The New York herald., 1921-09-25
The Heroine's Changing Dress.

The writer of recently published
and much read novel says OF his
heroine "she wore pale blue sort
OF thing" Somewhat apologetically,
perhaps, he attributes the description
to one of his male characters. Sufh-
cient to man, but the woman reader
before deciding upon the heroine's
taste would like to know pale blue
what? Duvetyn. georgette or can
ton crepe? This is the way Of the
modern novelist. One whose works
rank with the best sellers in describ-
ing ball around which much OF his
story turns refers to girls In pretty
frocks like flowers cast about" but
vouchsafes little more description OF
these flowers than that the hero
danced with the auburn haired girl,
he spun down the room with the
brown one. he paused to show the
trick OF step to a tall one with
black coils" Not one word OF the
vitality important matter Of what
they wore!
Contrast this with THAcKEBAY's
story of the Brussels opera night
or the historic Duchess Of RICH
MoND's ball. There were Amelia, "the
pretty woman in white" ''the crea-
ture with the yellow plume in her
turban and red satin gown and a
great watch" and Mrs. O'Dowd, with
"a curl on her forehead and set Of
Irish diamonds and cairngorms
which outshone all the decorations
in the house." Becky Sharp was there
in her favorite pink. patronizing
Amelia. finding fault with her dress,
the way her hair was dressed, and
''she wondered how she could be so
chaussee and vowed that she would
send to her her corsetiere the next
morning"
THACKERAY Is most satisfying to
his woman readers in the matter Of
dressing his people. When Becky
received Lord Steyne she was in a
fresh and rustling" triumph and 1t
afforded him glimpse "of the pretti-
est little foot in the prettiest little
sandal in the finest silk stocking In
the world" How pleasing is his pic
ture of Beatrix Esmond with her red
stockings with silver clocks, and the
wonderfulest little shoes with tall red
heels. How neatly he shows us the
cleverness of the mink who flirted
with Pendennis in wearing on dusty
Derby day "a short dove colored silk
dress, with white parasol lined with
pink and the prettiest dove colored
boots" To the really earnest student
of what to wear to win the author
OF Vanity Fair" was a safer guide
than the once famous WORTH Of
Paris.
Sir WALTER ScoTT's description Of
costumes Of the romantic times Of
which he wrote were So complete
that his women readers wondered;
they declared that Lady ScoTT could
not have been his tutor, but that the
lovely Miss STUART, who exerted such
a strong influence upon his tastes,
might have been. In "Kenilworth"
he drew in few words Queen ELIz-
ABETH's appearance, "arrayed in a
most splendid manner and blazing in
Jewels" and showing in her noble
carriage that she WAS "a daughter
of a hundred kings" In the same
triumphal entry we have LEICESTER,
glittering like gold image with
jewels and cloth of gold" In Ivan
hoe" he leaves US a vivid impression
OF Rebecca, who might, indeed, COM
pare with the proudest beauties Of
England" Her turban was Of yellow
silk; "of the golden and pearl studded
clasps which closed her vest from
the throat to the waist the three up
permost were left open; diamond
necklace, with pendants Of inesti.
mable value, was by this means
made more conspicuous" The
feather of an ostrich fastened in her
turban by an agraffe set with brill
iants was another distinction of the
beautiful Jewess, -seoffed and 'sneered
at by the proud danes who sat above
her but secretly envied by those who
affected to deride her."
DICKENS, himself fond Of dazzling
waistcoats, knew how women should
dress. Kate Nickleby went to the
theatre In her black silk with a
tucker OF real lace and short sleeves
showing round arms" We would ex-
pect Miss Trotwood to be in "a dress
OF lavender color and perfectly neat
but scantily made as II she desired
to be as little encumbered as posi-
ble." We feel DIcKENs's bitter sar'
casm in the reference to Dombey's
mother-in-law, with "her trailing
robe braided like a baby's" and her
bare back. DICKENS leaves us in nc
doubt about the help to Arabella 'of
a very nice little pair OF boots with
fur round the top" in winning the
bashful Wrinkle. Then he married
her Off in "a rich lilac silk pelisse
with Chantilly fall"
FIELDING gave Sophia the distinc.