Year: 1866

LadteS' Dresses In PRris-ssIS CFimOl ine


Out of FashiOn9


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


81 meet in the streets of Paris, and
sometimes at an evening reception, a
toilet of the period of the First Empire;
short-waisted, and certainly there can
be no crlnoline or iron-hooped any
thing under somewhat scanty robe,
such as Lady Jersey danced in at AL
mack's In the days of George w. You
see the pretty feet, and some idea may
be arrived as to how nature has sculp-
tured the whole of the graceful female
form. AT the promenade In the Bois
you meet with ladies whose dresses
gracefully respond TO the movements
OF the frames; and certainly there can
not be any lcunningly conceived Sub-
structure ofsteel and textile substances
under the empire style of costume. I
therefore conclude that there are ladies
of fashion moving about in the most
refined society honestly without criuo-
line; but they are not yet n majority.
You find most ladies, on the contrary,
wearing dresses wide spread out at tho
bottom, and show a train which begins
TO be as long as those worn at court.
From the waist downwarls this ever
spreading, trailing robe must be sup
ported by some material. Is 1t crino-
ltne2 Is it jupe in another shape, or is
1t a mass of clustering under-clothing
OF cotton or linenP How am to find
out thatf j have watched sublimely
grand ladies get out of carriage, un-
der the impression that the accident of
events might enable one to form a
pretty good opinion about the presence
of crtnoline. But no .jItpeS-cdqes ever
turned up; the robe falls into a nonot-
onous spread, trails on the ground, and
Is as 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.


In the streets of Paris some ladies
wear a dress which appears TO be crino-
1ineless, until it suddenly and abrupt
ly spreads out at the bottom as II n
single hoop were employed. What is
thisf A windy day at the seaside
might relieve ones doubling mind. /
strongly suspect this is the last ring-a
hoTrld cage. II crinoline is expiring,
1t dies hard in Paris. Tho ladies at the
markets still wear crinoline and so do
the ladies of the Kitchen, therefore /
suspect crinoline is lowering still abont
In all Glasses of society. Now, those
interested in this momentous question
will say. Why don't you go to the fash
ion books for Information? Ask an
audience of Ne w, in the Rue
de In Paix. Do youthin you can say
anything positive after all thisP One
magazine of the fashions tell us /: "Tal-
ing our impressions from certain high
indications, we think we may go SO far
as to declare that a gradual abandon
ment of crinoline is taking place in all
classes of society" You then turn to
the colored plates, and there you find n
dress worn by lovely creature, the
bottom of which is occupying nearly
the whole width of the plate. What
keeps out its vast spreading propor-
tions? If you ask me to sum up, nv
answer is, l believe crinoline is only
half out, and something quite as bad is
half in. We are probably passing
through period of transition. 1t will
be very interesting for some time to
come to look for the day when humani-
ty can write-CIinoLtnG Jitit.'