Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 August 1895 — FOR THE FAIR SEX. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FOR THE FAIR SEX.

MEN LIKE BEAUTY BUT ABHOR SMARTNESS. Evan Bloomers Are Tolerable, and Everything Convenient Will Pass Muster Before the Sterner Gaze if it is Nice and the Wearer Pretty. “What Men Think of Women's Dress” is the subject of an interesting article in the North American Review. “The increase of liberty that women enjoy in the latter decade or two,” says the writer, “their entrance into the realm of men’s occupations, and'their consequent desire for greater freedom of dress, make it a hard matter, under these scarcely adjusted conditions, to draw the line between masculine likes and dislikes as to dress reform. It may be stated emphatically, however, that almost all men abominate all forms of women’s attire that merely aim to be mannish, that are adopted only for the sake of making a ‘smart’ appearance. Mannish collars, vests, hats, neckties, etc., when worn by women, almost alwayß create a re-

vulsion of feeling in a man by impairing that femininity in appearance which must always be one of the greatest charms of womanhood. At the same time, men would gladly encourage women in their natural right to adopt suolz modifications as would give them greater freedom for exercise or business pursuits, and consequently greater health. “It should be a recognized principle that beauty of figure is not to be hidden or lost by means of dress. There is no need to distort the art of the Creator by the art of the milliner. If a woman has a beautiful throat she has a perfect right to show it, except when she runs the risk of taking cold. Almost every woman has some good feature. Let her make the most of it. Be it beauty of eyes or hair, or complexion, beauty of stature, of strength, of arm or limb, dress should enhance it.” The season’s craze for ribbons is shown in the gown represented in the first illustration. The material of the gown is of mohair of an ivory white tint and brightened by an entire corsage front of cloth and gold. The ribbons are of a shaded yellow green and appear upon the dress skirt in bands about the lower edge, separated at intervals by broad box pleats. Directly in front, these bands are

each knotted into a spreading bow. The bodice sleeves are peculiarly graceful. They are simply huge puffs to the elbow, but below that they develop into fetching little frills that give them a unique grace. In the back the bodice is fitted closely to the wearer’s figure. In the front the mohair appears in three hanging pleats, two from each shoulder and the middle one half way down the bodice front. Each pleat is headed by bristling loops of the ribbon, a width of which also crosses the cloth of gold a little below the shoulder line. A broad sash-like belt of the ribbon is around the waist. Mohair crepon constitutes the skirt of a second gown. It appears, too. in the lower part of the bodice. It is a mixture of blue and green, variegated effects being another feature of the newest crinkled fabrics. The yoke and sleeves of this gown are of plajn green silk. The* belt is of green of a much darker shade. The bodice of this gown sags both back and front, another apparent tendency of the fall styles, and it is bordered along the yoke and down the front with a band of gay embroidery. This embroidery also forms the choker collar. FASHION NOTES. One of the new crepona in white has a green mohair stripe running through it. The fashion of wearing hats with low-cut gowns seems to exist in all continental watering places. , Fichu effects and drapped pulled sleeves appear on the new Louis XVI. polonaises and street redingotes. Alpaca and mohair, now that the traveling season is at its height, are becoming very popular. A pink silk with tiny dots and hair stripes of black in it is made with a plain, full skirt. The bodice has a plait.

A Rob Roy plaid silk scarf, drawn around the crown of a sailor hat, and bowed jauntily on the left side, is the latest and prettiest way to trim these popular hats. Taffetta silks in the beautiful ! Cbamelon shades will be the sash- ! ionable material this fall. Cre pons will not be worn by the really swell woman much longer. • Do not allow your gowns to touch the ground. Wear neat shoes, and even if your feet are not Cinderellas, let them show under your skirt. Inlaid enamel and gold buckles, long enough to reach quite across the front of the waist, are the latest fads to be worn with narrow belts. Don’t wear any belt if you are short waisted or inclined to be stout. Don’t wear a chiffon or flower trimmed hat and a tulle veil when you go yachting; they last about as long as the dew on the grass after the sun comes up. Moire belting in all the delicate shades, and powdered with tiny Dresden flowers in natural tints, is exhibited in all the leading stores. Have your grass linen gown made over pale green silk. The effect is delightfully cool looking and invariably becoming. Black satin ribbon and rhinestone or diamond buckles and buttons give the finishing touches to many of the newly imported gowns seen at Newport. If you have a plain linen or duck suit buy enough embroidery to edge the collar, revors and cuffs with. It will not cost you much, and will add immensely to the beauty of your gown. A pretty blue cropon gown worn at a summer resort shows the bodice smoothly covered with white embroidered “grass linen.” Very pretty seashore costumes are created of a white mohair, with coat and skirt with stitched seams, and worn with a bright-colored silk blouse. For soft, fluffy bodices there are almost as many textures as there are different designs. In Paris palm-leaf silk is used for waists and is the very latest vogue. Bandanna silk in all the odd, rich shades and figuros we have seen so often in our grandfather’s handkerchief, is now the most expensive silk, and the very latest fad for blouses and fancy fronts. Capes will continue to rival coats in fashionable favor just as long as full sleeves remain in vogue. Faille and all varieties of corded silk will be in great demand next season. A liberal use will be made by the milliners next season of velvets and velvet ribbons.