THE BROAD AND NARROW WAYS OF FASHION.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume III, Issue 312, 2 October 1875, Page 2

THE BROAD AND NARROW WAYS OF FASHION.

A New York letter to the St Louis Republic says : —The men’s trousers are swelling, aud the women's skirts are shrinking! It’s just like having Both legs in one pantaloon to wear the present fashion for ladies. If this thing coutiuues, the women will be wearing the breeehes in good earnest, aud the despised petticoat will adorn the nether limbs of recreant, hitherto arrogant man. In the year 1836, and a flowered white silk hat, my mother was married, and with the discretion belougiug to those days she ripped up that hat and laid it away for future reference. Nearly forty years have flown blit that brocaded silk is the rageXo-dA aud some huge bows that adorned thin wondrous hat are of .the damask ribbon for which New York is going'wild'jhst now. The wedding dress that accompanied Chis bouuet had more silk in the sleeves than the skirt, quite short, -and iported a small uob on the breast like a small pincushion, stuffed with a gob of cotton, with folds of silk radiating from it, like the rising sun sort of busi&ss you see on hand organs and old-fashioned cottage pianos. This was the then popular “ butterfly waist.” We haven’t got to that yet, but damask ribbon and flowered silk aud skimpy skirts and strange aud uucouth shapes in bonnets areJiere on tho spot. As far as 1 can see, we are reviving tho days of 1836, and going back to first principles.

An erriug husband who had.exhausted all explanations for fete Lours, and had ao apology ready, recently slipped into the house about one o’clock, very softly, denuded himself gently, and began rocking the cradle by the bpd side as if he had been awakened out of a sound sleep by infantile cries. He had rocked away for about five minutes when Mary Jane, who had silently observed the whole manoeuvre, said “Come to bed, you fool, you! the baby ain’t there ! ”