The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-14

lauy atIlreu m a MerVeilleuse gown for the first time. he offered her piece of money. thinking she was of the needy class.
 Many fashions preserve things that were born of necessity in centuries gone by. Crinoline Is an example. There once lived a badly deformed, though popular, princess. She wore crinoline to hide her figure, and 1t soon became the vogue. Akin to this is the origin of the peruke. worn to this day on the bench in England. A certain king had a deformity which 1t required big wig to hide, and the peruke was created for that purpose. It soon had it's vogue and is preserved to this day.
 While Paris is the home of women's fashions, London holds the honor of regulating the question of mems dress. Her sway is more complete in the sphere of mems apparel than that of Paris is over women's since the Americans control the fashions which start from Paris. but do not those which start from London. The taste of the king and other members of the royal family govern mems Gress to a I large extent, and within certain ranges. when the Prince of Wales | was in Canada recently he wore a | white top nat. It is expected that l this will become fashionable here as well as abroad. The Prince Albert coat, as the frock coat came to be known whtI King Edward was Prince of Wales, is ;.nothor instance of the influence of English royalty on mans dress. Ascot ties. derby hats. Wind sor bows and other articles of apparel tell their own tale of English origin. Mark Twains crusade in favor of white clothes for men is but the de- mand for the e-estabIishment of old nj Hns VY.4.s Sln nineteenth cenurv mems clothes were as delicate In color and as rich in fabric as women's. Samuel Pepys tells of having his waistcoats made from his wife's dresses. But sine. that time man has become ultra con- servative, and wanders but little way from accepted forms of dress. The. full dress coat comes down from centuries gone by without substantial alteration It was cut away so thaL the skirts would not be in the way when a, gentleman was out riding. The buttons on the back of the coat were put there to button up the skirt of the coat when riding. The curious notch in a mans coat collar was nut there so that he could rear 1t up or down. The occasion for the notch has long since passed, but the notch will never pass. s.z
 Good old Ben Franklin would be the last man in the world one would ac- cuse of starting a fashion-unless 1t were the fashion of philosophic think ing-yet it was he who rave the stir hat its vogue. When he was repre- sehting hls country in Paris, he wore his old Puritan hat. whose crown was a cone with the little end sawed off When the fashionable folk of Paris saw this old hat 1t was interesting to them. and they immediately evolved the stiH hat that hac been in style ever since.
 The days of sumptuary laws as they relate to dress have long since passed. But England had them, and every other older nation at one time or an other passed such laws Rome haa many acts or the statute books TO- lating to dress. One of these set forth that no woman should he al-~ lowed to possess mole than half an ounce of gold for ornamentation, and none should be allowed to wear a dress of different colors. It was known as the Oppian Law. and was widely opposed by women. In 215 B. c. there was movement among .he women to have this law repealed, and 1t came near to precipitating d revo- lution. The old Blue Laws of New England colonies laid great restrlc- tions on dress.
 Nations have aiternt ted for centu- ries between extreme plainness of dress and superfluity of adornment. while before the French Revolution men and women became so absorbed with other activities that the matter of dress was almost entirely neglect ed, and 1t Is said that everybody was attlred so plainly that 1t was diflc Ut to tell who were the guests and who the servants at great functions.
 Heards were not in style In the Uni A~I lack Of shaving facilities at the front during the war was largely respons sible for their conf. 7 to be worn. General Burnside was the first con spicuous example of wearing aide whiskers, and me wag named them 'stdeburns. and 1t stuck. In inc South 1t was believed that Louis Ma poleon was friendly to the Southern cause, ant the Southern soldier wore the Napoleon" or goatee. as an ex4 precision of belief that France would intervene in the Souths behalf
 II IS interesting to note how ems. toms other than in dress get their vogue. UDcovering the head when en. terlng house or in the presence of laGy eoms down from the age of chtYalry inc knigh who removed his hemlet in the house of frten Is or in church showed that he raije6 on the protection of the host in the ona case and of God in the ether. Dress ing the halr with ribbons started out with the Duchess of Fontagne. Tnis tress of Louis XIV. She was out hunt ing one day and her hat blew of sh,, tied her hair with her ribbon parters to keep it out of her face. and hair dressing with ribbons immediately became the fashion
 The origin of clubs is noteworthy Today they represent wealth Their membership is largely made up of rich folk. Yet they were born of semi-poverty. Just after the battle of Waterloo there were hundreds of na- val and military officers in the Eng fish service who were glad to retire on half pay. after the strenuous cam paigns against Napoleon. Yet theIr incomes were not such as would war rant their maintaining individual es- tablishments. So they formed the United Service Club and from then henceforth club life, was fashionable.
 Copyright, fsOS by Fredric J.
 Haskin.)
 TOmorrO1S--our Great Britain Cr0u.-.