Eliza Davis Aria

“ The over-part of the dress and the skirt beneath it were boned and wired, and tight lacing ruled in an injurious degree, though the enormous sleeves, ruffles, and skirts might well have accorded such an effect of slimness as to render stringent measures unnecessary.
Dress was a magnificent affair altogether; velvet and taffeta and fine scarlet cloth were used, lace played its part bravely, and silken scarves fringed with gold and silver were thrown over the shoulders, with deep capes of satin or velvet edged with lace. ”

“ No gentleman would dream of either paying or receiving a visit without shoes on his feet, a fan in his hand, and a wide, pointed hat, rather suggestive of a tent, on his head. How true it is that manners, like morals, are mere matters of geography!
In contrast to the love of display characteristic of their Chinese neighbours, the Japanese are conspicuous for extreme simplicity. This national trait finds expression in their dress. Here I pause to consider whether, as a chronicler of costume, I should allude to the Japanese in the present or past tense? ”

“ Women had indeed to suffer in those days to attain what they were pleased to call the beautiful, and it is quite a relief to remember the moment when Marie Antoinette took a sudden caprice to appear without hoops in a soft satin gown with wide sleeves, which set the fashion in London as well as in France. For a short time only, however, such moderation ruled, and the hoops came back larger than ever in 1784, when the Duchess of Cumberland swept the floor in five yards of brocade, and a stomacher blazing stiffly with jewels. ”

“ Her dress is of gold brocaded in blue, and the sleeves are tight-fitting; ermine outlines the shoulders, and a crimson scarf does its picturesque duty as a girdle, and a broad hem of ermine outlines the skirt, which is very full and has an extremely long train; and beneath the dress we are allowed a peep of a blue petticoat and pointed shoes. Several of the ladies attendant upon all this elegance have the privilege of appearing with her in the illumination, in high caps with the hair drawn through the top, short-waisted gowns, and trains with fur borders. ”

“ When the sorrow dwindled to extinction, the remnants of the garment might well be bestowed on some very poor widow whose woe, mitigated or not, would inevitably rejoice at the chance of such elegant proclamation. But to return to my bride of Ægra, who enters upon her duties with much gravity and solemnity, going to the altar in a short black skirt, laced bodice, and hooded cloak, her sole ornament the nuptial band, which is bound round her fore-head and tied with ribbon at the back, while in her hands she carries her rosary and her veil. ”

“ The main features of feminine costume in Charles I.'s reign may be realised in recalling the dresses which have so often appeared to delight us in the various presentations of stage plays of his period; the bodice is tight, the basque square and tabbed, and round the waist are a few folds of silk fastened into a rosette in the front; the lace collar falls from the neck to the shoulders in deep points, and the ringleted hair bears a ribbon rosette, or is surmounted by a plumed hat. ”

“ And I pause here to observe with emphasis that at a masked ball a domino is invested with special interest when surmounted by a fantastic headgear, and that such an incongruous alliance as that of a white-powdered and curled wig and the black silk domino shaped as a gaberdine, with a full hood and lace-frilled silk mask, creates an effect beneath which an identity may be most easily concealed. Far more desirable, however, in the interests of the beautiful, is it to select the domino and head-dress in sympathy ”

“ Most men candidly confess to feeling themselves fools arrayed in any but the most conventional costume, and it is only the vanity of a few that will yield to the attractions of being a velvet-clad Cavalier, a slashed Romeo, or a bedizened Beaucaire. A woman, on the other hand, delights in being somebody else, and scarcely a country house party comes to its close in winter time without some attempt at dressing up, the "head-dress" dinner being quite an established function, whence, without doubt, much amusement may be evolved and much ingenuity result. ”

“ Mystic in its simple grandeur is the dress of an Armenian bride, consisting of a long trailing gown of thick silk, richly interwoven with gold, held at the waist by a golden girdle, and opening down the front to show a petticoat of a contrasting colour. On the head is a wreath of white flowers, overspread by a veil of misty white, which falls to the ground above a shower of glittering gold streamers. ”

