MONOCHROMATIC DRESS. (New York Times)

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1853, 22 May 1884, Page 3

MONOCHROMATIC DRESS. (New York Times )

In the State of Michigan tlicic is a bold and unfoi tunate lefoimcr, the wife of a dull and tonsetvative man. Thus le foimei i> now suflf t nig fot tho ciime of being in advance of liei age. She has a new and thoioughly aitistic idea in rcg.ud to diess, and this idea h.is cost her the confidi nee and affection of her husband. It is the opinion of all intelligent women that theie should be, if not identity, at least h.umony of colour in articles of diess. Thus no intelligent woman would wear a led skiit, a yellow dolman, a blue hat, and gieen gloves at oup and the same time. Of late _ the tendency to become monochromatic in diess lias gioswi steadily stronger Theie aie women who go so far as to wear only led stockings with red skirts, and never put on a blue dress without at the same time putting on liluo shoo*, gloves, corsets, yus&ets, and pettiuoits. To this latter "~cla«<> belongs Mis Kllcn l'almei, tlie maityr of Michigan, mid her olfence, in the e.\es of her husband, is that she can led her passion ior monocliiom.itic die&i to a pieviously nnd learned of extent. It was Mis l'almer's opinion that a woman's hair should always be of the same colour as the rest of her uaiments. .She asked lieiselt and her friends what consistency thete was in changing tlie bonnet in older that it might couespond in (oloui with the dress and at tl.o same time persistently wealing hair of an entirely diflercnt colour. Being con\ inced that it' was her duty to bung her hair into conformity with the rest of her dress, she sent to Detioit and laid in thirty-six distinct suits ot front and back hair,"each suit being different in coloui from all the otheis. Her customary hair liad been black, and was tlieiefoie suitable to be worn only with a black diess ; but having piovided herselt with hair of every known colour, fiom scailet to moon-on-the-lakc, earth-of-Egypt, and dust-of-Pittsburg. she made a point of changing her hair every time she changed her dre^s. The result was that whenever Mis Palmer took her walks abroad she created great astonishment and much popular enthusiasm. Her light blue •' bang" never faded to attiact a ciow'd ot admireis, and her blight green aftci'-cllilfl drew a mob of delighted men nnd boyp after her. This failed to meet the \ lews of her husband, a man who has no sense of the fitness of things. He infoimed his wife that she should not go into the street unless she confined hei self to two or three modest shades of hair, such as black, blown or gray, and that if she ventuied to show herself with blue, green, inagentn, or other unusual lia.ii , he would have nothing further to do with her. Of course, this ciuel and unusual treatment drove Mis Palmer into the Dhoicc Comt, where she hopes to maintain her right to wear such coloured hair as may please her fancy. Whatever may be the lesult of Mrs Palmer's suit, it is evident that she is in the light, bince feminine hair is as movable as feminine gloves and shoes, it is folly for women to limit themselves to hair of only one colour, and thus to lender it impossible for them to bung their hair into uniformity with the othei parts, of their dress.