wear her gowns more than one season will not choose to have her new white gown made h too elaborate manner, or in one re-