“ Princess Pauline Buonaparte made dress the religion of her salon, and there are records of her audacious grace in a fancy costume as Minerva, and of one of her soirée gowns which expressed the last word of extravagance in pink tulle over pink satin, trimmed with marabout feathers, and diamond agrafes with the bodice encrusted, and every seam of the skirt glistening, with diamonds. ”

“ Such a custom should act as a powerful incentive to virtue, since to stand before the altar uncrowned must be conclusive evidence of unworthiness. Of copper-gilt, the bridal crown differs slightly according to the district. In the diocese of Drontheim it is round in shape, tapering up to spire-like points, the rim encircled with a double garland of flowers emblematic of innocence, while from beneath it at either side dangle streamers of gaily coloured ribbon and black lace over luxuriant tresses, real or false, either of hair or straw. ”

“ At the foot is a flounce which, when the wearer walks, shows occasional glimpses of pink silk and cream lace, and the wide sleeves bear sequin-embroidered cuffs and lace ruffles. A quaint domino is of gauze of an opaque whiteness, strewn with black and gold spots of varying sizes, the hood gathered up in the middle beneath a big white poppy, the petals tipped with gold and the centre of black silk. ”

“ Elizabeth devoted herself to fashion in a frank, whole-hearted way that brooked no half-measures, and amongst her terrors of death must have been parting with her gowns, for she died possessed of no fewer than three thousand dresses. What a harvest for the ladies-in-waiting or the dealers of the day to gather! Her crimson locks she piled high up in curls and puffs, surmounted by crowns of jewels, and her sleeves and hooped skirts were padded into diamond design traced with embroidery, and every point would hold a pendent jewel. ”

“ Whether worn privately or in public, its disguise has at all times and in all countries been respected as inviolably sacred. To the masked the greatest extravagance of language and gesture is permitted. He is allowed to indulge in acrid personalities and proclaim scathing truths which, even if addressed to the monarch himself, go unrebuked. To strike a mask is a serious offence, while in no class of society, however degraded, would any one dare to unmask a woman. ”

“ Tradition orders that the bride shall retain her finery intact for an entire week, during which period the wedding festivities are kept up with unflagging enthusiasm, and on the eighth day she gives the signal for the merrymaking to cease by raising her hand to press a secret spring, when the heavy crown falls from her head and leaves her free to join in the last joyous dance with her husband.
Possibly the annals of costume contain no more extravagant wedding-dress than that peculiar to the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg. The bridal crown is certainly unique. ”

“ An audacious selection is the costume of the Wallflower in gold and brown, which looks its best when made in chiffon and velvet.
As a rule, it must be admitted that the finest fancy dress looks the best, and however charming may be the effects arrived at with muslin, cotton, crepe, and calico, she who stands out in the vast crowd will be she who has the most magnificent clothes. ”

“ In common with most Oriental dancers, the Ghawazee takes up her position on a brightly coloured carpet. She is dressed in a sleeveless corselet, brilliantly enamelled after the style of an Egyptian sword-sheath, her only other article of attire being a simple muslin chemise vividly spotted and star-bespangled, while on her head a kerchief of cloth of gold is draped in quaint manner. Her bare feet never move, the body alone vibrating to the shrill music of flute and cymbals. ”

“ That all women kill the style they love might with truth be said of the enthusiasm which raged for that Empire belt, for it grew smaller by degrees and grotesquely less when it commenced its career immediately beneath the arm, pushing the bust under the throat, presenting but an apology for a bodice, and needing the completely slim figure to withstand its liberties with any degree of decorum. ”

“ Again, as Becky Sharp, Miss Marie Tempest showed her nice sense of the fitness of things, gracing the historic ball on the eve of Waterloo in pink chiffon with clusters of roses, and choosing a Court gown of Empire tendency, made with a white satin train lined with cloth of gold, and embroidered in a leaf design of gold, which also appeared across the bust and on the hem of the chiffon under-skirt.
Yet Miss Tempest avowedly does not believe that the actress should subordinate her personality in any way to a general scheme. ”