The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 9, 1896, Page 28

. THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 1896. DAINTY GOWNS FOR THE DEGLINING DAYS OF JHE SUMMER SEASON Some of the Exquisite Costumes Worn by the Fashionables of Paris,‘ London and New York, Also Some Good Reasons Why the Freneh Women Dress So Well and With Sueh Cood Taste on Sueh Small Allowances. One reason French women manage to dress well on comparatively small allow- ances when necessary is because they never rush to extremes. A Parisian 1s almost invariably graceful, never eccen- tric, and like her American. sister, is won- derfully captivating. Do you remember a pretty story tola by Leon Tozlan of the manner in which the Parisienne became possessed of the treasures that render her s0 charming? The good Fairy Blue calied together a maiden from every country, and distributed to each a gift she had brought with her in her fairy bag. To the Spanish maiden she gave long black bhair, to the Italian beautiful eyes, to the English girl a complexion of milk and roses, to the Austrian teeth of pearls, to the Russian a distinguished mien, to the German senti- ment. Then she gave to the Neopolitan her happy temperament, to the Irish girl her wit, and to the maiden from Fianders her good sense. Buv as she rose to depart the Parisienne cried, “You have forgotten me!” The good fairy answered: *‘Did I forzet you? 1 have nothing more to give. You must ask a smali share of all I have given to the others.” Then all the maid- ens drew near the Parisienne, and each gave ber something of what they had re- ceived: one, a lock of her hair; another, a ray of her happy disposition; another, a rose from her complexion; and thus she who had been overlooked became the most favored of them ail. Having acquired these pRcious gifts, it is not surprising that she should at all times have done her utmost to keep them. From the world-iamed Ninon de Lenclos to the mondaine of to-day, it' has always been the aim of Parisiennes to appear fresh and young, and it must be acknowl- edged that they have succeeded. Women of 40 look like girls of 20, but how fre- quently has this same remark been made concerning the women of California; how- ever, few of them devote the time and at- tention that the fair Parisians do to each and every detail in connection with their wardrobes. Skirts are lighter than ever. Sleeves are tight-fitting, with the exception of a slight fullness at the upper part of the arm near the shoulder, which, as I have said, will entirely disappear as autumn advances. All hats are being trimmed low and the favorite style of hat is readily copied, as it consists of a Manilla straw with a flat color; flowered ones are seen, but the plain are preferred. These ribbons are all bordered at both edges with a roll of black velvet and are made into a double box pleat, and placed upon the hat so that half the pleating stands around the crown and the remainder lies upon the brim. It is finished at the side with two ears of the ribbon en aigrette. There is quite a fad for Irish hand- woven linens, as they make pretty skirts | and coats and are to be had in every con- ceivable tone and color. The Ellen Terry linens are also liked, as they are obtain- able in many mixtures, such as violet and green, pink and blue, mauve and white, and in numerous other combinations much liked by youne schoolgirls, as with | e 5% | nothing if not scientific nowadays. the heavy fancy laces and embroideries delightfully pretty frocks can be evolved. Ellen Terry was one of the first to give large orders for these linens, hence the name. They make extremely stylish dresses for matrons as well as for the little maids. Gowns of white alpaca are still to be seen, and one very recently de- signed had & bodice made with a garni- ture of embroidered and sequin encrusted grass lawn, slashed at the back and sides in lines that would be becoming to most figures, and had an under bodice of white accordion pleated chiffon; the sleeves were of white chiffon tucked, with a bell puff of the same. At the throat and waist were bands of gold. Another dress of the same fabric had its bodice composed en- tirely of tucks set in long perpendicular lines, with bretelles of ecru open-work em- broidery across the shoulders; two tucks ran around the bottom of the skirt. A sash of lime-green taffeta ribbon encircled the waist, and the lining was of the same, making it an expensive and dainty 1obe. Lately ‘a youhg matron with blue eyes and fair hairlooked like a picture ina gown of “flower-bjue” canvas which fitted her to perfection. It had a bolero bodice, which opened over a vest of grass lawn embroidered in pale green and prim- rose. Her hat of Holland colored straw was trimmed with cornflowers and green tulle. 