Show I FAS I I DRESSES What the Wives at Washington Love to Wear TROUSERS ARE WORN ON THE SLYand j How Dreas are Ruined at White House Re Ho1c ceptions The Opera Cloaks Affected by AVashinuton Belles WASHINGTON April 24 1S90 Special correspondence of THE HERALD Everyone Every-one of our noted Washington ladies shows an individuality of taste inher dresses Mrs President Harrison IJljes all the shades of mauve and heliotrope although she looks prettier in whit than anything else The richest toilet in her wardrobe is I of heliotrope velvet its heavy gorgcousness relieved by a front of white silk covered r with pearl strands and outlined against the velvet with closelycurled ostrich feathers The front of the bodice is wonderfully pretty with its folds of velvet wih is brought from the right shoulder meeting similar folds of faille from the left which have a garniture of the ostrich tips two of which are intertwined inter-twined on the left shoulder into a French knot On the right shoulder is a Iraot of velvet for the mode demands two shoulder knots of entirely different material The gown is made with halfsleeves and is so arranged in the front that it can be worn either for afternoon or evening For the afternoon Mrs Harrison puts in masses of white silk tulle while for dinner and evening even-ing she wears it semjdecollctte HOW WHITE DOCSE KECEPTIOXS BD1 > DRESSES Few people guess the effect that one evenings wearing has handsome toilet They see the mistress of the White House tanding in line for an hour or two her rich dress fresh and elegant and never dream that when she takes it off her maid will raise her hands in horror at the ruin 7 of that one short evening From hem lully half a yard up the back dirt is ingrained in-grained so that the train has either to be turned or sent to the cleaners whence incomes ceners comes spotless but with a soft fuzz on its surface that makes it all the more suscep tible t dust State dinners are the most ruinous on clothesfor in spite of every pre caution the floors in tho East room arc lt crally loaded with dust from the plants which fill the room at that time A there is only a day and a half given to the S work of decoration the dust has no time t settle before the last sweeping and it certainly cer-tainly is a sight to see the handsome S dresses after they trail through the big parlor par-lor down the corridor to the dining room Many a woman has shed a barrel of tears over the havoc wrought by her first state S dinner Mrs Harrisons maid Josephine takes entire charge of her wardrobe She stays up t undress her mistress after any y entertainment and if it is apt to be very I late lies down and takes a nap with her clothes on being ready for her duties as soon as her mistress appears She hangs the gowns in the press for the night and about the first sight one sees in the morning morn-ing is Josephine bustling through the room with the dress slung over her arm lament ing its ruin She takes it to her little room goes over the ground with the skill of a veteran and always does one of three things I not past hope she gives it a dry cleaning I that is futile she shows it to Mrs Harrison and asks her advice about sending it to the cleaner and if it has already al-ready been to that worthy she sits down a once ana turns the train which is usually the only part the least bit soiled Fortunately sbe is a needlewoman and before the mistress mis-tress of the White House took her for a maid she sewed in the Harrison family in Indianapolis for a dozen years rrnn TASTES OF aius MOIITOX AXD MUS VAXAMAKEK That glorious color Venetian red seems t please Mrs Mortons eye above all other shades in the spectrum and she wears othea dinner and reception gowns One sees it i in her parlor carpets in her butlers west cut and in the wheels of her carbriolet her landau and her carbrolet Xcart That she has always fancied it is shown by w bn I the Bonnat portrait of her which hangs in her library and which was painted several severa p years ago when she was in Paris She is i here represented in a robe of this same color and the texture of the velvet which is the material of the gown is warmly reproduced 5 re-produced against the white skin That her taste for dress is a permanent as her love for a certain color is proved by the fact that the gown in the picture is almost exactly ex-actly of tho style worn this winter cut grounded from shoulder t shoulder the f narrow sleeves falling below the shoulder points very little trimming being used the whole thing depending for its peculiarly elegant effect on the richness of the color ana the material I is hard to say which is i the prettiest gown in her warcrobo although I al-though a toilet of lusterless white silk Lea ily garnished with pearl embroider has i ccclved hichest praise Mrs Wmmmaker likes the Quaker shades while her winsome daughter Minnie has a leaning toward the fairly tiutlcss art shades of blue and pink The toilet which 5 the sweetest in her whole wardrobe is ilso the least expensive Any girl in the and could have it although her whole in ome might not be equal to Miss Wan nakrrs months pinmoney It is white French foulard with little sprigs of pale blue forgctmenots and is made just like a o babys dress The skirts are long lilcid 1 straight and the waist which is not quit as