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Show PETTICOATS c rn HE smartness that is ODly skirt- 'i g H deep has no attraction nt all i ff"Ml for the woman whose knowl- edge of. and fouduess for, dress is a deep-rooted, and not merely ( an acquired taste. Under the "hob- ble" tyranny, it is true, opportunities for much variety wero, in a double ? sense, limited, and the narrow propor- f. tions of the tube skirt excluded any- jj thing in the nature of "fussy" under- r wear. But tho rout of the petticoat and the suppression of the frill not- j withstanding, no woman has regarded the xiuestion of lingerie as a second- ary consideration, and hardly had ?; the wide skirt come into being than ? the petticoat resumed its rustling I. sway once more. Further, it openly i declares its presence, ignoring tho tl ancient, if unwritten, law that a petti- fj coat, though it may bo heard, should !l never be seen. ' Thoso who critlcizo tho generous display of ankle which fashion has '( sanctioned of late, and called for ; longer skirts, find that in the new I, models their wishes havo been met, though not, perhaps, quite in the way they desired or expected. Beneath f tho hem of some of the latest jupes Is ! plainly visible, sometimes to tho depth t of three or four inches, a succession of tiny frills placed on an unpondera- ; bio foundation of niuon or some slmi lar substance. Thus has fashion j; avenged itBelf on critics, and thus i does the underskirt givo tangible I proof of its existence. S But this ethereal petticoat, which Is, after all, only an apology for that l onco more essential garment, and is really a lining in disguise, is not alone j sufficient to perform tho whole duty i of a jupon which, in the absenco of hoop or whalebone, is to lend support f to the skirt under which it is worn. 1 For that the services of the new foundation petticoat aro enlisted, a garment of which the breadth and stiffness might be embarrassing wore j it not for the restraint which charac- j terizes its length. It la fashioned of I glace silk and reinforced with niultl- I tudes of minute tucks. and frills, and its flaring career ends somewhere about the knecj. 1 |