Year: 1875

To be well-dressed woman, as this
world goes, is the great ambition Of
every female who lays claim to social
distinction. To be finely yet not fiashily,
to be elegantly attired, yet clad within
the boundaries "a hich divide respecta-
bility from the followers of worldly
frailties; to cater to the aesthetics Of
dress, and not indulge in that which
eutrages deccncy, Is something which
the woman of fashion hopes to attain
and which requires the utmost caution
i'm assuming. The fashionable woman's
heart is given to dress; she is constantly
in mind bordering on distraction lest
her neighbor shall eclipse her newest
toilet, or attract more admiration than
she does by some new tangled cut to
her cloak or an extra wrinkle in her
over-skirt.


1t is an awful thing to be woman of
fashion: it is assuming grave femi-
nine responsibility to step before the
world and play the part of the Woman
who Dreams. The woman who talks
leads comparatively easy life; the
woman who dares to be bold and free
in the conventionalities of life guards
only her character; the woman who
dresses lives in a constant state or trep-
idatiOn lest she shall fail in some of
the essential points of her social exis-
tence, and be found guilty Of commit
ting the objectionable sin Of sporting
garments at least a month in arrears OF
the prevailing style. Her object Is to
please her friends, or rankle their hearts
with envy, at the display Of some par
ticularly nObby specimen of wOmen's
apparel, or dazzle of priceless gems.
She haunts the dry goods stores daily,
the terror of nervous clerks, and glides
mysteriously in and out at milliners'
shops, trying the patience Of modistes
and putting them to the limit Of their
inventive genius in getting up novel
designs which shall eclipse everything
that has been worn before. These are
ultra fashionable women, who have no
soul beyond clothes, whose highest
ideal is the perfect fitting garment and
costly toilet. She bursts forth in her
splendor on bright days when the
genial sunshine beats down upon the
city. The thoroughfares are full of
her. She saunters lazily along the
sidewalk drawing the attention of her
sisters and the eyes of staring men, or
rolls over the pavement in elegant Ian
daulet ogling the passers by and max
ing the world understand that there is
a vast gulf of social distinction between
her and the more unfortunate individ-
uals who are compelled to look upon
her from afar off. s...
The woman who dresses is far from a
source of profit to her husband. When
she laughs his purse cries. She must
be dressed, at all hazards, no matter
how short his bank account may be, no
matter how closely he may be pinched
| in the latest gold corner. She always
has her mind upon a new silk, her op-
tics on the latest importation of velvet,
while she talks glibly about fresh soli-
taires for her ears, or a costly mosaic
for her breast. She is persuasive in her
plcadings, and deXterous in her manip-
ulations of purse strings. At balls and
parties this woman fairly cOrruscates.
She scintillates with gems and rustles
with fine goods. She is versed in the
formalities of the social world, and can
grace an entertainment with the bril-
Iiancy of her shining accomplishments.


The woman whose life is given TO
dress, and who is called cloud" in her
attire, is very common in the city. She
belongs to the upper circles of society,
and feels that her position is certain
safeguard against any questioning that
may be made against her. In the street
as well as the parlOr, she indulges i'm
all the eccentricities which fashion die
tates or human device can fashion. But
she sails gracefully along, unmindful
of the criticism which her dress may
evoke. Furs, furbelows, and feathers
are all well enough in their place; af-
fected garnishment not only spoils the
effect, but robs the object which il
clothes of much of its natural beauty.