Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 June 1896 — GOSSIP FOR THE FAIR SEX [ARTICLE]

GOSSIP FOR THE FAIR SEX

TEMS OF INTEREST ON THE FASHIONS. To Banish a Double Chin—London Home for Lone Women—Where Women Are Queens—Beauty in Belts. THE QUEEN AND THE EX- EMPRESS. Years ago, when Eugenie was Empress of the French, she and Queen Victoria used to exchange birthday presents of “gold, silver and precious stones.” Now that they are feeble old women and Eugenie's crown has vanished, they stm keep up the custom of birthday gifts, but send each other warm, easy slippers, thick woolen undergarments, widows’ caps and such things. TO BANISH A DOUBLE CHIN. It has been discovered that a double chin can be banished by correct breathing. The woman with a short neck must hold her head high, even stretching her neck until conscious of the tension of the cords. She should also practice droppng her head and letting it roll listlessly about. This will give a graceful poise to the head and the exercise of the muscles will help conseme the extra amount of fat. FOR THE LITTLE ONES. A “split” sunbonnet is made of striped and checked ginghams, and is delightfully quaint over round, serious little faces. A washable material for sailor collars and revere of cheviot, serge and flannel suits is a thick linen canvas that comes in white and color. , Sunbonnets for small girls are more than ever plentiful this season, as are also dainty frilled and lace-trimmed aprons in all degrees of dressiness. For everyday summer use there are the usual delicately figured.and striped linen lawns, cambrics and percales that, come weal or woe, appear every year. For young gentlemen up to ten there are matelot suits in the Russian crash that, with their long bell trousers and very low-neck blouses, have quite a professional sailor air. For country use many mothers are having frocks made for the small fry of the new madras ginghams, which, in delicate blue, green and pink stripes, are in weaves oi extreme flJneness. PROUD OF HER ORCHIDS. Of all the orchids owned by Miss Helen Gould she is said to prize none as she prizes a certain great water lily pond in her domains. This is stocked with lilies that seem to wake up with the sun and go to sleep only when blanketed with ice. All summer there is a sheet of sweetness lying over the water. The little cripples of Woody Crest enjoy these lilies. At Woody Crest all the useful arts are taught, and the curiculum embraces a knowledge of flowers. With crutches or without crutches, with legs or without them, the little sick fellows are brought to the lily pool and coaxed back to strength by the magic of its beauty. Almost any day, with a borrowed child or two, you may see Miss Helen wending her way from the lily pool to the house and back again. With so many fine friends as this young woman boasts she is not driven to the society of her Woody Crest acquaintances. All the children of the wide Hudson River colony are glad to accompany her if she will only be “at home” to them. Her .$35,000 palm is not more a source ■ of pride than her lily pooh

HOME FOR LONE WOMEN. In London there is an establishment where lone women can be lodged and boarded at a moderate price. The Sloane Garden apartment house is different from anything in America, and there are no restrictions placed upon the coming and going of the guests. There is a handsomely furnished parlor and music room. The charges for furnished rooms range from $2.50 to $3.50 a week/ For 8 cents to 16 cents one may obtain a good breakfast; and luncheon costs from 8 cents to 24 cents. The uniform price of a dinner is 24 cents. Soup, two vegetables, a joint and a simple dessert comprise the latter meal. There are, however, certain rules which must be observed on entering. No cooking is allowed in the rooms, and not a nail must be driven; no trunks or bundles are allowed in the halls. The inconvenient part of it is that each person must furnish her own towels, sheets, pillow cases and table linen. A deposit of about $5 is required upon entrance, which sum is returned when the visitor’s time of occupancy expires. The questions asked would seem rather inquisitive to an American woman; the applicant is required to sign her full name, address, age, state of health, and whether married or single. The occupation of the father is asked, as the guests of Sloane Garden house are supposed to be gentlewomen, all others being strictly excluded. WHY A MOTHER DOES NOT BIKE. The bicycle craze burns fiercer than ever this year. A lady who went the Ist of April to buy a wheel for her daughter of a large city shop was astonished at being told they had not one in the establishment. The explanation was scarcely less surprising. “We ordered 4,000,” said the shopman, “for our summer’s trade, and, before the middle of April, they are every one gone.” This woman herself, although still young and of a slender, graceful figure, not unfitted for dislpay upon a bicycle, has a curious theory of her own as to its capabilities for herself. “I can’t bring my imagination to see my mother,” she says “mounted upon a wheel. She never did anything in my remembrance that was undignified. Now after I am dead, I don’t want my children to call up a picture of me perched upon a bicycle. It is all very well'for them, but I draw the line at myself. A mother’s position is different. I shan’t buy myself one of those things.” And she hasn’t.

