The San Francisco call., 1904-06-05

TNHE 1890 girl is bit out Of date.
And, TO take her place. the girl
Of 1860 has stepped to the fore.
i They call her the wartime girl,
this girl Of 1860. And they study her
wardrobe to see how closely she has
adhered 10 the styles Of the Lincoln
days, the lovely fashions before the
war.
Those who have studied the fashions
Of the past century viii tell you that
there was a time when the styles were
exquisite. This was during the ten
years which exactly preceded the Civil
War From 1850 to 1860 American
womanhood had a wonderful fashion
era and the styles which were created
then were too beautiful ever TO go en-
tirely out OF memory.
Get out your old photograph albums
and turn the leaves TO where mother
or grandmother stood forth in her best
gown 70 be taken" There were no
instantaneous photographs in those
days, and the result was that each
picture was posed with exceeding care.
The gown was smoOthed until ii had
not wrinkle nor fold, and the fair sitter
obtained a portrait which was a correct
likeness. not only Of herself, but Of her
gown as well
And these are the fashions which are
the vogue to-day These are the styles
which are being worn and viii continue
TO be worn the following summer. On
the board walk you Will see the 1860
girl and you VIII find her in the draw
ing-room and in the ballroom.
All the best modistes are studying
the 1850 girl, and all the best designers
Of London and Paris are paving the
way for her to come and make a long
stay
This girl, who deserves the name of
the wartime girl, has q style that is
quite her own. It is distinct and in
many respects creative. 1t is different
from any other style and II is a style
which belongs to her exclusively from
the crown OF her head to the tip of her
toe. You cannot mix her up with the
1890 girl She is too prettily feminine,
too trim. too perfect.
The 1880 girl, it must be remarked, is
all right. She is dainty and pretty,
but she is q bit extreme. She came in
q year ago and hounced her queerly
cut gown before you. But she could
not make herself quite popular She
was not distinctive. You were never
sure whether she was an 1890 girl or of
the Josephine era. The styles of 1880
were too mixed. They were composed
OF the styles Of all the other fashion
epochs, grouped and punched. And the
effect was not good enough to be last
ing.
And this Is what paved the way for
the wartime girl, the girl of 1860.
over In Paris this girl has quite
taken the Paris world by storm. Pa
Quin has studied her and is delighted
Il am adopting the styles Of the Con-
federacy," he says, "and I am every
day finding in them more and more
that is beautiful
The Southern women OF the 1850 days
were wonderfully well gowned. They
were famous then, and were quoted in
Paris, and they were also renowned IN
their own land. No great social func-
ton was complete unless Southern
belle could be coaxed from OLD Vir-
gfnia to grace the occasion.
And now IL is the revival of the
of the Confederacy. a revival OF the
days.
This period also brings IN the Eu-
genie gowns, for the ex-Empress was
. very much alive and very dressy in
that period. But the Empress Eugene
was Just the least trifle extreme, her
gowns were too extravagant and her
fashions a little too marvellous TO be-
come popular. Women could not af-
ford them. And those who could afford
them were not always willing to dress
q la mode.
But with the gowns Of the Confed-
eracy IL was different. They were ut
terly charming. And they were not so
very extravagant, either. Though the
Southern women of those days were
wealthy, they were economical ana