short as fashionable girls have late ly becn wearing them had a bib or yoke back and front of genuine Irish point Ince which doubtless cost ten times as much as the material > tho dress and which the girl with 5 dollars to spend for the whole gown might imitate with any soft creamy embroidery em-broidery Miss Wanamaker woro this simple frock at her Easter Monday breakfast which connoisseurs breakfast pronounce the prettiest thing ever given in Washing ton Heliotrope might almost be called the administration color for besides the Presidents Presi-dents wife I have noticed viclet gowns Jowns on Mrs Windom Mrs Wanamaker Mrs Miller and Mrs Noble although the lat J artistic lady wears ruby red so often that one might easily conclude that it was her favorite color She has wonderfully rich carriage toilets and one that she wore at Mrs Harrisons last Saturday afternoon reception was of mahogany led broadcloth lightest weight embroidered from hem to waist in gold threads as fine and close a one sees in a Cloisonne vase It was made idca longer than a street dress and lay forDfl a quarter of an inch on the ground he bonnet bon-net was a modish one of line straw the I color of the gown and had nothing litter but an Alsatian bow of velvet A NOTED TO1L1IT IX BLACK The quaintest frock oi this whole winter of gaieties was worn by Mrs John King of Philadelphia who was a guest of Mrs Eugene Hale for a month She is a widow and nerhaps people admired her tho more because her life covered a most touching tragedy Six years ago she was one of the 1 1led Quaker Citys most admired oung married women She lived with her husband and three lovolv Httlo daughters ini fashionable fashion-able hotel thodestruction of whichby fire I startled tho wend a few years ago Her jappartments were in the fourth story and J when she was awakened her room had already filled withsmoke Calling Tier husband t follow she snatched her baby from its cradle ran to the window and leaped t the ground When she recovered she found that her husband and two children child-ren had been burned and that all that was left t her was the child whom she bad so heroically saved This was the lirst winter since that terrible event that she has ap poared in society and she still wore h l mourning The gown which attracted everyones attention was of dead black Canton crepe made demitrain wjth aian shaped > panel at tho right of white mull The bodice was quit low but it bad an old Ap fashioned tucker which made one admire 5 w f the sweet modesty o our grandmas for it awas exactly like the wore It was of whit mull about two inches wide and I shirred close to the lovely throat and not a I bit of jewelry or lace was worn Than wom Th-an was so lovely and her attire so modest mod-est that one involuntarily recalled her pathetic I pa-thetic history ONE OF rs LOGANS GOWNS Anotherloely widows dress was worn by Mrs John A Logan at the first dinner at the White House It was her first appearance ap-pearance in any but her own drawing Loom since General Logans death The dress was of pinkish gray lustrous silk so r lieavy that it world realize the old saying and stand alone It was made with a very long train a low bodice finished with a single flounce of sheer Valenciennes lace at the bust There were no sleeves and gray gloves were worn reaching to the elbow I do not think any one ever saw amore a-more queenly woman than Mrs Logan as she marched down the long red corridorher white bar piled a I Pompadour on her shapely head and her pale cheeks glowing as she recalled the times she had made the same journey on the arm of the man whom she always speaks of as The General HOW XOTED LADIES ADDRESS THEIR HUSIIASDS That makes one think of what women call their husbands Of course everyone knows that it is the proper thing for a woman to speak of her husband simply as a Mr Blank no matter how big his title is but dozens of the dear proud women cant bring themselves to do i They love to roll off General and Colonel and who will blame them for the little mistake They say that Mrs Hayes oven in talking to a prince would call her husband Ruther ford dear and Mrs Harrison has the same little shrinking at the cold oflish title of The President She acknowledges that it was hard for her at first t get used to saying it and even yet in private conversation con-versation she speaks of him as Mr or Goneral Harrison No matter how many titles a man has a woman always prefers to call him by his military one for it suggests the thing dearest to their hearts a brave man Mrs McKee is equally loth to use the formal title No matter to whom she is talking she always lovingly says Father Inthe immedite family Mrs Russell Harrison is tho ouly one who says The President They have many precedents pre-cedents for not using the tite for eve L that royal matron Martha Washington always spoke of her husband as Mr Washington Wash-ington t Mrs Cleveland being a younger woman caught up with the fad easier nafwo I never failed either in addressing or referring refer-ring to her husband t call him The President Presi-dent She endeared herself to all Mary landers once by saying to Mr Robert Garrett Gar-rett who was about to lead her into a ball rom in Baltimore ahead of her husband The President alwaysgoes first Mr Garret Gar-ret and she did it in such a sweet