4 dark-eyed beauty wore on the same occasion an effective creation of foulara, which had a brown ground covered with a scroll-like design in white. It was made with extreme simplicity, the bodice hav- ing a dainty vest and choker of creamy- wiite mousseline de soie and a deep brim and a wide ribbon in some bright folded belt of white suede kid, which di- CORRECT rected attention to the wearer’s slender, graceful figure. The hat of coarse brown straw was adorned with rosettes and a twist of brown and white mousseline. Croquet is being revived and promises to agaiu enjoy great popularity, and in some respects the old-fashioned game has been much altered and is now far more scien- tific; for instance, imagine the difficulty of coaxing a ball to go through a loop which is only just wide enough to permit of its passing through. The success of this re- vival is a foregone conclugion, as we are AFTERNOON FULL DRESS. ATTIRE The soft Homburgs are but little worn East, evidently being reserved for early autumn, but of course here they are now perfectly appro priate. Trousers made out of gray and drab cloths are being ordered by the smartest men in New York. Him is less conservative than usual in his latest combinations, as he rather likes the brown waistcoat he has seen with gilt buttons. May we be delivered from such horrible combinations. He says he rather hopes that the report that yellow waist- coats are to be a fad is a fact, although he does acknowledge that not all complex- ions or colorings combine well with it. Scartpins consisting of miniature golf or polo balls are fashionable. The ball may be simply of gold, or of a costly sapphire, or emerald mounted in gold. Compara- tively few men show good taste in select- ing their pins. The smartest of men wear but two but- tons in their evening shirts, which are of the finestlinen. With them straight stand- ing collars are worn. Many men have given up having their shirts made with attached collars owing to trouble in hay- g them properly laundried. However, the cuffs are never made separate. In the evening the shirt butions should be of pearl or white enamel. When pearls are worn the link sleeve buttons are of plain polished gold, lozenge shape, with mono- gram. This season flannels striped and plain and serges are worn for tennis, white duck no longer being fashionable, as trousers made of it never return from the luandry 1n & satisfactory condition. Ten- nis trousers are cut wide and long. The jacket has a whole back, with three pock- ets with flaps. A straw hat is worn. The latest English yachting rig is of blue serge. The coat is single-breasted, after the cut of a reefer, made to fit rather loosely. Three pockets. Length of gar- ment twenty-nine inches. Four buttons, square cut, The double-breasted reefer is worn by officers, rank being designated by braid on sleeves. b Many golfing suits are being now made out of brown Holland. Théy are much liked, but golf club uniforms consist of a8 coat composed of fine red cloth, with FOR GENTLEMEN either the button: or the insignia of the club. The knickers are usually of tweed or Scotcl goods, but some clubs in Eng- land have them of white flannel, which forms a picturesque contrast and.is far more effective. Browns and greens are going out, every one having wearied of them, C. C. Novelties in Liaces and Lawns. A Newport correspondent says: ‘Laces and lawns are at the zenith of their glory, and what is there more charmingly femi- nine? There are incredible miles of Valen- ciennes edging, stretching, no doubt, with FAWN-COLORED COVERT COAT ease to the moon—were we able to wend our way there holding on toa bit and were sure not an inch would be lost in addi- tion. What prettier fashion than this bountiful use ot it,and how welcome is the revival! We shall mourn its day of waning when it comes, but in the mean- time do our best to'win its constancy. Time has proved that it can never vanish nor be worsted by any rival, since beauty is its steadfast ally. *‘We could sing untiringly the praises of muslin gowns of every variety, so prettily are they made and so well is everybody looking in them this season. One sees such breezy effects in the forenoon—the muslin plisses and frills on bodice, curling in and out of ribbons a-flying with the wind, and skirt ripplings tossing ever so gently to and fro. Does not this airy motion lend an added grace to the least attractive woman ?” And a Parisian man writes: “The aresses are exquisite, embroidered muslins over apricot glace blanc, and the