Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 October 1891 — CHILDREN’S COSTUMES. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CHILDREN’S COSTUMES.

GOWNS THAT ARE BECOMING TO LITTLE GIRLS. Tooth I* Always Beautiful and Its Dell, cacy, Its Harmony, and Its Coloring May Be Destroyed by an Unbecoming Gown, or Killed, as the Artists Term It, by Too Bright a Color. * What They Should Wear.

PEAKING of children, some philosopher has averred / that, no matter ' how much trouble they make, they alwaya pay their way. Manifestly, this writer hadn't a large family of daughters or he wouldn’t have made this romara. 1 1 don’t know how many children Fox, the founder of Quakerism, was blessed with, says our New York

writer, but I’ve often suspected that ho had a large family of daughters, and hence preached against the abomination of tine clothes from tho standpoint of economy. Certain it is that Cornelia’s jewels, of which she was so proud, were both boy 9, and it is quite likely that had they been girls she would not have been so eager tp call them into the room and show them off, for they would have been sure to cry out in the same breath: “Oh, mamma, buy us some of these pretty gems!” This silly prejudice against girl babies took its rise in barbarous and semi-barbarous times when the chiefs longed for sons to take up their battles where they left them off. Girls couldn’t fight. Thank heaven for that; but they may look beautiful and carry sunshine into the hearts and homes of men. Corne.ia's two sons camo to bad end. Had they been daughters they might havo lived to delight their mother’s old age. A mother fortunato enough to possess a daughter should avoid two dangerous extremes in feminine adornment—she should neither dress her too old nor yet too young. Yonth is always beautiful, and Its delicacy, its harmony, and its coloring may easily be destroyed by an unbecoming gown, or killed, as the artists term it. by too bright a color. Princess or (or eiet gowns always look well on young glr.s, especially if they aro slender. et the gown be made of any woolei: material of becoming color, and tho upper corsage, plastron and epaulets oi pongee. Close the corsage at the back with hooks. You'may outline the plastron Avitli a bias border of tho woolen stuff. Tho skirt needs a little ornament of some kind, say several rows of narroAV ribbon or galloon. In my first illustration I present for your consideration a charming evening costume for a young miss—a dotted tulle

made up over a straAv-colored surah The skirt, plain in front, has fan pleats at the back, and is bordered with a deep flounce of gathered tulle. Tho corsage is made on ordinary lining and closes in the middle. The corselet is sewed on one side and hooked on the other. The basques are of the tulle. The ceinture and braces may be of si kor of velvet ribbon. The braces start from the shoulder. The sleeves have ribbon bracelets. It Avould be difficult to devise a lovelier costume for a girl of 14 to 16. It is the very perfection of good taste, and any attempt to increase its attractiveness must result in failure. A pretty afternoon toilet for a young miss maybe made up in woolen material of a turquoise blue with a square yoke ornamented Avith a steel galloon and framed with a narrow ruffle of crepe de chine of the same tone. The corsage closes at the back with steel buttons, and is set’ off by a broad ceinture or Swiss belt made on stiff material and whaleboned. On the left there is a bow of broad turquoise ribbon Avith long ends. In my first illustration you will find admirably pictured two costumes for young girls, the one on the right being in case au lait cashmere with spots of a somewhat darker tone, and intended for a miss of sxt.-en or thereabouts. The lining of the corsage closes in tl)e middle and the yoke and plastron have no seam. The yoke is ornamented with vertical bands of cornflower blue velvet. There is a turn down coliar and bouffant s eeves, eut straight, ending in cuffs or-

namented wi:h encircling bands of iho velvet. The belt Is ornamented in the same way, and there is a rosette at the bacx to corneal the o enine. Too plastron and yoke are lined with silk and there a.e no darts except in the lining. The overskirt i# cut tooth wise, which paits are lined witli silk To make these teeth you baste the stuff on a band of silk, stitch out the teeth in outline and cut away the superfluous stuff: then