way that her escort did not feel that it was a correction Mrs Morton did a clever thing to show what she believed to be the etiquette in this matter I was at the first state dinner she gave She of thiS sat opposite the VicePresident and waiting until there was a lull in the conversation she made some remark and leaning slightly forward said pointedly so that twothirds S of the guests could hear IS IT XOT SO VICEPRESIDEXT t Dozens of women never speak of their lords a anything but Tho Senator theiii one good lady calls her husband The Boys 5 Boyst cas Pa giving the sound to the a that sheep give when they say baa But the most dreadful thing of all is told of another good wife who almost lost the position of Senator to her husband by calling him by his last name One of his aristocratic constituents went to the men who were looking after his nomination med begged them to put up some one else as ana did not want all Washington to think hit al women in their state called their hus bands by their last name This was Monsieur Mon-sieur Aristocrats last ple Just fancy Mrs Blank calling after her husband as ho strides ahead of her at a White House reception re-ception Hold on Blank But she got here and she has done what was prophesied prophe-sied and people have liked her for her naturalness nat-uralness nat mss LEITEUS OSTniCn FEATHEK CLOAK Next to an elegant dress a woman likes best a handsome opera cloak They represent repre-sent one of the most expensive articles of a wardrobe thomaterial costing from S t 1 20 per yard but being of such width that it only takes four or five yards The least expensive of them are 75 and ono that Miss MarIe Leiter wears must have cost 0 I is of white silk and covers her from throat to dresshem It is the simplest sim-plest thing in the world and a thoughtless man would offer his wife a tendollar bill t duplicate it But if he should bi thrown back he would whistle the X to the winds for it is completely lined with the finest matched ostrich tips that the Paris cloakmaker could get by ordering them direct di-rect from tne ostrich farms As the girl who is dark a Cleopatra opens it to throw it aside one draws the breath at the poetic effect Older ladies as a rule wear shorter I cloaks of the visile style although Mrs I Stephen J Field who is an authority on dress has a darkblue velvet trimmed with longhaired white fur that reaches to the floor Mrs Harrison has handsome short cloak which she usually keeps on when at the theatre It is of white embossed velvet trimmed with white marabout feathers As she sat iu a box with the family of Secretary Sec-retary Noble one night she looked positively posi-tively superb for the wrap was thrown back and her irongray hair dressed very high slightly powdered Right opposite her in a box with the Blaines was Mrs Morton in a short wrap of blue and gray cloth lined with pale pink silk I Senator Stewart has an overcoat which half the women at the capital are dying to have t line a cloak It is of the fur of the polar bear and reaches to his heels making him look with his white beard like a Santa Claus ClausA A STORY or MRS RUSSELL HARRISON About tbe smartest gown of the season was worn by Mrs Russell Harrison at one of the afternoon receptions at the White House Remember she is the blondest of blond women and yet she wore a gown as yellow as mustard I was successful too The cloth was silk embossed with yellow flowers and was made with a demitrain and zouave jacket front She wore it over a petticoat of yellow crepe a pale as corn husks It was laid in accordion plaits and at the throat had laces scarcely lighter than the crepe She wore a big diamond star pendant from a strand of pearls on her throat which is as pink as a girls of six teen and Ian people who saw her vowed that she was by all odds the prettiest and bet dressed woman any of the Presidents bad had in their immediate families Tile nleht before she was at a reception at the postmastergenerals and a funny little incident in-cident happened which proves conclusively that she is a beauty All the men were admiring a girl whom no one seemed to know By men 1 mean men Not the manikins whom swagger girls distin distn guish by the title Even that altogether businesslike gentleman Elijah WHalf ord walked around the room to get a better view of her as she posed on a sofa with a benign old gentleman For she did pose as soon as she caught sight of the eyes turned in her direction Who she was no one knew although dozens of scouts were try ing t find out Lovely girl that know her was passed from mouth to mouth Finally General Harry M Bingham the Pennsylvania membercame into the room He was met by a gentleman who had first discovered the bnautyand addressed him in tho following manner Biughani the loveliest woman on Gods earth is in this room and none of us can find out who she is Perhaps youll know her But where is i sliei responded the Philadelphian Philadel-phian eagerly adjusting his e eyeglass She just went into the other room with an old man Follow her quick You can soon pick her out In u few minutes General Gen-eral lil haD returned his rosy face Hushed crimson with triumph 1 found her the firat thing but she wasnt with an old man She was talking with Gibson of Maryland 1 knew she must bo tim one you meant for she was the prettiest