WHERE WOMEN ARE QUEENS. ] Not even in America are women such absolute monarchs as in heathen Bur- 1 mah. There, in law and custom, worn- ‘ an is on absolutely the same footing as I man. In spite of this, it is claimed no women are more womanly than the Burmese women, whose good sense enables them to perceive the line where they ought to stop. In the higher classes a woman has property of her own and manages it herself. In the lower classes she always has a trade and runs her business on her own responsibility. The sexes choose their own occupations, and it is curious to see the men sometimes sewing and embroidering, while the Women have nearly all the retail trade of the island on their hands. Just as the men farm their lands the women run their business. They do not hire out to others, but trade on their own account, and with the exception of being in the silk and cloth business it does not interfere with their home life. The bazaar lasts but three hours each day and the woman has ample time for her home duties after that is over. The Burmese woman’s home life is to her the most important thing, and she could not neglect it. Still, her business life has a strong influence on her—it broadens her views and teaches her things she could not learn in the narrow confines of four walls. BEAUTY IN BELTS. Belted women are everywhere. Shirt waists and bicycle costumes are responsible for the belts, and the ingenuity of manufacturers has been stirred in devising new fastenings. For the buckles of odd shapes, emblematic of everything under the sun, are the dearest vanity of the girl and woman who wear a belt There is a great bejewelled Egyptian buckle. It is ornamented with barbarous magnificence, and it bears the awful name of “Isis,” to give it the due ancient stamp. Then there is the Rob Roy buckle. It is Scotch plaid, with two thistles crossed in the centre. The belt that goes with this ribbon is a tartan ribbon, broad and Caledonian, and it is one of the most attractive of the many belt of the spring. The big Father Knickerbocker belt is a popular design. The buckle is like that worn by the villain in ‘ancient plays—large, square and plain. It is like those placed on the fronts of the shoes of the old Dutchmen who ruled New Amsterdam, and were perfectly satisfied with themselves. There are bicycle belts beyond count Many of them have a wheel arranged in some ingenious way for. the buckle. Large horseshoes are seen in some bicycle belts, probably in ironical reference to the decadence of the horse, now that the wheel has come into general use. The belt portion of the bicycle is five inches w’ide, and is elastic, so that it will keep the skirt up and the waist down, and at the same time give support to the back of the wearer as she hurries along on her silent steed. Besides these freakish belts there are scores, of dainty little girdles, of elastic, enameled with daises, buttercups, forget-me-nots, and other simple flowers of the woods, giving a pastoral effect that Is inexpressibly charming. The buckle is sometimes a water color portrait of a friend, or of Martha Washington, or Mrs. Cleveland, or Queen Victoria, or Lillian Russell, or some other well-known woman for whom the wearer has a regard. These belts cost as high as $35, and each one is warranted to be worth the money. A pretty custom is that of giving buckles as keepsakes. The young man of the day gives the young woman a buckle of some quaint and attractive design as he might give her a book or a bouquet If he gives her something ■ that no one else has, it is so much the more acceptable. All belts are not $35. You may buy them for twenty-nine cents in some of the stores. But every one is wearing a belt, cheap or expensive, ugly or beautiful, and every one is interested in the subject of belts.

FASHION NOTES. A pretty fan adds greatly to the beauty of an evening toilet, and it need not necessarily be an evening toilet, either. Turn-down linen collars and cuffs turned back about an inch around the hand are to be worn very much this season. The silk balayeuse is in use again, and many of the new summer gowns have the narrow pinked ruffle inside the skirt. The combination of black and white is to be much worn this summer. It has the advantage of looking cool and being stunning as well. Small fans being in fashion have brought back again the pocket fans, which really are very useful for every day wear, although ugly. To be really sincere one’s underwear must match one’s gown. And, above all, must her corset repeat the tones of the trimming of her bodice. The smart visiting gloves of the season is to be cream-colored French kid sewn with slender black spots. For cyclists the deerskin glove is the rage. The Empress of Russia recently chose a white veil with a fine web-like ground and a black border, consisting of a single row of black chenille spots. Transparent crepons and grenadines are largely in vogue for dinner gowns, and made over chameleon silk of a decidedly lighter shade are most effective by candle light. The smart woman's lingerie is distinguished by elegant simplicity, and the old-time underwear, made heavy with lace and elaborate embroidery, is a thing of the past. Even among the diaphanous affairs of chiffon and mull masquerading as parasols, the old-time . favorite, the coaching parasol, stands out in stylish and serviceable relief. There is no truth in the rumor that black stockings are no longer to be worn. Though brown are often worn for cycling, the black are just as fashionable as ever, and open work especially so. Tan-colored shoes of a darker shade than heretofore seen will be the correct summer footwear for the little folks, a fashion which commends Itself to the small boy, as It does away with blacking.

Some of the pretty veils selected by European royalties soon to be married are crescent-shaped and drawn up to fit the hat. They are of brown with white spots, white with black spots, and pure white. Princess Alexandra is very fond of neat muslin and lace sets of collars, cuffs and fichus, and they will undoubtedly be more popular on this account Trimmed with tiny tucks and narrow lace they are very dainty and girlish. These small fans are of parchment, canvas or spangled tulle and silk. The latter two materials are in fashion, but are really not in keeping with the empire style. The parchment and kid are painted in odd designs, the watteau predominating. The latest novelty in capes is made of chine glace, with a black velevt scroll pattern all over it Full panels of Russian net edged with ostrich feather trimming hang over the shoulders. and black and white tulle with ostrich tips form the ruche at the neck.