^S56.] Taste in Female Dress. 



557 



€\[^U in /nnnh Drrs^. 



^ "SoMEBOBY has said that a Parisian grisette, with a little tnlle and 

 ribbon, will conquer the world, while an English woman with all her 

 shawls, damasks and diamonds, looks only like an animated clothes- 

 horse. There is some exageration in this statement, but more wit 

 and still more truth. The women of France unquestionably have a 

 better taste in dress than those of Great Britain or America In 

 both our mother country and this, there is too much of what may be 

 called ' snobism ' in female attire. The ladies of Anglo-Saxondom 

 seem to fancy that the more they spend on dress the prettier they 

 look. Accordingly one sees little women covered all over with lace 

 or buried in the middle of stiff brocade, or almost lost to sight un' 

 der a puffing velvet cloak, with capes that extend on either side like 

 gigantic wings. Or one beholds tall women, if such is the fashion 

 tricked out in tight sleeves, and striped silks, the costliness of the 

 material being regarded by the wearer as sufficient compensation for 

 the incongruity of the styles. A French servant girl has better 

 taste. She knows it is not so much in the richness of the material 

 as the way it is made up and the manner in which it is worn, that 

 gives the desired elegance. A neat fit, a graceful bearin- 'and a 

 proper harmony between the complexion and the colors, have more 

 to do with brightening female attractions than even American ladies 

 seem particularly to comprehend. Many a wife looks prettier, if she 

 would but know it, in her neat morning frock of calico, than in the 

 incongruous pile of finery, which she dignifies with the title of full 

 dress. Many an unmarried female first wins the heart of her future 

 husband in some simple, unpretending attire, which, if consulted 

 about, she would pronounce too cheap except for ordinary wear but 

 which, by its accidental suitability to her figure, face and carria-e 

 idealize her youth wonderfully. If the sex would study taste In 

 dress more, and care less for expense, they would ha^e no reason to 

 regret it. At present the extravagance of American females is pro- 

 verbial, ^^e wish we could say as much of their elegance in the 

 same line." — Selected. 



Rye exists wild in Siberia. 