woman in the rOOD and tho minute I could womaI her eye I winked at Gibson to conic over tome to-me I asked him who she was and who do you suppose the beauty was but Mrs Russell Rus-sell Harrison i General Bingham thought he had made a great discovery and no one enlightened him He probably thinks to this day that he discovered the unknown beauty of the Wanamaker ball room The gentleman who first accosted him gave up the search in dispair and Beauty departed as she came unknown THE FEET AND SHOES OF WASHINGTON 1 BELLES nXLLES Womens feet are getting larger al I though a southerner will take his oath on it that Mrs Willie Allen who danced the minuet at the Colonial ball in Ruth mond this year wore No 1 slippers last A on her twinkling feet But then she was a Virginian born and bred Other women certainly i bigfeet This no longer secret that Mrs Cleveland wore No 5 walking shoes I and had her slippers made only a half size apsma I ller Mrs Harrisons foot is short i and plump Sho can easily wear No 8s but i she prefers a longer boot and usually has the irs made half a size longer and a last narrower rower She gets all her shoes made in Washington and a little while ago she had a pair of bronze slippers mace at a downtown down-town store for which she insisted on huv ing heels hardly one inch high She ar ued that a woman who stood as constantly as she was forced to do should never be on the stilts of a balletdancer I notice that she wears them constantly at her recaps tioi recap-s But she is about the only one here who shows an atom of sense in the matter and fourfifths of the women ono sees going from carriages crutch and mince alongs quirming with pain i their feet touch a pebble Tho feet look all right when hey peep from under a balldress butt i but-t would make Anthony Comstock turn in his grave to see them when they make heir pilgrimage from coupe to door Mrs Hawley the wife of Senator Joseph D Hawley it is not ono of the Chinalooted ind She is au English woman and shears we she-ars shoes in which she can comfortably walk when making her calls which she all y makes afoot Mrs Senator Davis isano thct r woman who encases n shapely foot in a sensible boot Lady Pauncefote and her daughters are also generous In the matter of lootgear and like most English women they have large feet The young Mortons five of them always wears broadheeleu ihoes which come very little above the nklo and which are laced instead of but toned I is at treat to see them walk They do tho mile between their fathers house and the riding school every morning bout teL their brown habits gathered ivell in hand and all from the sixyear old lary to Miss Edith keep n steady event even-t which they do not vary the whole distance I is a delectable fad this of big feet and large shoes but half the people who claim they have adopted it have put Ole more lie on their consciences THE AXTIBUSTLE MANiA Another sensible whim of fashion that has lowers only on paper is naturalback but it has received its death blow Plump wo man wont go bustlcless ause they say it makes their dresses lop in to much around their feet and thin women object because nine out of ten of them are hollow backed Bolva Lockwood and Dr Mary Walker and 1ary Waker are therefore about the only ones who ive according to nature in this matter Some people prophesy that if Cleveland had been releected there wouldnt have been a bustle in the land by this time as Mrs Cleveland sticks to her plan of not wearing them hut the present mistress mis-tress of the White House has a little roll L put into every one of her gowns which she I further helps out by one very short reed placed exactly twelve inches below the waist BELLES WHO WEAR TROUSERS There is one reformed fad that lots of fashionable people are adopting here bu quite on tho sly More of them than an unsuspecting person would ever dream of have put on trousers They cal them divided skirts but they are just as much breeches as the kind that Adam made the pattern for Some of the them button 1 haltway down the leg on the inside but almost the swellest girl at the Capital has done away with the buttons and has al hers made for all the world like a Turk trousers not like his wifes reaching modesty mod-esty to the instep but stopping just below the knee where they have flounces no mon than an inch wide There must be seven yards for each leg as when this progressive belle stands in one position they look like modest petti coats and seem as full as v those worn by tho dancing girls Silvia Grey and Letty Lind For the streets she has her trousers trou-sers made ofblack Indian silk but for evening they are dreams of beauty all made of softest silks in the exact shade of the gown Itmay have its drawbacks but the girls who wears breeches is the only one who looks genuinely modish in the straight clinging skirts of the period Not satisfied with this innovation she wears black silk gauze underwear which fits her exact like tights and she has a tiny pair of black corsets which she dons only when she has her dresses tried on and for garters she has woven gold wires in spiral coils like a watchspring which gives with every cois motion of the leg as the skin gives to pulsation I pul-sation Shes a Tiealthy girl and keeps right up with tho procession in the matter of style MISS GRONDY JR |