Democratic Sentinel, Volume 12, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 November 1888 — FOR THE LADIES. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FOR THE LADIES.

flow DAME FASHION WOULD HAVE YOU ATTIKED. Matters of Especial Interest to Ladies Who Desire Becoming and Fash'onable Toilets—The Art of Dressing Economically and Well. fNEW YORK CORRESPONDENCE.! In New York, the fashionable worn in is just betwixt cool aud cold weather, hhe is loath to put on the w raps of w inter, because, liowevt r beautiful they maybe, they are necessarilyle-sstyiisu and symmetrical in shape than tight bodices. Therefore, she arrays herself for the promenade in a toilet decorated by devices calculated to look like a warmth which they do not produce. The illustration explains this idea at a glance. The figure of this young woman is good enough to excuse a little vanity, and to advantageously display a representative December costume. The lint has fur and feathers on it, and the same spoils of robbery irom beast i and birds cover the front of the gown from collar to hem. The art of adornment in dress is applying itself to dec-oi-ative uses of fur and feathers combined, and all the effects of embroidery are produced wit’ll those materials, as in this instance. The design of the diress itself is in the fashion of Louis XVI., pure and simple, the redingote b ing of dark-gray velvet, while the embroideries and garnitures of fur ai d feathers are inteimixed with silk and steel. The small turban hat of gray velvet is almost hidden under tho niasx of gray fur and ostrich feathers. The tiny muff is a mixture of the same color in fur and feathers, with a bit of blue velvet to match the same touch of color in the Lonnet.

There is one freak of fashion not shoAvn in that picture, and deserving of suppression in every way, although it has come into consideralile favor. That is the revival of thick and ample veils. These are not only made to cover the face, but they ai’e swathed across the back of the head and around the neck in an inartistic manner. Besides, they suggest that the wearer has a face which Avill not stand bright daylight exposure. A bit of acecdote is appropi'iate. Ada Behan, the favorite ac re s of the Daly Company, is forty years old and over. She makes up fairly for girlish roles on the stage, and her famous “prattle of maturity” enables her to act the frivolous girl admirably. But at close sight, in the cold light of day, she shows her age. A friend met her in Broadway, and her

face was enwrapped with a veil, in the new style. “Well, Ada,” said the possibly jealous actress, “what makes you hide yourself behind a veil in that manner?” “Oh, that is after the manner of She, the miraculous heroine of Eider Haggard's story. ” “And do you impersonate She before her second exposure to the pillar of fire,” was the placid but vicious question, “or afterward?” Something like that question is always raised by a thick veil. Is the concealed face young and beautiful, like that of the wondrously preserved She, or too old for sightliness, like that creature’s countenance after the wrinkles of a thousand years had suddenly appeared? Current feminine interest is now concentrated in-doors, very largely, because the season of social assemblages has begun. Costumes for balls and receptions range all the Avay from the simplicity of a debutante’s gown, as shown in the picture above, to the furthest venture into daring picturesqueness, as portrayed in tli i next sketch below. There is no limit to the whims in which some women will indulge themselves. For instance, at one of the week's drawing-room events, a certain married belle appeared with circlets of leaves and vines laid on her bare arms with gold leaf. The design had been wrought out for her by some artistic hand, and then somehow made adhesive to her skin. But such eccentricities are only to be mentioned as news—not recommended for imitation. Even the loose-waisted gown in the cut might properly be considered a trifle too pronounced in style. It was worn at a very swell reception. *The material was soft, pliant, India silk, which gave a statues jue effect of drapery. Across the breast, around the waist, encircling the hips, and finally tied loosely at the left side, with the ends hanging down, was a heavily braided rope of satin. It is declared that Mrs. Harrison will oppose decollete dresses at the

Whi'c House when she gets there; but whethor her influence shall then be felt cr no", it is coxtai i that there is no ro orm to bo expected this season. The corsages of l all and dinner dresses range ns low as ever, and the pict ires in this article are d awn so as to show the newest on line 3 fi r w aists of gowns. The shape is much the same as last w inter i x f.xmt, and there is a repetition of sleevo'essness; but an alteration i» of en made at the back, where the ( polling runs down to a very low poirt. Thi tis illrs rated in the eases of tlio two yo mg 1 ulies portray >d xvith tliMr bac cs turned to the observer. One of these plates, more over, belongs to a l a dual dialog le. A dude appeared a' a bill with his hair singularly cropped. The French fashion of short hair standing stiffly upright all over the top of the head has been in vogue for seveioxl years with men qualified by the possession of hair in quantity enough for the pui’pose. But this chap had varied the fashion by a cut which left the hair standing rather higher at the sides, as in the sketch. “How do you like it?” he asked of a girl acquaintance. “It is very odd, at least,” she replied. “I am told that it makes me look like Mephistoplieles—that is, real devilish.” “Indead! It hadn’t struck me that

way. I fancied that it suggested quite another being with abnormal ears.” As to what may be called the attributes of evening toilets, some of the bonbonnieres are very pretty. They are in the shape of a laige silk handkerchief tied corner wise and having sprays of green and purple grapes and leaves sliowilig at each corner. The handkerchiefs are# in the brightest mixture of color, and in rich silk. Others are in the form of a gigantic green nut, with the nut made iu satin, the calyx in velvet. The newest handkerchiefs have broad borders composed of several lines of silk thread in bright colors, and the edges finished in tiny scallops, buttonholed iu the same colors. They are of lhe finest batiste, and tho colors are principally red, blue, yellow, and mauve. It is a custom now to carry several haudkercliicfs at once, disposed in different pockets or other receptive places in the toilet, and these are taken out, for uso or display, according to handiness or the whim of the belle. The fashionable tendency of floral decoration is toward more simplicity and more artistic arrangement. Refined people are beginning to recognize that flowers should not be tortured into impossible and ridiculous shapes, and that the more natural the effect produced, the more beautiful. Much importance is now attached to the auxiliaries of the toilet, and in view of the fact that they supply the effect, of the same they cannot be held insignificant. Of the ornaments worn in the house, the oldfashioned buckle with sharp teeth for holding the belt and ribbon is again in vogue, and comes into play upon many stylish gowns. Stones in real jewels are mounted in showy designs, as, for instance, blue topaz in an elegant buckle of crescent shape, and Arizona garnets in one of star shape. A ruby, a catseve, a diamond aud a

sapphire ornament, a buckle shaped like an agraffe, the stones being cut in Cabochon style, without facets. A new fan is to have odd coins from foreign countries mounted up as pins to hold draperies or girdles. The Peruvian collar affords a pleasing specimen, being particularly handsome in design. There are no great changes in jewelry this season. Flower pins, in small shape, continue to be worn. The newest pins more closely approach the open brooch-shape worn by our grandmothers than anything recently made. Single pansies, single daisies, small passionflowers and sweet peas are all popular, but the newest pins are little open circles and plaques of white or blue enamel, set with diamonds, turquoises, or the beautiful Arizona garnets which show fire at night, all red as rubies, and have no touch of the purplish hue of old-time garnets,— Chicago Ledger.

A NOVEMBER EXHIBIT.

ARTLESS AND ARTFUL.

MEPHISTOPHELES AND MARGUERITE.