new tone of green called ‘pousse de lilas’; white taffetas skirts, with small pink flouncings placed one above the other, forming a full ruche, worn with bodices of white crepe de chine, printed with cornflowers and grasses, on long-stalked La France roses, and either black satin corselets or flowered ribbon bands. These corselets are taxing the inventive powers of onr big dress- makers, as every day discloses some nov- elty in the fastening of the bow or in the | texture of the material. “‘The latest and most popular at Arme- nonville was in mousseline de soie, in black or white, with a narrow pleating of pale green all round it. It is made about four yards long and a little over haif a yard wide, tied around the waist in a bow with ends falling to the end of the skirt; in the front it is attached top and bottom with a fancy pin to form a Swiss band. These sashes can also be made in any color with the pleating to match, and look exceed- ingly pretty with white dresses.” Our American Duchess was greatly ad- mired at her Majesty’s garden party given on the 13th of last month. She wore a most artistic combination of yellow and pale blue, the under skirt being of an exquisite shade of primrose satin, veiled with white lisse, and this was trimmed with several narrow bands of pale blue satin, The bodice was gracefully veiled with lisse ana over the shonlders fell neither from Borneo, as we made preparations to continue our social studies in San Fran- cisco, - ““On, yes, certainly, there is such a person as & wild man in Borneo.” This was said simply, honestly, without attempt at justification or insinuation in self-defense that there may be at lcast pne wild man also in San Francisco. No, in- deed, the Borneoese lady did not find it incumbent upon her, merely because her people, figuratively speaking, reside in a social glass-house, to throw a pebbleat our large local conservatory. Truth, un- blushing and without apology, is always majestic. This child of nature, this lady from Borneo, was as little likely o justify any shortcomings in the social practices of her native Jand by animacdversion con- cerning another land as she was to lay claim that the peak of Kinibaloo with its elevation of 11,000 feet above the Bano- jarmassin peninsula is the peer of Moung Bhasta when all its skyward area of snow takes on the pink magnificence of an “Al- pine glow.” No; I suspect that the *‘re. tort courteous” is not Borneoese. I had invited the lady from Bormeo to go “window-shopping.” She had accepted the invitation, A brief conversation had occurred in her apartments and that which seems to me to have been the most characteristic part of her utterances I have quoted. Of course, I had selected the afternoon for this tour. I am proud of the afternoon display of finery ‘and per- sonal beauty which San Krancisco makes in the shopping quarter and naturally de- sired the Borneoese lady to witness the pageantat its best. The lady from Bor- neo had no desire to ‘‘show off,” to use a barbaric phrase, but I will confess'that I knew that we have a good thing of it here in San Francisco and, 1 did not care if she found it vut. A personal vanity may be unpardonable, but that vanity which consists in inward gratulation at ‘ Jhe Lady From Borneo ‘“Oh, yes,” frankly admitted the lady ) the perfection of all your neighbors rises almost to the height of patriotism, a vir- tue which I particularly admire, The afternoon opened a little inauspi- ciously. That I am forced to confess, A small personal weakness for the pictur- esque, & dim, very dim, appreciation of the beauties of the. works of artists’ hrushes and the graces of plastic art gen- erally, and also a well-concealed desire to insinuate into my companion’s mind, deli- cately, the idea that we are esthetic—these forces produced a disastrous resultant. We went first to an art gallery which lay invitingly open to us. . Diverse and sundry artists, with more or less skill, have contributed to the picture collection in this galiery impressionist or other coun terfeit presentments of nature. There were clusters of white roses so ex- quisitely beautiful on one canvasthat they would not have been shamed in the pres- ence of those roseate wonders which blos- somed, pathetically, during that brief golden period for Mother Eve, then un- acquainted with sin, upon the emerald slopes of the Garden of Eden. Oh, well, there were lots of pictures, and my un- tutored laay from Borneo really looked at them. Looked until her eyes filled and dilated. “Iam so glad we came here,’’ said a smooth and well-modulated voice. “‘Have a bonbon? [Invitation acgepted.] Yes, so am I. ‘There was nothing to do in my rboms and so I came ont.” % “What do-you think of the pictures?’ ‘Oh, I don’t care about the pictures at all. Icame here that I might kill time and possibly see some one.” *‘Queer‘'people come here,”” “I should think so. What did- you en- gage yourself about yesterday.” % “I went shopping and had a lot of fun.” “What did you buy?”’ SR s “Buy? Nit.” Now, whether you will believe it or not, the choice bit of slang, ‘‘nit,”” saved me from utter downfall. True the Borneoese lady did not seem to have caught the idea that we are very esthetic. She listened to all that was said near us and conld not very well avoid taking in every word. She did not smile. Icould even detect a modest doubt of her own pictorial judg- mentin her eyes. She has not seen many pictures and she is willing to learn from us all about art. Nit! Mysterious word. Whatdid it mean? Her lingual bewilderment made her the more humble. How much she hud to learn in refinement to equal the ladies she was meeting. While she was thinking that way I coaxed her oat before her thoughts could revert to our volatile com- patriots who sought out an art gallery for the purpose of killing time. I hope that she will not recall that fatal statement. ‘While I was humiliated I Jearned a lesson never, never to try to paint things any better than they are before the Borneo lady. I wonder if any men will read about the lady from Borneo? I wonder if any of them are able to revel in contemplation of a fancy neckwear department—Iladies’, of course—in a dry-goods store? Diaphanous fabrics flutter like big or small butterflies on lines. Pretty gentlemen—ob, yes, they are pretty—with nice white hands and courteous bows produce daily for a emall stipend enough politeness to stock Lord Chesterfield. To such a place have the lady from Borneo and myself come. ‘What thinks the flamingo in its flaming vest? How happy is the bird of paradise in its, opalescence? Think, my dear ‘young ladies, what agony of mind I saw you manifest when the question of selec- tion of finery ‘was thrust upon you! Think how absurdly you could have com- bined colors to youf own discomfiture! Standing on one leg, stupidly staring into vacancy, with a calm lagoon for & mirror, e the flamingo watches its' own image, and behold! the complementary colors are in its attire. Isic better to be a bird after all? . < Perish that thought, which was only thrown ous to see whether it would invite & masculine sneer. It would be tedious beyond comparison to wear the same dress always, even though the fit should be superb and the blending and magnifi- cence of colors should be like an irides- cent dream. Even a molting peri would be weicome. 3 Here, where the convenient and well- burnished mirror stands convenient, let the Borneoese lady see reflected as many images as passed over thatin which the unfortunate “Lady of Shallott” pensively gazed, while her melancholy song' was heard by the reapers ‘‘reaping early in among the bearded barley.’ Girls come in here who look as delicious as_a straw- berry ice and as fragite as the pef of a tube rose, and they try on nearly every necktie in the stock, not with the air of martyrs, but with such keen zest of en- joyment that the clerks know that they are shoppers and that they do not intend to buy anything,. Women as dignified and undemonstrative as a Parsee “tower of silence” do not hesitate to take part in this hunt—the clerks being the hunted, the lady being the hunter, and the neck- wearbemg of about the same utility of paper clews in a “paper chase,” they merely point the way. 2 SR Next to a clear conscience give me hard heart. It has cost mesome money | because I was unable to ‘refuse to buy, something after the clerks had worked so hard. Had I been thoroughly indurated I would not have received that surprised and half-contemptuous look from a clerk Who detected my weakness. 8 The lady from Borneo caught the look also. “What does it all mean?" she asked | later, I told her frankly. 