Los Angeles herald., 1905-05-21
Syrian Scarf for the Drapery of the Summer Maiden

~ summer the Syrian scarf prom
ises to take prominent place. 1t
,s very worthy of very high position
IN the favor of any woman who wlshes
to look graceful and becoming under
the most trying circumstances. Ihe
scarf ia now shown as the very latest
ACQUISITION at all stores which lead the
fashions in feminine finery.
The scarf is a gauzy affair, diaphan-
GUS and delicate in its effect, inwrought
with gold and silver threads, and pro-
ducing an impression when draped on
q dark haired or blonde beauty Of a
glittering cobweb on which drops OF
dew have been struck by the sun into
gold. or by the moon. if dew appears at
e1l NV moonlight. into silver. But al
though they appear to be so delicate IN
construction these glittering lacelike
things have really both weight ana
wearing qualities. They are well made
bv hand. of stout thread and silver or
gilt wire, and despite the fact that the
mesh is very open the fabric has much
more enduring quality than chiffon net
or tulle and far more character than
the lace or chiffon scarf.
The scarfs are three-quarters of
yard wide and two yards and half
long. They are imported from Syria or
made by Syrians in this country They
are made on a frame, the net of thread
being completed first, after which the
silver or gold wire is threaded in and
out and wound around the cotton mesh
so firmly that the complete ed fabric is as
firm as one woven by machinery.
Variety Of Patterns
Many of the scarfs show decided pat
terms, borders, centerpieces or occa-
sional motifs that are first woven in the
cotton and then followed and accentu-
ated by the wire. But others are woven
of one continuous, simple and constant
ly recurring pattern so that they look
like fabrics sold by the yard, instead
OF being complete in one piece The
edges are finished with an almost I'M
perceptible border in many instances or
with an obviously irregular and unos-
tentatious fringe, that, as in many
Oriental embroidertes seem to make no
excuse for being merely the rough edge
of the piece.
The scarfs come in u variety of colors,
although as yet there has been no at
tempt to rob them Of their Oriental
richness of hue nor to enlarge the
variety of shades in which they have
always been made in Syria, so that it
would include all the latest colors pleas
ing to Occidental fancy. The most at
tractive scarfs are possibly those of
dazzling white on which silver wire has
been used. The white scarfs with gift
wire are also most attractive. There
are also numbers of ecru scarfs with
silver or gold wire, and others of that
queer dusky yellowish brown which
comes in Oriental fabrics. These are
surprisingly handsome with the silver
thread even more so, perhaps, than with
the gold.
There are also very SNOWY black
scarfs with silver embroidery, and
Others in red and gold that are startling
and perhaps little over picturesque
for the ordinary Anglo-Saxon.
The uses Of the scarfs are almost too
many for enumeration. In the first
place, the natural use to which they are
put by the Syrian women is that which
among American women finds the
greatest number OF followers
Anyone who has ever seen a Syrian
woman or an East Indian woman or
any woman OF those countries where
the scarf Is used knows how infinitely
it adds to her appearance. 1t lends a
poetry mystery. an atmosphere Of
beauty to the most commonplace, and
as I'm the case OF the Spanish mantilla
one forgets the lack of actual good
looks in the delighted contemplation of
graceful lines of drapery.
There was at one time in the ex-