The Washington herald., 1912-01-15

Of England setting the styles for the
feminine world. King Edwards personal
! tastes In dress were watched oy the
tailors of at least two continents. and
his personal likes and dislikes In the
matter OF colors and cuts were rejected
I'm all the capitals OF Europe. To a
slightly less degree King George Affects
the modes of the male half OF ciyiliza-
ton. But not even her closest friends
would accuse Queen Mary Of being fash
ionabie. In fact, her tastes In matters
of dress are those OF a thrifty house.
wife, with little to spare on personal
adornment
To copy the modes Of a King Is more
or less Of n compliment to his good
taste; to follow too slavishly the modes
Of Queen is the worst of bad form.
In the Queens encourage IL Is an un-
written law that the dresses OF the Ia
| dies must not too closely resemble those
| Of her majesty, and the same rule ap-
plies TO all those who come into touch
socially with the Queen. In other words
I common consent accOrds Queen Mary
that pleasure, dear to every woman'S
heart, OF excluslveness In dress.
Sets show Pace.
II "OulQ not De narus even Tut a "Oui-
an Of limited income. to follow the pace
set by Queen Mary In her expenditure
on dress. 1t will be a surprise to many
TO learn that some OF the more simple
dresses in her majesty's wardrobe cost
not more than the equivalent Of so. In
/ fact, she has a number OF plain walking
and yachting costumes that cost exactly
/ &c IS Cd. about so. That is not to say
\ that they are made Of cheap material;
on the contrary. the Queen always in
s!sts that no matter how low-priced the
dress supplied to her. II must contain
no Imitation material whatever. Every
thing must be the best Of its kind.
Usually Queen Nary orders several
gowns at the same time in order that
she may not waste too many Of her val
liable hours. Word is sent to the estab-
lishment she intends 10 patroniZe. telling
the manager that the Queen will call
at such and such a time on such and
such a day. A general description OF the
kind OF gowns she would like to pur-
chase accompanies the notification. The
manager must provide n private room
I'm which to receive her majesty. and a
number Of gowns such as he thinks will
meet with her favor are paraded before
her on n living model
Queen Mary has decided tastes OF her
own in matters Of dress, and she seldom
orders an exact copy OF any OF the models
shown to her. There Is always some
modification required. and she gives the
most minute directions. which are taken
down and submitted IN writing for her
approval SO that there will be no mis-
take.
In some cases dressmakers are COM
manded to call at Buckingham Palace
with a selection Of model gowns. but as
a rule Queen Mary prefers TO call at the
shops. The "dttings' are always done
at Buckingham Palace, and the Queen
makes It very plain that she does not
want to give more than one fitting for
each gown. That means that the modiste
must use every care that little or no
alteration is necessary.
Frequently the dresses made for Queen
Mary are trimmed with priceless lace
and embroideries supplied from the COL
lection at Buckingham Palace. In such
cases, after the gowns have served their
purpose. the trimmings are removed to
do service again. In no case are these
trimmings sold with the dresses.
There are some women in the world
who refuse to wear the same dress twice.
Queen Mary is not one of them. She
has been known to wear the same dress
as many as twenty-five times. On an
average, dresses remain in the royal
wardrobe about six months. and during
that time they are worn probably eight
cen times each. although the frequency
Of their use varies a great deal. accord
ing to the nature of their material and
style, and thus a walking dress would
be worn more often than an evening
gown.
Although the Duchess of Devonshire
holds the proud title Of mistress of the
robes. Il Is a mistake TO suppose that she
has anything TO do with the dressing OF
the Queen. Her title is largely an honor
airy one. So also largely are those Of the
ladies' of the bedchamber. although they
are constantly in attendance in success
sion upon her majesty. The clothes OF
the Queen are in charge OF a dressing
maid and two assistants, called dressers.
and are kept in a great apartment ad-
joining the Queens bedchamber, known
with enormous wardrobes. some contain |
ing the state robes and others her ma |
jesty's ordinary gowns and dresses.
Costumes Are Numbered.
One Of the ladies Of the bedchamber |!
sends a card in the evening to the dress |
ing maid. giving particulars Of the dress |
es that will be worn by the Queen on
the following day. After each dress is |
entered the hour at which It must be |
ready and laid out in the dressing room. |
The system Is simplified by the number |
ing of every costume In her majesty's |
extensive wardrobe, and any reference /
to them Is made by number.
Twice a year Queen Mary personally \
goes over her wardrobe and throws out /
the dresses she no longer wishes to re-
tain. Those discarded are disposed Of in 1
two ways; a small number are given to 1
the dressing mistress and her assistants,