Year: 1866

The correspondent OF the London Post
at Paris, having received letters from
some ladies in England begging to inform
them whether crinoline is out of fashion in
Paris, writes in reply:


81 meet in the streets of Paris, and
sometimes at an evening reception, toilet
of the period of the First Empire; short
wasted, and certainly there can be no
crinoline or iron-hooped anything under a
somewhat scanty robe, such as Lady Jer-
sey danced in Almack's in the days of
George ". You see the pretty foot, and
some idea may be arrived at as to how na.
ture has sculptured the whole Of the grace
ful female form. Atthe promenade in the
Bols you meet with ladies whose dresses
gracefully respond to the movements Of
the frame; and certainly there cannot be
any cunniDgly conceived substructure of
steel and textile substances under that
empire style of costume. l therefore con-
clude that there are ladies of fashion NOV
ing about in the most refined society hon.
estly without crinoline; but they are not
vet majority. You fud most ladies, on
the contrary, wearing dresses which spread
out at the bottom, and show train which
begins to be as long as those worn at court
From the waist downwards this ever
spreading trailing robe must be supported
by some material? Is it crinoline! Is it
! jupe in another shape, or is it a mass of
clustering underclothipg of cotton or lin
en-? How am | TO find out that have
watched sublimely grand ladies get out of
carriage, under the impression that the
accident of events might enable one to
form pretty good opinion about the pres
ence of crinoline. But no jupescGges ever
turned up; the robe falls into monoto-
nous spread, trails on the ground, and is
irritating to surrounding human nature as
the old crinoline nuisance. Gentlemen
have to dodge about in the drawing-room
and on the pathway of gardens and parks.


'sIn the streets of Paris some ladies wear
dress which apears to be crinolineless,
until it suddenly and abruptly spreads out
at the bottom as if single hoop were en-
ployed. What is this? A windy day at
the seaside might relieve ones doubling
mind. l strongly suspect this is the last
ring-a horrid cage. If crinoline is ex-
piring, it dies hard in Paris. The ladies
at the markets still wear erinoline, and so
do the ladies of the kitchen, therefore /
suspect crinoline is lowering still about in
all classes of society. Now, those inter-
ested in this momentous question will say,
why don't you go to the fashion books for
information Ask an audience of Ne
lW-t, in the Rue de la Paix. Do you
think yon can say anything positive after
all this? One magazine of the fashion tells
us: Taking our impressions from certain
high indications, we think we may go SO
far as to declare that gradual abandon


ment of crinoline is taking place in all
classes of society," You then turn to the
colored plates, and there you find a dress
worn by a lovely creature, the bottom of
which is occupying nearly the whole width
of the plate. What keeps out its spread
ing proportions? If you ask me to sum
up, my answer is, believe crinoline is
only half out, and something quite as bad
| is half in. We are probably passing
through a period of transition. 1t will
be very interesting for some time to come
to look for the day when humanity can
write -crinolina fiat."