Pueblo chieftain., 1921-04-18
TWO THOUSAND YEARS OF STYLE


she walked. This is no exaggerated
fancy. Historic records mention that
Gabrielle distress, mistress of Henry
Nv, wore a court gown so loaded with
gold, silver and precious stones that
she could not move about alone and
could scarcely stand under the weight
OF It.
Between these clothes racks of the
court and the peasants there was no
great important middle class like that
Of today. Peasants working on the
land wore simple clothes. They could
not afford the costly materials af-
footed by the nobility. and they could
not work in the court styles. No wom-
ar could hoe or care for a child in
panniers or a ruff.
Peasants Initiate Royalty
The peasants In their villages got
their much modified styles, however.
from royalty. Just as the mobiles did.
The headdress worn by Ammo OF Brit
tany in the fifteenth century is still
copied by peasant women VI that part
OF France, and the tall, nical hennin
OF Isabel of Bavaria G4Wj is still the
There would be comparatively little
contrast OF variety In n history of
peasant costumes. Once a style gained
popularity with the peasantry Of
district 1t became a fxed inheritance.
That is why the Wright collection of
fashion dolls Is. down to modern times.
a collection of court ladies'. queens
and women of wealth.
The comparatively modern dolls. of
the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
cern n wider range of people than tho
narrow court circles. America. Ger
many. and France are represented in
the dolls of these centuries. Instead
of being labeled Queen Of France" or
"a lady OF rank" as the earlier dolls
Cd
costume" boil gown calling cos
tune street costume
The fall of the Bastile marked tho
end of royal leadership in fashions for
royal prestige in dress under the
Empress Josephine. but her influence
over French attire was negligible COM
pared to the influence tha- had been
exertcd by Marie Antoinette.
Soon. Industrial development COM
pleted the uphcaval of fashion tradi-
tons Machines turned out coats and
dresses wholesale and opched factory
employment to girls who hNd worked
at home or in the flelds. Materials were
made cheap. so that the werlung girl
could wear silk and lace. And. equally
important In the history of dress, the
railroad telegraph steamboat and fash
ION journal made IL possible for the
rest OF Europe and America 10 know
what Paris was wearing ~ ioon As
Paris put II on. When transportation
WAS in its primitive stages a style
was months old before II reached this
country from European fsshion
ccntcrs. Dolls dressed In Paristan and
London styles used to be sent tn the
fashionable dressmakcrs Of Boston and
Philadelphia Then civilization sp~edcd
up. and so have fashions. Instead of
changing by decades styles change by
seasons. or oftener. now.
There was nothing but tho whims
OF ROYALTY to set n limit to what could
be worn up To the French revolution.
Now there Is = different standard and
more variety. The stars of the stage
and screen arc tho advance guards of
style. II you don't like the sinking
drapcrics of the vamp you can copy the
ingenue in her simple $500 white mus
lin and still be recognized as a this
years model. and not an antique.
There il one new limitation. A wcn-
an will no longer wear clothes that
In sports and doing her work. Skirts
become full. but what dressmakcr.
however important could launch sue.
cessfully n dress 20 cumbersome that
the wearcr would have to have sup
port in order to get from typewriter
to flling case. so. when dresses be-
come narrow. there arc the alternatives
Of Sitting them and making the long
sheath gown of a few years ago or OF
making them short. as now. Now, Az
never before, the woman OF fashion
who Includes the factory girl and the
store clerk-dcmands certain de-
gree of comfort and freedom combined
with style
Clothes for centuries wcr~ a label
which woman wore TO proclaim her an
unproductive chattei-an expensive
luxury. Today they cloqucntiy express
the fact that she il haif-emcrgcd
from that Into the estate of an indc-
pendent worker.