The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-29
CHILDREN IN FANCY DRESS
SUGGESTIONS rom FHE NEW
YEARS EVE PARTY.

GnpAee puerDu ny NnMurcnb w~wAS
Nutnts whsch Arc Easily Made At msune.
The children have their share OF the hoh-
day Festivities. and fluffy little party Rrocks
Of lingerie and lRce are quite as important
In th6province OF the small folk ~ arc tbs
more gorgeous party ErOcks among the
grVwnnps.
But there ID nothing really new in chill
drama drassy 4roclIs. HAndwOrk IN ans
nanI. bahists. Mnsn. &c.. 10 still the hast
Naordo Of amsxtnaas and eleganee. and dainty
hand embroideriss. innumerable tiny hand
run tucss, narrow valenciennes frlls set
ON by hand. valenciennea insertions inset
by hand. herringbonA OF feather stitching
and SaufRy knota and bows OF ribbon. are
"a uuuaA the methods OF elaboration to
which che makers OF party Rrooks for small
children resort.
Occasionally some variety 10 introduced
by smuggling Of laces. fine real baby Irish
heRng combined with valenciennes, or a
fine real cluny insertion finding . place
In enc Design, and OF course there II infinite
variaaion of detail. e,
Isiis m the fancy dress party that the
small folk have a chance to depart from the
conventional limitations Of child toilets;
and though. a. many mothers contend. il
in q nuisance to prepare fancy costumes
for the youngsters. the run that those
yenngsssrs succeed in getting Oot OF a
suecessfnl costume party ought to repay
any effort Of preparation.
Tha Mansion House party in London
always brings out a tremendous display OF
the possibilities In fancy Dress for children.
and 10 seems rather a pity that New York
has no corresponding function, no u oc-
casionupon " hich we may enjoy the charm
ing spectacle OF hundreds OK little folk in
quaint and carefully planned costumes
whose inspiraaion has been found In every
land and every period. but il we have no
great fancy dreas party for children. az
least the holiday season ID full Of Smal
AFFAIRS Of this kind. and mothers, seam
strseses and O0stumers ara called upon to
exercise much ingenuity in the matter.
or course, there are costumes that may
be hired, chiefly of the COmmOner and more
obvious types. and there are COstumers
who. n o need not be considered. will
turn YOU out the most elaborate costume
desired; but the average mother cannot
ahift' responsibility in this fashion. and a
majority of the little cOstumes are pre-
pared Mt home with the assistance Of the
family seamstress.
II the mother has taste delightful effects
may be achieved az comparatively little
expenss, but considerable understanding
and ingenuity must be brought to bear
upon the problem il genuine success 10 to
result. In the first place. the possibilities
OF ths child must be considered, aRd right
here the fatal error often OCCURS. Few
parents are actually able to estimate with
impartial mind the physical charms and
Investigations Of their own children.
Probably the dispensatiOn is a merciRul
one. and q child Ii fortunate in it's certainty
Of appearing beautiful TO at least N person
in the world: hut the astigmatism brings
about dire consequences in the matter Of
children's dress. and maternal pride makes
a Ianientable Vatican ~shepherdess OF a
small xirI who might have made q credit
able gipsy, or a stOlid Spanish dancer Of
what might nave been a picturesque Dutch
peasant. .
Given a nice choice OF the character 10
he assumed. a choice taking into cOnsidera-
ton the child's looks. manners and tenn
peramept, the planning Of the costume IL
simple enough. A multitude Of illustrated
books Inll Of costume suggestions awaits
study in any library, and il one does not
WALy nlNVuTlC una JIG Ap uAi ~ .
hooks Of modern publication offer a fertile
field OF search. ... %
Mother Goose characters are always
popular. and there are pictures galore
representing these characters. The Mother
Goose costumes nave the advantage Of
beinS seldom expensive or difficult to copy,
and while ella borate historical costumes
and costumes copied from famous paint
| a---Ra 49, 1iva Grant nInaanna AN the
rrowuup ~oniookers. the fact remains that
tho costumes which are liked best by the
children themselves and which add mos,
TO the Success. and gayety Of the occasion
are those which are easily recognized by
all the children.
little Bo Peep and a Little Boy Blue
after. the Mother Goose model. may not
crafty maternal pride az acutely as wOulc
"A valesduez Infanta or a Boy in Blue after
G~ainsborough. but the children will like
them, better and they will have more fur
than their illustTious rivals.
The fairy tales. too. are full Of sugGes
tons for children's costumes, and the chill
dren Of many lands are always well repre-
sented ct a fancy dress party. Fhes'
foreign costumes may in soTDe cases be a
elaborate as m likes.
We have seen this last week a mos
exquisite Chinese costume prepared FOR
small girl TO wear on New Vear's eve, and
thanks 10 the globe trotting parents. tn
little lady will 60 clad in most rssplenden
fashion. all rich slks and gorgeous EN-
. Ibroideriss and gold. But her little cousin
who, is TO be a girl from Holland 10 wOOdeI
shoes and soft pethcOats and muslin blous
and funny little cap. will be quite as at
tractive in her own. way. though $40 woul
cover the whole cost Of her outfit.
The Dutch costume 10 a good ana in
expensive one for a boy, too, and Italian
Spanish. German and Russian peasants ole
good models demanding little expense. Will
the Montenegrin. Servian and Hungarian
costumes seem expressly designed for frs
aid . comic opera and fancy dress bal
costumes.
We were told that at this sams New Year
eve party Of which we havO spoken a sma
= boy and a girl whose parents are able .