turn under the edges. The band of silk is fastened to the skirt by invisible stitches. The skirt is finished with a band 'of the cashmere, about twelve inches deep, and ornamented with three rows of the ribbon. The teeth must be caught here and there to this band. The skirt is gathered at the waist and has numerous pleats at the back. The costume on the left is intended for a little girl, and may be made up in any woolen stuff, gray, nutbrown, or turquoise blue, while the velvet used to set it off may be black or light brown. The dress is gathered at the neck Instead of a collar. The corsage closes at the back. The velvet revers are held in pla'-e by large buttons; cuffs in same style. The Velvet ceihture has« large bow at the back. It is a charming make-up for a little girl. While striving to help out anxious mothers by suggesting combinations and styles in dress, I must not fail to direct their attention to that art of beautifying the person which lies outside the sphere of the designer of modes and makers of gowns. I refer to the selection of proper corsets for young misses, so that the symmetry of the figure may be maintained or defects corrected while the body is supple and pliable; and to the care of the hair, the hands, Ihe feet, the skin, the teeth and, particularly, to the cultivation or grace of carriage, without which the most dainty costume is utterly void and without any effect. One often sees shapely little heads marred by too projecting ears. This is a defect which may easily be remedied if taken in time. Train up a child in the way she should go may with equai justice be applied to the physical as moral education. An intel igent mother will watch most jealously ever any marked point of beauty in a young

daughter—skin, eyes, hands or feet—foi as the child verges toward womanhood this point of beauty may become i ei sole stock-in-trade, so to speak, and it s a well-known fact that one well-defined and high y pronounced point of beauty will often make a young girl’s fortune. Difficult as it is to make a gown that will not rob a child of that delicious expression of youth, that softness and delicacy, that pastel look as distin gulshed from the sharp outlines of a pen-and-ink drawing, yet it is still more difficult to devise a bit of headgear that will accentuate and emphasize rather than injure or destroy tho sweetness of the little face, spiritualized by its masses of tangled curls or encircled by tawny, silken tresses, like a snow scene in a golden frame. I have- a couple of hints for you in this line. In my third illustration you will find a lovely little hat for a child—a cream felt, trimmed with a folded band of cream woolen stuff with bows back and front and large and small pink wings, makidga very dainty and delicate head covering, from underneath which the iossened tresses of a wee and winsome maiden curl with charming effect. We often observe a delightful expression of piquancy in a child’s face, and so attractive is it that we turn to take a second look at the mixture of mischief and demureness, of dignity and sauciness, and every man Da father and every woman a mother when gazing at such a piquant little face The greatest care should be taken not to set any ‘ort of headgear on that litt’e miss which might in anyway disturb this exquisito bit of nature's own harmony. Such a face has tho power to stay a mother’s first vacillation or set bounds to a father’s downward course; in fact, hold man and wife together when all other earthly power has failed My last illustration pictures with good effect a bit of head gear for such a face. It is a pearl gray felt, the crown being trimmed with a plaid velvet ribbon, gray and French blue, with a stylish bow on the side as represented I have noted a very pretty and or ginal costume for a child of 10 or 12 consisting of a little frock, princess style, its skirt hav ng a

deop border of torchon or Valencieunes lace, or of embroidery, and a pointed ceinture of the same. Over this is worn quite a lona loose jacket of heavier material, made with bouffant sleeves ending in deep embroidered cuffs, and hav ing a broad, square-eornere i lay-down collar of the lace or embroidery. Of course, the frock needs no sleeves. By exhibiting goo 1 tasto in selection of materials and mode of trimming, you may ach'eve a very pretty result. The long coat should reach the top of the lace floume. To keep the coat in place, fasten a string to the center seam at the wa st, puss it through the opening of the frock,-and tie it uuderneath the skirt Smock ng is still a popular mode of adding style to children's dresses, but it should not be oterdone. Instead of making use of th s effect on waist and sleeves both, merely content yourself with four or five rows at the threat, and resort to other modes of garniture to complete the sche ne of trimming. It is estimated that the British mines will be exhausted in less than 600 to 800 years. It is further calculated that, drawing upon only one of her fields, the Westphalia, Germany will not exhaust that before the end of the twenty-seventh century, hut that by the beginning of the yeai 3000 the big coal fleldsof Bavaria and Aachen and the Silesian districts will be entirely used up. A woman living in Portsmouth, Ohio, was recently attacked and severely injnred by an ] owl. It pounced upon her while she was ip the chicken yard and clawed her savagely about the arms and shoulders before it could be driven away. It Is astonishing how much you cat find out about human nature by charging 10 cents for admission

YOUNG GIRL’S EVENING COSTUME.

AUTUMN TOILET FOR YOUNG FOLKS.

CREAM FELT FOR YOUNG MISS.

PEARL-GRAY FELT.