The New York herald., 1921-09-04
Many Second Empire Wedding
Gowns Now in the Max
\ ing in Paris.
by ANNE RITTENHoUsE.

"% HE chief objection raised by
those who feel convinced that
the bouffant skirts of the Second
Empire will never be revived in the
days of the Third Republic is that
skirts SO bouffant take up too much
room In these days when women pack
themselves into motor cars, dance In
crowded restaurants, play golf and
tennis. and spend weeks out OF every
year either cramped up in stateroom
CT In a hotel suite which at best would
not accommodate more than a half
dozen of these ballooning skirts.
That is OF course II you belong to
q family that has already made, but
has not yet lost, its fortune. But for
the rest--those of US who have lost
or never had any great favor with the
god Of gold-the enormous skirt of the
Second Empire has more obvious and
more disconcerting defects. Imagine
It In the subway. in any office. behind
q counter where saleswomen have to
be sylphs to pass each other even in
our present planked shad Silhouette!
Imagine 1t on the golf links the ten
mis- court, in the rush hour in New
YorlS's Wall Street.
And yet there are occasions. For
instance, when one Is wed one has half
a church aisle and more all to ones self
There Is room for the crinoline that sup
ports a skirt eight yards around and
there is time for the gliding graceful
walk that ladies in Eugenie's time used
to regard as indispensable to gentility.
Second Empire Wedding Gown.
so 20 ahead with your Empress
Eugene wedding frock II you feel in
cIined. There are many OF them in the
making for early autumn brides in
Paris and the best dressmakers have
stamped them with their approval. IL
! Is the one dress In any womans ward
robe that may be chosen without the
eordid question OF later serviceability at
tached. No one ever hopes 10 wear
wedding dress as II Is again. IL you are
sentimentally inclined you will stow Il
away between sheets of dark blue tissue
paper--and IL you are not you will find
material enough In its spacious pctticoat
for two or three ordinary frocks or negli-
gees.
But don't imagine that In going back
60 The long, full slxirted wedding frock
we have gone back TO the hideous Gus
tom Of wearing high stiff collar to the
bridal atari
Even the most prudent have ceased to
rail at bare necked, bare armed brides.
and as the present day bridal wells a-e
arranged the arms and neck are Partly
covered anyway.
There Is a bridal dress OF Lanyin's
that must have been the outcome OF
browsing back In the fashion books OF
1852. though any bride Of that decade
would have started and stared at any
bodice made TO wear over so enormous n
wairtitne. And that is really the most
essential difference. The Lanvin we'd
ding dress and the others made IN EN-
press Eugenie spirit are made for the
bride OF 1921. II she wears stays at all
they are of tricotine. and she takes az
great pains to see that every bit OF her
underthings are fiat and bulkless as n
she intended 10 do an Empire frock
rur the Directoire still reigns In the
French underwear
The bridal veil to be worn with this
Lsnvin frock is OF tulle formed into a
cap held in by bandeau and a spray OF
orange blossoms at the left side. with
fold upon fold of the tulle spreading out
nbour the frock, but terminating almost
foot above the bottom OF the skirt.
One might think that In these days
when the Spanish lace shawl has come
In for such interesting adaptation there
would betsrevival Of antique white lace