The Washington herald., 1909-02-22
BUYING TROUSSEAUx.

Herald reporter AT one tine We ali
used TO get cutie excited when a Gus
toner came in with daughter 10 order
wedding trousseau. even though some
OF the force knew that before the order
was finished they would have to work
nights maybe
1T Was not so common for the moth
ers OF girls now in society TO run over
to Europe as soon as they got engaged
and buy part Of their trousseau as it
is now. And none that I met ever
dreamed OF waiting until after she was
married TO buy this. that. or the other
garment II was about eight or ten years
ago that the trousseau had reached its
greatest luxury from a dressmaker s
point OF view Even then. however.
there was a great falling OF 10 be sure
in the quantity Of bed and table linen
and underwear included in rich girls
bridal outfit.
Here is one order just as il is put
down in my November ledger OF 1883:
six dinner dresseS
Four eTenirs drpsses. cut dancing length.
-Four Afternoon reception costumes, cIt demitraiD.
high IN the bcdice
-Four calling costumes. mrce Of then matched
with fancy coats
Three street costumes
-Four tea gowns. Cut with long tain.
Three uegiigees-loag.
! Three negligces- short
Two long eTening WraTS
Two long afternoon UraIa
''The evening wraps were OF white and
! gold brocace. white chiffon, and yards
and yards Of fine Viennese lace, and OF
pink satin and velvet brOcade combined
with quantities 1f creamy lace. / have
forgotten exactly what kind The after
noon wraps were made OF dark violet.
combined in one case Sith FUR, embrOid-
cred white satin and lace, in the other
with fine cloth Of a lighter shade, elab-
orately embroidered and braided The
street costumes each had its own coat.
/ The dinner gowns were Of he richest
satins and velvets Offset with superb
laces. and the ball gowns. although made
Of tuIe. chiffon. and other thin goods, in
Cluded also quantities Of handsome laces
and embroideries.
"Ol the reception gowns there were
/ two 20 be worn al the two first recep-
+ JiOns given by tire bride. and these. I re-
member. was almost entirely Of white
I Irish point lace, and another was Of pale
I blue crepe De chine almost covered with
/ hand embroidery. This order was not
+ exceptional that year or for two or
/ three years later.
After that there was a decline. not in
quality, but in quantity. the last two
gears showing a sharp cutting down in
I the number Of gowns and wraps ordered
BY even the wealthiest brides. In some
/ cases economy has nothing al all TO do
with IL Il is no longer the fashion "a
/ have more gowns than are needed 20 take
/ the bride over one season. IN the case
have quoted the bride planned reception
dinner. and evening gowns enough 10 last
from. December. when she was married
up 20 the next December. and neglgees
sufficient 10 last even longer
Brides Of to-day have stopped dOinf
that, 7 am sorry 90 say It is no longer
/ considered bad form 20 buy new clothes
three months after the wedding and
( charge them up 10 the husband. A few
weeks ago the mother Of a bride. who is
rich in her own richt. told me when or
dering the wedding go<-n: Make it sC
that IL can be used afterwari for a din
ner gown. which is now quite a common
thing 10 do
! Instead Of laying away her brida
dress. the modern bride wears 81. slightly
! changed, at her first reception or at sue
! ceeding receptions given in her honor, OF
else has the Corsage cut low 50 that j
can do duty in the evening.
The bride I refer 20. who expects q
80 South after her marriage next week
IS ordering mostly summer dresses. anC
not so many Of them at that. for in ApTi
7 she viii sail for Europe 10 spend sil
months in travel, and naturally viii buy
what she needs IN Europe. returning
probably, with a lot Of new things foi
next winter. SO far she has ordereC
from me her wedding gown. two dinne
dresses. one handsome street costume
FIVE dainty costumes made mostly o.
lace. lawn. and chiffon; two negligees
a lightweight evening wrap and one lOni
carriage wrap
There IS no attempt TO economic II
the cost Of these things. that Is not tn
point. The modern bride gets, on th'
whole, far handSomer clothes than he,
mother or grandmother dreamed Of buy
ing. and pays twice as much for them
But she is careful as 20 quantity. anS
that is bad for the dressmske and 70
the dealers in fine lingerie Where for
mer generations Of brides bought under
J. garments by the dozens at least. this gen
Grafton buys them by the half-dozen. Tn
lingerie. however. Of the modern brid
is a marvel in the way Of workmanship
and fine lace. and naturally she Coesn'
care 20 lay In a supply OF such expensive
; things 20 store them up 20 get Old-fash
ioned-
, When il comes to costumes. she feel
a good deal the same way probably.
"All the same. now there is a goo,
deal less sentiment about the trOusseal
than there was formerly. brides Of tO-da,
being quite willing even to wear trav
cling dress which has done duty severa
weeks before the wedding Sometime
they prefer 10 90 this in fact Catch
| bride Of thirty years ago doing anything
: Of the sort II there was one thing mon
than another about which she was fuss
IL was her travelling dress. Now Il !
, her dinner dresses that she cares mos
about, and I must say that the moder1
trousseau contains far more dinner gown
than il used 70, whether bought here o
on the other side.
The popularity Of European honey
moons IS another reason for the cut /
size Of some OF the trOusSeaUX- So 500
as a bride-elect tells ne: I am gOin
abroad directly We are married. I know
what TO expect-that she VIII wait unit
she comes back before ordering her mos
expensive gowns, and that q few Of thes
at least viii be bought in Paris, London
or Vienna
THE cost OF the 1893 trousseau men
toned was $3.50. The cost Of the trous
), sesu I am providing for the bride VII
starts South after her wedding, Is $3.50
Relatively the drop in the number Of gar
ments. aside from lingerie, hosiery. an
such things. contained in the moder
trousseaU Of wealthy girls IS % per cent
and the drop in the relative cost OF tn
American trousseau Of ten years ago an
Of to-day is 20 per cent
Cricket Fights.
: Prom the Philadelphia Bulletin
} IN Philadelphia's Chinatown there Is
Pekinese set that pursue cricket ightin