2 “‘But do not the ladies really expect to buy when they cause so much trouble?” “There are ladies—and ladies.” The Borneoese mind could not grasp this. It had expected toapprehend some- thing like a National custom, I think. She had not learned how many ways we have besides visiting the art galleries to “kill time.”” You see we did not confine ourselves to window-shopping. We had plunged in medias’ res, as Virgil says. We heard a gray-haired shoe-dealer tell a lady who stood impotent before the whims of a child this wholesome truth: **Madam, your child rules you already. ‘When he is 16 years old he will tread you under his feet unless you master him.” Icould not blame the dealer for talking this way. Winrows of shoes of every form and deseription surrounded the re- fractory babe. The dealer had taken down a sample of every kind of shoe he had in the store, and had climbed as mary rounds of a ladder up and down as would have been needed to take him to the dizzy top of the tower of Babel. “The “children are all iike him,” the woman said meekly. “Then, madam,” broke in the brutal voice of truth, it is because the ladies are like you.” ' Did that lady flounce out of the store? Didn't she? She went like a streak of well-lubricated lightning. I am tempted to tell you a fairy story. Once there was an enchanted land where there dwelt a fairy who caused all people to act in the spirit of unreason. In the midst of the land arose to a dizzy height a very steep mountain of glass. Around its base grew vast meadows of flowers. At the very top of the mountain there was re- puted to be one plant which produced a flower of upusual brillisncy. There was one beneficent fairy who assured people on a Shopping Tour in San Francisco that this blossom was neither more bril- liant nor more fragrant than others which made up the fair embroidery of the meadows. One day a young lady climbed the mountain, found the flower and tri- umphantly discovered that it had one petal more than any other blossom in all the fairy domain. She found the descent of the zlass mountain very difficult. The glass tore her shoes and lacerated her cuticle, b\l‘l ‘when she reached the mount- ain’s base disheveled and breathless, she held up her flower and said: ““You can’t fool me!” The beneficent, fairy ‘pointed out that the extra petal had been lostin the de- scent. SRR The lady from Borneo and I were in.an icecream ‘‘parlor.”. We were fathoming the depths of two glasses of icecream soda with spoons of long reach ‘but smail capacity. “I tell you, Mary,” said a trim little woman at the next table, “I saved money by looking about. Itwalked ten blocks to do it, but 1 bought these buckles for 25 cents, and don’t you think the mean thing at ’s charged me'30 cents for them. Dear me, it was warm work though ana 1 g0t 50 heated that I came here for some icecream. How much? [This toa clerk.] The lady of San Francisco paid 10 cents, and there was no beneficent fairy to call her attention to the_ fact that her flower of economy was two | ) short. - A child of six summers was eating ice- cream and had a bag of candy near us. *‘Yes,” the little 1ady from Borneo said, deprecatingly and refraining from look. ing at tue child, for fear she might hurt my National pride, “‘we practice, some of us, infanticide in Borneo.”” > CATHERINE, Eighteen per cent of married women are 'widows. i epaulettes nor a short cape of the lisse lined with the satin. In fact the arrange- ment was more like a fichu. It had a single line of the finest lace insertion with two inches of the edge. The skirt wag finished inside with innumerable little pinked ruffles of blue and primrose satin, over which fell a aeep frill of real lace. The result was charming. With this costume was worn a hatof satin'straw, primrose in hue. It'wastrimmed with pink roses, black plumes and rosettes of turquoise blue. The Duchess is already noted for her becoming hats. She usually wears large black ones and almost in- variably black plumes. This style admir- ably suits her oval face and prettily formed head. NEW TO-DAY. Haviland China Teacups, 20c. Just think of it! Haviland China Teacups and Saucers, decorated in colors and gold, for 20c; Coffee Cups, 30c; Des- sert Plates, 20c; Large Plates, 25¢. That’s one- third less than even the plain white china costs. Butdon’y forget—Wed- nesday night f ends it. We also place on sale 225 Fine Thin Bo- hemian Glass Two-quart Water Pitchers, beautifully etchea and decorated with gold, at 65c each. Sold reguiariy at$1 25, See them in the window. THAT BIG CHINA STORE— A Quarter of a Block Below Shreve'se WANGENHEIM, STERNHEIM & CO; 528 and 530 Market St., 27 and 29 Sutter St., BELOW MONTGOMERY, 22 Beary St., Near Kearny. Black Dress Skirts! Black Silk Waiss Special Prices to close out entire Summer Importation. 25 Illm}T Dress Skirts at $3.00 'ormer price $4 50. 10 Black Silk Waists at $5.00, Former price $7 50 and $8 50. 15 Black Vilk Waists at $3.00 Former price $4 50, Cotton Waists, formerly $1.25 to $2, Closed a_t_Sl.O Each. Examine our numerous special lines in Black Dress Fabrics. R. T. KERNEDY COMPANY. Telephone Grant 518. @ THePHILADELPHIA g = ¢, ELECTROLYSI5 € AN 170MaRKeT ST LOANERT 7 OUERTHE MA. il EMOVES SUPERFLUOUS HAIR BY ELEC- tricity at §1 a sitting; first sitting free; n@ scarsleft; moles, warts, etc., also removed. A